Specifically, this investigation examines both the unique and mediating effects of social relationships on psychological distress after taking into account the effect of personality. The current investigation uses structural equation modeling and data from two national probability samples (National Comorbidity Study and Americans’ Changing Lives Study) to test an integrated model that delineates how personality, social support, and negative interactions are associated with psychological distress.
However, interventions that emphasize personality trait processes are likely to attempt to modify perceived support by changing the characteristics of support recipients (e.g., correcting cognitive distortions, providing recipients with social skills). Interventions that emphasize the social aspect of social support are likely to highlight the need for increased access to supportive others.
Understanding how personality traits and social influences affect mental health is important in identifying the targets of intervention (e.g., cognitions, supportive relationships, or both). Social work interventions designed to augment the composition of and interactions within social networks and family systems should particularly consider the role of personality factors in one’s perception of social interactions, in establishing social relationships, and in maintaining such relationships. Currently, researchers lack a precise understanding of how personality and social influence contribute to social support’s relationship with mental health. There is increasing awareness, however, that the personality of social support recipients plays a role in social support processes ( Pierce et al. Social support is primarily viewed as a form of social influence. However, little is known about how individual dispositions, represented, for example, in personality traits, factor into the association between social relationships and mental health. Research examining social support and negative interactions provides important insight into the nature of social exchange and its consequences for mental health. Furthermore, negative interactions can often have harmful effects that outweigh the benefits of social support ( Lincoln, Chatters, and Taylor 2003). Compared with other forms of stress, stress triggered by one’s social network persists over a longer period of time ( Bolger et al. In fact, negative interactions with social network members apparently arouse more stress in individuals than do interactions with other contacts ( Bolger et al. Stress can have serious consequences for mental health. Negative interactions, characterized by conflict, excessive demands, and criticism, are found to be direct sources of stress. However, not all social relationships are known to be positive or beneficial. Research suggests that mental health is positively associated with having such social resources as a spouse, family members, and friends who provide psychological and material support ( Cohen and Wills 1985 House, Umberson, and Landis 1988).