Resource or Hindrance? The benefits and costs of social support for functional difficulties and its implications for depressive symptoms

ABSTRACTObjectives:The impact of social support on the relationship between stress and well-being remains somewhat inconclusive, with work suggesting either null, buffering, or amplification effects. The current study investigated the conditions in which perceived social support is likely to act as a buffer or amplifier by considering individual differences in self-perceptions of aging.Methods: Using data from two subsamples of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (graduates: 70–74 years, siblings: 40–92 years), we examined how perceived social support (emotional versus instrumental) and self-perceptions of aging (SPA) moderated the effect of functional limitations on depressive symptoms (DS).Results: Although emotional support positively predicted DS, its effects did not depend on SPA. Instrumental support was associated with both increases and decreases in well-being that were dependent upon SPA. Functional limitations predicted more DS at both low and high levels of instrumental support when SPA were negat...