Who matters most? Social support, social strain, and emotions

This research investigates the way in which social support and social strain stemming from spouses, children, and friends have different impacts on emotional states. While previous studies have compared the relative impact of different sources, our research builds upon these studies by (1) comparing various close network ties and (2) leveraging longitudinal data to investigate the causal links between support and strain from different sources and emotional states over time. We analyze individuals who have a spouse, a child, and friends across three waves of the Americans' Changing Lives data. Although we find that social support and strain from all three sources are associated with emotional states, this relationship is not always causal. In the majority of cases, the same people who experience support or strain in their relationships are also more likely to experience more positive or negative emotional states, respectively. Only spousal interactions and child-based strain have a direct causal effect on emotional states.