Sociotropy/autonomy and differential effects of social support on psychological well-being

The study investigated the differential effects of social support on the psychological well-being of sociotropic and autonomous individuals. Using a two-wave prospective design, we had 75 college students respond to the Chinese sociotropy-autonomy scale (SAS), index of well-being, the Chinese general health questionnaire, the Chinese state anxiety inventory, and the Inventory of socially supportive behaviors at the beginning and the end of a 14-week semester. Data were analyzed by means of multiple regression analysis controlling for psychological outcome variables at Time 1. Moderating effects of sociotropy-autonomy were investigated by examining the significance of the interactions of SAS and social support. The results show that whereas perceived availability of social support contributes to the prediction of psychological well-king of the sociotropic individuals, the availability is not significant or even inimical to those autonomous individuals. The effect holds regardless of the nature of social support, i.e., whether they are emotion-focused or problem-focused The findings further suggest the importance of the sociotropy-autonomy personality dimensions. Implications for social support intervention were discussed.