Positive and negative effects of social support on the relationship between work stress and alcohol consumption

Objective: This, study was performed to evaluate both positive and negative influences of social support on the relationship between work stress and alcohol consumption in male white-collar workers. Method: This study was performed in a population of male white-collar workers in Osaka, Japan. The subjects (N = 661) were categorized into nine subgroups based on the moderated mediation model of Frone and on the results of signal defection analysis using chi-square parameters calculated from work stressors and depression (mediators). Hierarchical linear regression analyses Were performed among the nine subgroups to test the effects of interactions between four types of social support (i.e., two types of belonging support and two types of appraisal support) and work stress on alcohol consumption. Results: Our results verified that social support has both positive and negative effects on-the relationship between work stress and alcohol consumption: (1) interactions between "belonging support (1)" and depressive symptoms were related to decreased alcohol consumption in two subgroups (p < .01 in Group I and p < .05 in Group 6), whereas the interaction was related to increased alcohol consumption in one subgroup (p < .01 in Group 7); (2) interaction between "belonging support (2)" and depressive symptoms was related to decreased alcohol consumption in two groups (p < .05 in Group 5 and p < .01 in Group 7), whereas the interaction was related to increased alcohol consumption in one group (p < .01 in Group 1). Conclusions: Social support was suggested to have various types of influences (i.e., positive, negative or no effect) on the relationship between work stress and alcohol consumption, depending on the type of social support and environmental factors defining the groups.