The role of social support in ameliorating stress in separated women with children

For a sample of separated women with children, the aims of the study were to identify (a) the areas of hassles which related to perceived stress, (b) the components of social support which related to perceived social support, and (c) the relative association of hassles and the components of social support with satisfaction with single status. Mailed questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 116 separated women who had primary responsibility for at least one school-aged child. Perceived global stress was primarily associated with social environment factors and hassles with the ex-partner, and to a lesser extent with economic issues and domestic problems. Perceived social support related to appraisal, self-esteem and belonging but not to tangible support. Satisfaction with single status related to one demographic variable (perceived adequacy of income) and to one social support variable (self-esteem) but was unrelated to hassles. The implications of the findings are that separated women need to be helped to maintain, or establish, supportive social networks which will promote self-esteem and facilitate adjustment to their single status.