The DOI matches its Crossref record; 67 of the 70 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Social Distribution of Social Support: The Mediating Role of Life Events
Abstract
Although the relation of socioeconomic status (SES) to social support has been discussed for some time, researchers have rarely systematically examined the social patterning of this resource. In addition, potential explanatory mechanisms have not been investigated. This study examined both the social distribution of social support and the role of life events in the association between SES and social support in a nationally representative probability sample of adults from the National Cormorbidity Survey. Higher education and income were related to more emotional support and fewer negative interactions. Individuals with higher incomes were also less likely to report acute and chronic life events. Finally, acute (but not chronic) life events mediated the relation between SES and social support (both emotional support and negative interactions). These results suggest the inability of lower SES individuals to mobilize social support in times of need may be explained by their more frequent experience of acute life events.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Income of father is an indicator of socioeconomic status, which correlates with levels of social support (Gecková, Van Dijk, Stewart, Groothoff, & Post, 2003;Mickelson & Kubzansky, 2003).”
From Pre- and postloss features of adolescent suicide bereavement: A systematic review (2016) · cites this paper as Mickelson & Kubzansky, 2003
Citations
Cites
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173 · Cited by 91,532
Kessler, R. C. (1994) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1994.03950010008002 · Cited by 12,370
Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136319 · Cited by 7,791 · cited 1×
“For example, one alternative formulation is that social disadvantage influences social support or some other as yet unnamed mechanism, which then affects the impact or experience of life events ( Pearlin & Schooler, 1978; Ulbrich, Warheit, & Zimmerman, 1989).”
BackgroundSocial Relationships and Health
House, J. S., Landis, K. R., & Umberson, D. (1988) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.3399889 · Cited by 7,073
Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications.
Smith, M. D., & Hoyle, R. H. (1996) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series D (The Statistician) · doi:10.2307/2988418 · Cited by 6,875
Book Review: Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications
Rigdon, E. E., & Hoyle, R. H. (1997) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3151904 · Cited by 4,088
Stress, Coping, and Social Support Processes: Where Are We? What Next?
Thoits, P. A. (1995) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2626957 · Cited by 3,496 · cited 3×
“Prior work has suggested that chronic but not acute events are consistently and inversely distributed by social status (McLeod & Kessler, 1990; Pearlin & Lieberman, 1978; Thoits, 1995; Turner et al., 1995).”
BackgroundInfluentialAll Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community.
Boswell, D., & Stack, C. Β. (1975) · Man · doi:10.2307/2801228 · Cited by 3,377
Social Origins of Depression: A Study of Psychiatric Disorder in Women.
Schnitzer, P. K., Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. (1980) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2065631 · Cited by 3,053
Social support: An interactional view.
Sarason, B. R., Sarason, I. G., & Pierce, G. R. (1990) · Wiley eBooks · Cited by 2,657
Research works printed but not linked: 10
- Cutrona C. E., 1990, Social support: An interactional view, 319
- Eckenrode J. & Wethington E. (1990). The process and outcome of mobilizing social support. In s.Duck & R. C. Silver (Eds.) Personal relationships and social support (pp. 83-103). London: Sage
- 10.1037/0022-3514.61.6.899 · DOI
- Rust K., 1985, Variance estimation for complex estimators in sample surveys, Journal of Official Statistics, 1, 381
- Sarason B. R., 1990, Social support: An interactional view, 9
- 10.1002/1520-6629(198210)10:4<341::AID-JCOP2290100406>3.0.CO;2-J · DOI
- Turner R. J., 1999, Handbook of the sociology of mental health, 301
- 1991, Statistical Abstract of the United States 1991: The National Data Book
- 1997, Current Population Reports: Poverty in the United States: 1996
- 1992, National Health Interview Survey, 1989 (Computer file)
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–179 of 179
Considering poverty in the therapeutic process: experienced therapists’ adaptations
Borges, A. M., & Goodman, L. A. (2019) · Counselling Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1080/09515070.2019.1589420 · Cited by 7
Defining Mental Disorders: Sociological Investigations into the Classification of Mental Disorders
Whooley, O. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.006 · Cited by 7
“I Don’t Know How We Would Make It”—Social Support in Rural Low-Income Families
Seiling, S. B., Manoogian, M. M., & Son, S. (2011) · International series on consumer science · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-0382-1_9 · Cited by 7
Keeping “In Touch”: Demographic Patterns of Interpersonal Touch in Later Life
Upenieks, L., & Schafer, M. H. (2021) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/0164027520986920 · Cited by 8
Williams, S. L., & Mickelson, K. D. (2007) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9120-5 · Cited by 7
Self-citationQuick, V., Eck, K., Delaney, C., Lewis, R., & Byrd‐Bredbenner, C. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16203866 · Cited by 6
The Measurement of Mental Disorder
Wakefield, J. C., & Schmitz, M. F. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.005 · Cited by 7
Namkoong, K., Stanley, S. J., & Kim, J. (2019) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdz021 · Cited by 7
Trauma Recovery in Victims of Crime: The Role of Television Viewing Motives and Television Exposure
Minnebo, J., & Eggermont, S. (2011) · Journal of Loss and Trauma · doi:10.1080/15325024.2011.595289 · Cited by 5
Yang, X., Gao, X., Yang, S. C., Li, L., Xiong, Y., Zhou, X., Jiang, W., Sun, Q., Zhou, C., & Yang, L. (2025) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-025-06089-z · Cited by 4
Adjei, N. K., Jonsson, K. R., Straatmann, V. S., Bellavia, A., Yaya, S., McGovern, R., Kaner, E., Wolfe, I., & Taylor-Robinson, D. C. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-26853-w · Cited by 6
The Intrapsychic Psychological Binds of Poverty and Race: The Intersection of Mind and Milieu
Edwards, J. B. (2019) · Social Work in Public Health · doi:10.1080/19371918.2018.1562401 · Cited by 4
The dopamine hypothesis of social support
Lin, S., Chen, P. S., Yeh, T. L., & Yang, Y. K. (2011) · Medical Hypotheses · doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2011.07.030 · Cited by 4
Williams, D. R., Costa, M., & Leavell, J. P. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.018 · Cited by 4
Work and Unemployment as Stressors
Limonic, L., & Lennon, M. C. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.015 · Cited by 4
Johnson, R. J., Hobfoll, S. E., & Beulaygue, I. C. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.022 · Cited by 5
F., L., Acosta, L. L., Valdelamar, J. J., Valdelamar, A. A., & Sánchez, R. R. (2015) · Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana · doi:10.12804/apl33.03.2015.02 · Cited by 4
Cultural Diversity and Mental Health Treatment
Woo, B., Walton, E. C., & Takeuchi, D. T. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.029 · Cited by 4
Socioeconomic Inequities in Health
Heaney, C. A., & Hoppe, A. (2017) · doi:10.1002/9781118993811.ch20 · Cited by 4
Sociological Approaches to Mental Illness
Thoits, P. A. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.010 · Cited by 3
Meulenaere, J. D., Ponnet, K. S., Courtois, C., Walrave, M., Hardyns, W., & Pauwels, L. J. R. (2021) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2021.1877355 · Cited by 4
What Outcomes Should the Study of Mental Health Try to Explain?
Schnittker, J. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.008 · Cited by 3
Bhattacharjee, S. (2023) · Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment · doi:10.1080/10911359.2023.2244018 · Cited by 3
Hu, F., Jing, Y., Qin, W., Han, W., Xu, L., & Li, Y. (2023) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.5991 · Cited by 3
Marital Status and Mental Health
Williams, K., Frech, A., & Carlson, D. L. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.020 · Cited by 3
Vanegas, L. F. F. (2015) · Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana · doi:10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/apl/a.3225 · Cited by 3
손주희, & Lee, M. (2018) · Ewha Journal of Social Sciences · doi:10.16935/ejss.2018.34.1.003 · Cited by 3
Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System
Hiday, V. A., & Ray, B. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.028 · Cited by 3
Mental Health in Cross-Cultural Context
Lefley, H. P. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.011 · Cited by 3
Epilogue: The Three Solitudes of the Sociology of Mental Health
Avison, W. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.034 · Cited by 2
Pandya, S. P. (2016) · Social Work in Mental Health · doi:10.1080/15332985.2016.1222982 · Cited by 3
The HIV-Mental Health Challenge
Walkup, J. T., & Crystal, S. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.032 · Cited by 2
Religion in the Remaking of Rwanda after Genocide
Bazuin, J. T. (2013) · Cited by 2
Ha, C., & Park, S. H. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-07065-3 · Cited by 1
Bouchard, E., Prince, M. A., McCarty, C., Collins, R. L., Sahler, O. J. Z., Vincent, P. C., Patel, H., LaValley, S. A., Krenz, T., Devonish, J. A., et al. (2025) · Journal of Psychosocial Oncology · doi:10.1080/07347332.2025.2483397 · Cited by 1
Park, G., Jung, H., Kim, I., & Lee, D. (2025) · Child Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s12187-025-10270-6 · Cited by 1
Barajas-Gonzalez, R. G. (2011) · doi:10.7916/d8vh5vtz · Cited by 1
Pescosolido, B. A., & Boyer, C. A. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.025 · Cited by 1
Transition to Parenthood in the Twenty-First Century
Mickelson, K. D., & Marcussen, K. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-24155-0_1 · Cited by 1
Self-citationPsychologists' experiences working with clients in poverty: A qualitative descriptive study
Borges, A. M. (2014) · Cited by 1
Community Mental Health Care Organizations
Dobransky, K. M. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.026 · Cited by 1
The Mental Health Consumers/Survivors Movement in the US
McLean, A. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.031 · Cited by 1
O’Donnell, K., & Steptoe, A. (2007) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-012373947-6.00514-6 · Cited by 1
Environmental Factors, Life Events and Coping Abilities
Antonucci, T. C., & Jackson, J. S. (2010) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9780470669600.ch74 · Cited by 1
Apoio social e rede social às famílias de crianças com câncer
Pedro, I. C. D. S. (2008) · doi:10.11606/d.22.2008.tde-12032008-100430 · Cited by 1
Integrating Service Delivery Systems for Persons with Severe Mental Illness
Cuddeback, G. S., & MORRISSEY, J. P. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.027 · Cited by 1
van der Waerden, J. E. B. (2011) · Research Publications (Maastricht University) · doi:10.26481/dis.20110908jw · Cited by 1
Sense of Community and Participant Engagement in a Group-based Parenting Intervention
Lesesne, C. A. (2022) · Digital Archive @ GSU · doi:10.57709/1059881
Klabbers-Gartsen, A. B. A. (2012) · doi:10.26481/dis.20120614ak
Leveraging Social Networks in Direct Services: Are Foundations Doing All They Can?
Smyth, K. F. (2011) · The Foundation Review · doi:10.4087/foundationreview-d-10-00021
Jensen, L. A. (2011) · Library and Archives Canada (Government of Canada)
Grande, P. D. (2014) · Library, Museums and Press - UDSpace (University of Delaware)
A STRESS PROCESS APPROACH TO EXAMINING INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND WELL-BEING
Burke, J. (2013) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network)
Airaksinen, J. (2016) · Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
Fontibón, L. F., Hernández, L. A., Valdelamar-Jiménez, J. R., Jiménez, A. V., & Sánchez, R. (2015)
Hope and Focus on Future as Protective Health Factors? A Moderation Analysis with Race and Income
McGarity‐Palmer, R. (2019) · Digital Commons-DePaul (DePaul University)
Theoretical Perspectives on Mental Health and Illness: Introduction to Part I
Scheid, T. L., & Wright, E. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.003
Preventing Adolescent Suicidal Behavior: Integrating Sociology and Public Health
Crosby, A. E., & Willis, L. A. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.030
Ballo, E. (2020) · UEL Research Repository (University of East London) · doi:10.15123/uel.88814
Watson, D. P., Adams, E. L., & Jackson, J. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.033
The Social Context of Mental Health and Illness: Introduction to Part II
Scheid, T. L., & Wright, E. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.012
Mental Health Systems and Policy: Introduction to Part III
Scheid, T. L., & Wright, E. R. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.023
Biological Approaches to Psychiatric Disorders: A Sociological Approach
Schwartz, S., & Corcoran, C. M. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.009
(2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.001
Mechanic, D. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.002
(2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316471289.035
Pang, M., Wang, J., Tian, T., Zhao, J., Jiang, X., Li, H., & Kong, F. (2022) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1601189/v1
Mental Health Crisis 911 Calls, Resources, and InequalityPreprint
Frankham, E. (2019) · SocArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31235/osf.io/dxqhp
Sittner, K. J., Herman, K. A., Gonzalez, M. B., & Walls, M. L. (2022) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615806.2022.2076082 · Cited by 4
Ha, C. H., & Park, S. H. (2023) · Journal of Social Science · doi:10.16881/jss.2023.01.34.1.225
Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 34, No. 4 (December 2007)
(2007) · The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare · doi:10.15453/0191-5096.3291
Предикторы инвестирования в капитал здоровья старшего поколения
Рождественская, Е. М., Маланина, В. А., Клемашева, Е. И., & Барышева, Г. А. (2023) · The Journal of Social Policy Studies · doi:10.17323/727-0634-2023-21-4-647-660
Vleet, B. V., Fuller, H. R., Kinkade, E., & Huseth‐Zosel, A. L. (2024) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/pere.12538
Counsellor considerations for providing helpful therapy practices for clients living with low income
Rego, S., Lengyell, M., Finnigan, C., Jay, M., & Brown, J. D. (2024) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/capr.12863
How dormant ties are reactivated through social media during major life events
Zhao, Y., Bai, W., Qiao, T., & Wang, W. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2025.108746
Rubez, D., Obeid, R., & Short, E. J. (2025) · Child & Family Social Work · doi:10.1111/cfs.70027
Vangelov, K., Dobson, E., & Graham, C. L. (2025) · Behavioral Science & Policy · doi:10.1177/23794607251388787
Social support mediates the effect of gender role nonconformity on sexual dysfunction
Irvin, M., Sparpana, A., Sullivan, E. F., Parincu, Z., Arnold, M. S., Evans, K. T., Tural, Ü., Collins, K. A., Hoptman, M. J., & Iosifescu, D. V. (2026) · Sexual Health · doi:10.1071/sh26004
Metadata
- Authors
- Mickelson, K. D., & Kubzansky, L. D.
- Affiliations
- Kent State University (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Mickelson, Kristin D.
- Venue
- American Journal of Community Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2003-12
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 3-4
- Pages
- 265-281
- ISSN
- 0091-0562 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2770
- OpenAlex
- W1985846875
- Cited by
- 179
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 2.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Community Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (1r03mh059767-01)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R03-MH59767)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Capital and Networks
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
- Keywords
- social support, socioeconomic status, life events, mediation, emotional support, negative social interactions, income
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Family, Female, Humans, Interview, Psychological, Life Change Events, Male, Middle Aged, Psychometrics, Rural Population, Sampling Studies, Social Class, Social Support, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Urban Population, Linear Models
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review