Blair, K.L. & Holmberg, D.

Blair, K.L. & Holmberg, D. (2008). Perceived social network support and well-being in same-sex vs. mixed-sex romantic relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25(5), 769-791. This article focuses on the linkages between the variables of social support, relationship well-being, mental and physical health. More specifically, the study has sought to examine how approval or disapproval of a relationship, in other words, social support for a relationship, may be related to relational outcome measures, such as relationship satisfaction, love and trust.

Furthermore, the study examined how this association between support for a relationship and relationship well-being might then further be extended to the mental and physical health outcomes of the individuals within the relationship. Although previous research examining the psychology of relationships, health and social support has examined some of these links, no previous study prior to this one has ever looked at all of these variables within a single framework, or predictive model.

Previous research has linked social support in general to both relationship outcomes and health outcomes, but very little research has exclusively examined the role that social support specifically for a relationship might play in predicting these important outcome variables. Additionally, research has linked relationship well-being to mental and physical health, but never within the context of varying levels of a supported relationship. Finally, the study has examined these issues within the context of both mixed-sex (heterosexual) and same-sex relationships.

It is noted that given the varying degrees to which same-sex relationships enjoy the protection of the law and the respect of society, that the relationships between the variables in this study may vary as a function of relationship type. Hypotheses The study set forth to test a theoretical model of how these variables may be related to one another. It was hypothesized that greater levels of perceived social support for one's relationship would predict greater levels of relationship well-being, which would in turn, predict better mental and physical health.

Furthermore, the study hypothesized that individuals in same-sex relationships would perceive less social support for their relationships from their parents than individuals in mixed-sex relationships. The authors did not expect to find any differences in perceived levels of social support for the relationship with respect to support coming from friends, as opposed to parents or family members. The final hypothesis of the study examined whether or not perceived social support for the relationship could be seen as distinctly different from overall social support for the individual.

As such, the authors hypothesized that perceived support for the relationship and its impact on relationship well-being would remain significant even after controlling for measures of overall social support in general, as well as social support for one's sexual orientation. Method: population, methodology, data collection, data analysis The final sample consisted of 458 participants, of whom 276 were in mixed-sex relationships and 182 were in same-sex relationships. The participants were recruited using a variety of methods, including online advertisements, in-print advertisements, and word of mouth.

Participants were recruited to participate in an online study that was described as being aimed at examining the links between relationships, social support and health. The initial sample consisted of 866 individuals, 704 of whom were deemed eligible to participate (based on criteria of being over the age of 18 and currently involved in a romantic relationship). Further data were eliminated through missing data. The methodology of the study consisted of survey collection, which took place over the Internet.

Participants were invited to a secure website in which they could login and logout at their leisure to complete a series of questionnaires concerning the variables of interest to the researchers. Participants were rewarded for their participation in the study with 'participation points' which they could then enter into a variety of prize draws. One point was equal to one prize draw entry.

The surveys completed by the participants included measures of all the major variables within the proposed model: perceived support for the relationship, relationship well-being, mental and physical health. The Network Support Index created by Sprecher and Felmlee (1992) assessed perceived levels of social support for the participant's relationship. Support from parents and friends for the relationship was assessed using a modified version of a questionnaire developed by Leslie and colleagues (1986) which sought to identify approving and disapproving behaviors with respect to supporting a relationship.

Relationship well-being was examined through measuring relationship satisfaction, love and trust. The Hendrick's (1988) Relationship Assessment Scale (7 items) was used to assess relationship satisfaction. Rubin's love scale (1970) assessed qualitative feelings of love, and trust was assessed using the 17-item scale developed by Rempel, Holmes and Zanna (1985). Mental health was assessed using measures of depression, anxiety and stress. The Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977) assessed depression, while the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberg, 1983) was used to assess anxiety.

Finally, stress was measured using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarack & Memelstein, 1983). The final variable in question in the model was physical health, which was assessed using two separate scales, one reporting physical symptoms and the other aimed at assessing overall general self-reported health. The Cohen-Hoberman Inventory of Physical Symptoms (CHIPS) assess physical health through asking participants to indicate the relative frequency of 33 minor physical symptoms over the past month.

The RAND 36-item Health Survey measures a variety of health issues, and generates a score ranging from 0 to 100, in which higher numbers indicates better health. The model proposed by the authors was analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. Preliminary analyses were conducted to rule out the violation of assumptions related to independence of data and group differences.

The authors then conducted a confirmatory factor analysis using Maximum Likelihood Estimation in order to ensure that the variables in the study were loading properly onto the factors to which they were hypothesized to belong. In other words, the authors confirmed that love, trust and satisfaction were all hanging together representing one overall variable of relationship well-being. Finally, the structural model was tested on half of the sample, selected at random.

The model was then run successfully again using the other half of the sample, to provide a measure of reliability. Results The results of the structural equation modeling analyses indicated that the model proposed by the authors was supported by the data. Social Support for the relationship was associated with greater relationship well-being, which in turn, was associated with better mental and physical health.

After the initial model was tested using the whole sample (mixed-sex and same-sex couples combined), the model was re-run with the sample divided based on relationship type in order to compare same-sex couples to mixed-sex couples. The comparison model fit the data equally well, which was indicative of the model not having any significant differences based on relationship type, such that social support for relationships is just as important to relationship well-being and health for individuals in same-sex relationships as it is for individuals in mixed-sex relationships.

Finally, social support for relationships remained a significant predictor of relationship well-being and health even after other forms of support were controlled for, namely general support for the individual and support for the individual's sexual orientation. Review This article presented an interesting topic that has, to date, received very little attention in the literature.

We all experience relationships within the context of our social lives, and although one single person may become our closest confidant and lover, this relationship may still ebb and flow at the will of the opinions of those near to us. Thus, it is important to examine the question of how perceived social support for one's relationship might impact the relationship itself, in terms of satisfaction, love, and trust, and then to furthermore examine how these variables might interplay with the health of the individuals within the relationship.

Adding the variables of mental and physical health allowed the authors to examine a further dimension which helps to add relevancy to the findings of the article, in that suffering in one's relationship can lead to mental and physical health suffering, which can then be seen as an interest of the state. Furthermore, the investigation of this issue within the context of both same-sex and mixed-sex relationships allows useful conclusions to be drawn that can be applied readily to current debates within society concerning the legitimization of same-sex relationships.

While individuals may hold varying opinions concerning what kinds of relationships should be granted legal protections under the law and in the eyes of the government, individuals have much less leeway in determining the fate of specific individuals with respect to their health and well-being solely on the basis a group membership. This article indicates that lower levels of social support for a relationship can not only bring harm to one's relationship, but in turn, that it can also bring harm to one's mental and physical health.

Placed within the context of same-sex relationships, this finding can be extended to say that systematic deprivation of rights and support from the government and the law can lead to mental and physical health problems for individuals within same-sex relationships. In other words, to deny same-sex relationships the protections that allow for greater levels of social support for one's relationship is to put these individuals in jeopardy for their health and well-being, something which should be much more difficult to justify as just. Thus, the importance of this study is.