Conservation of Social Resources: Social Support Resource Theory

Abstract

A motivational model of social support was developed, based on a general stress model termed Conservation of Resources Theory (COR). COR suggests that individuals have, as a primary goal to preserve and protect those resources that they value. This resource conservation is made possible, in turn, by possessing a strong resource pool such that resource strength preserves further resource development and resource security. Resources, in other words, are both valued directly and valued indirectly as they serve to protect other resources. Social support provides a major reservoir for resources outside those endowed to the self (e.g. high self-esteem, sense of mastery). Examining our model and those proposed recently by others, we suggest that social support may be a central building block of health and well-being because together with personal resources t is related to overall sense of identity. Corollaries of this theory were also developed and supporting research was presented. Implications of our social support resource theory for social support intervention were considered.

Exploratory Study Examining the Joint Impacts of Mentoring and Managerial Coaching on Organizational Commitment

“…Conversely, the moderating effects of mentoring practice are less negative when both mentoring practice and the homogeneity of coach and mentor are low. When employees come to view coaching and mentoring as complementary resources, a high heterogeneity between coach and mentor could play a role in constructing more diverse social ties according to social support resource theory [71]. Thus, these complementary effects could extend the explanatory power from the previous research concentrated on the similarity between coach and coachee (e.g., [84][85][86]) or between mentor and protégé (e.g., [41,87]).…”

“…According to social support resource theory [71], coaching and mentoring are social support, which means resources for employees to obtain and reserve. The employees with more resources and diverse social ties can benefit more from the social support.…”

Fatalism, Social Support, and Mental Health in Four Former Soviet Cultures

“…Such fatalism is likely to have originated in the dramatic historical events that have marked this region for many centuries as well as the more immediate repression of individual agency during the Communist era (Schwartz & Bardi, 1997). In Mary Douglas' typology of culture, fatalists hold a cultural bias that rationalises resignation and isolation (Dake, 1992;Douglas, 1982), with those high on fatalism suspicious and cynical about close interactions and unwilling to develop satisfying and supportive relationships (Bandura, 1995;Dake, 1992;Hobfoll, Freedy, Lane & Geller, 1990). Although there has been little empirical research examining the relationship between personality variables in this area, fatalistic beliefs can be conceptually contrasted with personality traits such as hardiness (Kobasa & Puccetti, 1983) optimism (Sarason, Levine, Basham & Sarason, 1983;Sumi, 1997) and internal locus of control (Lakey & Cassady, 1990;Sarason et al, 1983), all of which have been associated with higher levels of social support.…”

The Role of Work-Family Psychological Contract in the Relationships between Affectivity and Job Satisfaction

“…Resources here refer to objects, conditions, personal characteristics, or energy, which are valued by individuals (Hobfoll, Freedy, Lane, & Geller, 1990). …”