More Spousal Support for Men Than for Women: A Comparison of Sources and Types of Support

Abstract

Types and sources of received support among 902 Costa Rican employees were examined; gender and age differences as well as associations with mental health were considered. Four types of support (advice giving, assistance, reassurance, and empathic listening) were measured as received from four sources, namely friends, family, spouses, and groups/organizations. Support types were not very distinct, therefore we aggregated sum scores across these variables. In contrast, sources were discriminant and had to be analyzed separately. An interaction between gender and age pointed to a larger discrepancy of received spousal support in middle-aged men and women than in younger ones. The older the women were, the less support they received from their spouses. In addition to this interaction, further gender differences emerged at the correlation level, where the association between spousal support and depression was significant for men only.

Physical activity intervention in older adults: does a participating partner make a difference?

“…In contrast to other studies (e.g., Schwarzer and Gutiérrez-Dona 2005;Knoll and Schwarzer 2002), we found no gender effects. For example, Schwarzer and Gutiérrez-Dona (2005) found a significant gender effect for social support from the spouse.…”

“…For example, Schwarzer and Gutiérrez-Dona (2005) found a significant gender effect for social support from the spouse. Men received more support from women than women did from men.…”

“…In our study, however, there were 77 percent women in the group without an intimate partner, which could imply that they were widowed. But as women usually seek more support by family members and friends than men do (Schwarzer and Gutiérrez-Dona 2005), women can probably compensate the lack of spousal support to a certain extent.…”

“…Sociodemographic variables (gender and age) served as covariates in the analyses because of their potential influence shown in prior studies (e.g., Knoll and Schwarzer 2002;Schwarzer and Gutiérrez-Dona 2005).…”

Shall I Help You My Dear? Examining Variations in Social Support for Career Advancement within Partnerships

“…Previous studies on emotional support have shown that women receive support from a greater number of social support sources than men (Schwarzer and Gutiérrez-Dona, 2005;Umberson et al, 1996). Yet, within partnerships, women receive less emotional support from their partner than men, a finding that is not associated with the spouses' occupations (Wallace and Jovanovic, 2011).…”