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The relationship between attachment, situational factors (type of esteem threat, target responsibility, and problem severity), and ratings of the helpfulness of esteem support messages was examined in two studies (Study 1, N = 196; Study 2, N = 506). Esteem support is a particular form of emotional support intended to improve how the recipient feels about him or herself. In both studies, participants rated the helpfulness of esteem support messages for three types of esteem threat and completed measures of (a) attachment dimensions, (b) perceived situational severity, and (c) perceived target responsibility. Results indicate that attachment avoidance is related to ratings of message helpfulness and that situational features moderate the relationship between the attachment dimensions and esteem support message ratings.

The recently proposed cognitive-emotional theory of esteem support messages (CETESM) posits that sophisticated esteem support messages enhance state self-esteem by promoting cognitive reattribution and reappraisal of esteem-threatening situations and their effects on the self. To test this hypothesis, participants ( N = 234) read a hypothetical situation in which they imagined they had experienced one of two esteem-threatening situations. They then read a conversation in which a helper offered high- or low-quality esteem support messages. Finally, participants completed measures of cognitive reattribution and reappraisal and state self-esteem. Results mostly supported the predicted mediational model, though one message feature failed to predict message ratings, and issues arose in assessing cognitive reattribution.

Esteem support is a form of social support that is provided to others with the intent of enhancing how they feel about themselves. This article outlines and assesses empirically a cognitive-emotional theory of esteem support messages (CETESM), which identifies (a) dimensions along which esteem support messages can be scaled, (b) mechanisms through which sophisticated esteem support messages should have their effects, and (c) outcomes that should be generated by messages that vary in quality. The merits of this theoretical model are evaluated in a study ( N = 506) examining esteem support messages for three types of esteem threat: failure, rejection, and transgression. Many of the theory's tenets are supported by the study's results.

The associations among the frequency and quality of social interactions and in-the-moment and global well-being have been well-documented. Fewer studies explore whether the content of social interactions is associated with well-being using experimental methods. Drawing from the communicate bond belong theory, seven candidate communication episodes and behaviors were identified. In three studies, participants ( NStudy 1 = 347, NStudy 2 = 310, NStudy 3 = 250) were randomly assigned to engage in one of these communication episodes or behaviors and then completed end-of-day measures of well-being. Compared to participants in the control groups, participants engaging in candidate behaviors experienced increased well-being. MANCOVA results from all studies suggest the frequency of engaging in candidate behaviors was associated with increased well-being. A mini-meta-analysis found a weighted average effect size of d = 0.255. Results suggest that engaging in as little as one communication behavior with one friend in a day can improve daily well-being.

AbstractThe concept of invisible support (Bolger et al., 2000) has sparked interest among social support researchers. Theoretically, invisible support avoids negative support outcomes related to face threats and, therefore, should lead to better outcomes than traditional support. Unfortunately, empirical tests of invisible support have yielded inconsistent results, potentially due to a lack of conceptual and operational clarity in defining invisible support. The present study addresses this issue, advocating for the inclusion of provider intention to reduce support visibility in the definition of invisible support and establishing the foundation for a typology of invisible support by eliciting participants' experiences with its provision.

To test a recently proposed dual-process theory of supportive communication outcomes, participants ( N = 328) assumed they had experienced a mildly or moderately problematic situation. They then evaluated supportive messages varying in person centeredness, purportedly provided by either an acquaintance or a friend. Participants' perceived support availability (PSA) was also assessed. As predicted, the recipient factor (PSA) individually and in conjunction with the contextual factor (problem severity) moderated the effect of the message factor (message person centeredness) on helpfulness evaluations. Modest support was observed for the hypothesis that the source factor (friend vs. acquaintance) influences evaluations when messages are processed less extensively. Implications for the dual-process theory of supportive communication outcomes are discussed.

This article reports tests of hypotheses derived from a theory of supportive message outcomes that maintains that the effects of supportive messages are moderated by factors influencing the motivation and ability to process these messages. Participants ( N = 331) completed measures of attachment style, which provided individual-level assessments of processing motivation, and responded to either a mildly or moderately severe problem, which manipulated situational motivation.They subsequently evaluated the helpfulness of comforting messages that varied in person centeredness and were attributed to either an acquaintance or a close friend. Although message evaluations were strongly influenced by person centeredness, this effect, as expected, was also moderated by attachment style and problem severity. Results are discussed in terms of the dual-process theory of supportive message outcomes.

Two experiments were conducted to extend research on the Cognitive-Emotional Theory of Esteem Support Messages by examining order, interaction, and absolute effects of emotion- and problem-focused esteem support in the context of the job search. Participants were presented with an esteem support message and rated its perceived effects on their job-search state self-esteem and self-efficacy. Study 1 participants ( N = 228) were college students seeking post-graduation employment. Study 2 participants ( N = 268) were adults in the community with experience seeking full-time employment. Results of both studies revealed that a message that addressed the esteem threat and contained problem- or emotion-focused content was rated as more effective than a message that failed to address the esteem threat and contained neither form of content. Mixed-focused messages were rated similarly to messages containing only high emotion-focused content, though some differences between the samples emerged. No order effects were observed in either study.