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Is It There When You Need It?

Mismatch in Perception of Future Availability and Subsequent Receipt of Instrumental Social Support

RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, smeadows{at}rand.org

Little is known about the effect of incongruity between perception of, or belief in, the availability of support and actual receipt of support during a time of need. This article examines associations between belief in the future availability of instrumental support (e.g., child care, temporary housing, and financial assistance), subsequent reception of inadequate support, and depression in a socioeconomically diverse sample of new mothers. Receipt of support is associated with increased odds of experiencing a major depressive episode (MDE), whereas belief in the availability of future support appears to be protective of mental health. Mothers who experience a negative mismatch between support perception and adequate receipt of support have increased odds of experiencing an MDE compared with mothers who either receive adequate support or who have no support needs; however, their susceptibility is no greater than that of mothers who simply have unmet instrumental needs.

Key Words: social support • mental health • depression

This version was published on August 1, 2009

Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 30, No. 8, 1070-1097 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X09333759


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