Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
Relational regulation theory: A new approach to explain the link between perceived social support and mental health
Department
Psychology Department
College
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Date Range
2013-2014
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Perceived support is consistently linked to good mental health, which is typically explained as resulting from objectively-supportive actions that buffer stress. Yet, this explanation has difficulty accounting for the often-observed main effects between support and mental health. Relational regulation theory (RRT) hypothesizes that main effects occur when people regulate their affect, thought, and action through ordinary, yet affectively consequential conversations and shared activities, rather than through conversations about how to cope with stress. This regulation is primarily relational, in that the types of people and social interactions that regulate recipients are mostly a matter of personal taste. RRT operationally defines relationships quantitatively, permitting the clean distinction between relationships and recipient personality. RRT makes a number of new predictions about social support, including new approaches to intervention.
Conference Name
The David A. Kenny Festschrift: Advances in Social Psychology
Conference Location
University of Connecticut University Events & Conference Services 438 Whitney Road Ext., Unit 1185 Storrs, CT
ScholarWorks Citation
Lakey, Brian, "Relational regulation theory: A new approach to explain the link between perceived social support and mental health" (2014). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 859.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/859
