Seeking Support to Dampen Distress: Affective, Relational, and Behavioral Outcomes of Support-Seeking as an Emotion Regulation Strategy

Perceived social support is a robust predictor of health and well-being. Recent theoretical and empirical work highlights that seeking support from others, with the goal of regulating one’s emotions, can be an effective approach to managing stress and distress. However, the benefits versus costs of support-seeking as an emotion regulation strategy may depend on the outcome in question. Participants reported daily for two weeks on their use of emotional and instrumental support-seeking to regulate stress, as well as affect, relational outcomes, and health behavior habits. Emotional and instrumental support-seeking predicted boosts in next-day affect, closeness, relationship satisfaction, exercise, and sleep, but also increased consumption of sugary foods and beverages. Attachment style did not moderate any of these effects, though there were independent effects on some outcomes.