The Burden of Friendship: Effects of Social Support on Friends Who Care for Friends

The stress involved with caregiving, in the most traditional sense of caring for an older family member or patient who is ill, has been extensively researched by academics for years (e.g., Brody, 1985; Ho, Collins, Davis, & Doty, 2005). For over three decades, literature has found that caregiving increases the probability of physical and mental stress and illness for the caregiver (Fengler & Goodrich, 1979). Non-academic literature (e.g., insurance survey, palliative care research) suggests that caregivers are nearly twice as likely to experience physical and emotional ailments as those who are not caregivers (Ho, Collins, Davis, & Doty, 2005). This research suggests that care giving is costly to those who provide it.;I believe that researchers have not addressed a number of issues related to providing assistance. First, not all forms of support involve engaging in caretaking activities (e.g., cooking, taking a person to the doctor). In some cases, individuals provide social support, which involves giving advice, and emotional and psychological support to others. This support may be accomplished by communicating or simply spending time with another. A key question is whether providing social support has the same consequences for a provider's well- being as does performing the traditional types of caregiving activity.;Second, not all social support is provided by family members. For some, support and care giving comes from close friends. Because most research focused on care giving has been conducted with family members, it is an open question as to whether the consequences of providing social support and care giving extend to close friends.;Third, individuals differ with regard to how involved they are when providing social support and care giving. Some individuals are very empathic and are prone to be very involved while others are not. Some individuals are subject to emotional contagion whereby they feel the distress of others whereas others experience less transference. These individual differences may moderate the degree to which social support and care giving influence a provider's well-being.;Finally, although illness is an important arena in which to study the impact of care giving, it is not the only one. Individuals often encounter daily problems (e.g., work environment, home life, etc.) that require the assistance and support of others. Coping with a critical illness often requires substantial resource expenditures by family and friends that can negatively influence their well-being. A key question is whether providing support and care to a close friend for everyday problems can also influence a person's well-being.;A sample of 108 undergraduate college students at Northwestern University completed a questionnaire assessing their friendship with another person who they consider a "best friend", how they value their friendship with said person, what sort of stress they experience in said relationship, the ways they provide care for said person, the stress they think their partner in the relationship experiences, and their satisfaction with the relationship.;Results, implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.