Social Support as a Stress Buffer or Stress Amplifier: The Moderating Role of Social Motives

Trials guidance: The Abstract should not exceed 350 words. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract. The abstract must include the following separate sections:• Background: the context and purpose of the study• Methods: how the study will be performed• Discussion: a brief summary and potential implicationsBackground. Social Support research shows that providing social support in socio-evaluative stress situations reduces participants´ stress responses. This stress-buffer effect of social support, however, does not hold for everybody and some studies even found a stress-amplifying effect of social support. Motive disposition research suggests that social motives (affiliation and power) lead to differential and sometimes even opposing affective, and physiological responses to interpersonal interaction processes. We here integrate both lines of research and hypothesize that participants with strong affiliation motives benefit whereas participants with strong power motives do not benefit from social support in terms of psychobiological responses to a given stressor. Further, participants with strong affiliation and power motives are expected to respond to social support with an arousal of motive-specific affects and reproductive hormone responses (affiliation: progesterone, power: estradiol, testosterone). In addition, we test whether women and men differ in the response to social support and in strengths of social motives. Methods. We aim to collect data of 308 participants (equal number of men and women) recruited at the local university of the authors. Participants´ social motives are assessed using a standardized measure in motive research (Picture Story Exercise) administered via a web-survey. In a following laboratory session, the Trier Social Stress designed for groups is used to experimentally induce psychosocial stress. One group of participants receives social support from a confederate of the experimenter whereas the control group does not. Stress responses will be assessed by a modified version of the state anxiety scale of the State – Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1970) and by physiological indicators of stress (cortisol, alpha-amylase gained from saliva samples) at seven points of measurement. Reproductive hormones will be analyzed from four out of these seven saliva samples. Heart rate and heart rate variability will be assessed continuously. We additionally measure participants´ performance in the interview (part of TSST) using a self-developed categorization system.Discussion. Our theory-driven integration of social motives in social support research, and the precise analysis of sex differences might disentangle inconsistent findings in TSST- research. The more faceted view on individual differences has direct implications for applied contexts as it provides a framework for tailored conceptualizations of social support programs.Trial registration: OSF- Preregistration: Registration DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/984RWCitation: Schüler, J., Ditzen, B., & Haufler, A. (2021, July 5). Social support as a stress buffer or stress amplifier: The moderating role of social motives. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/984RW

Humorous Audio-Visual Lockdown Works

This article is dedicated to humorous audio-visual lockdown works—that is, to short video clips with humorous content that were produced and circulated during the first Corona lockdown in spring 2020. The exploration of the video clips takes place within an autoethnographic approach. It will be examined what kind of humor was included in the videos I received in my WhatsApp bubble. By a rough division of recurring motifs, two exemplary analyses, and research results on humor from clinical psychology, I will describe the humor as complex coping humor. A further question relates to the functions the humorous audio-visual lockdown works were equipped with within the communication space of which I, myself, was a part of. Roger Odin’s semio-pragmatic approach serves as a starting point for first reflections on the functions which the audio-visual lockdown works were able to deploy. Against the background of Odin’s concept of reading modes and communication operators, the humorous audio-visual lockdown works will be conceptualized as relational experience operators. By utilizing social psychological approaches to the study of humor, the videos will furthermore be conceptualized as stress-buffer operators. The videos were used to unleash the communicative energy necessary for the production of a relational affirmation of a shared present, for mutual relief, and for a collective buffer against stress. Finally, I discuss that the humorous audio-visual lockdown works document the positive power of humor, community building, and care and, at the same time, reference a life that is characterized by specific privileges.

Pandora's Box

If you have started feeling your age or even older, stop right there! Feeling younger makes us feel better and healthier both physically and mentally; at least so say researchers from Germany. They examined longitudinal data collected over a period of three years (2014–2017) by the German Ageing Survey, with a mean age of 64 years (40–95). Controlling for baseline functional health and sociodemographic variables, they found that greater perceived stress was associated with a steeper decline in functional health, which increased with advancing chronological age. However, they also found that those who felt younger than their age showed a less steep decline in functional health and greater perceived stress was less strongly associated with functional health decline. Furthermore, they were less likely to feel stressed and this stress buffer effect was greater with increasing age.

Dyadic Loneliness and Changes to HbA1c Among Older US Couples: The Role of Marital Support as Stress Buffer

Objectives: Both experiencing loneliness and having a lonely partner can be psychosocial stressors, with implications for health. Yet, marital support may buffer against the cardiometabolic effects of loneliness. This study examines (1) whether own and/or partner’s loneliness predict changes in HbA1c over 4 years and (2) whether marital support moderates these effects. Methods: Actor–partner interdependence models analyzed data from 1,854 older couples who provided psychosocial and biomarker data at two timepoints (2008/2012 or 2010/2014) of the Health and Retirement Study. Results: Neither partner’s loneliness predicted changes in HbA1c overall. However, significant interactions indicated that both own baseline loneliness and partner’s baseline loneliness predicted significant increases to HbA1c over 4 years among those who reported below-average marital support. Discussion: Both the experience of loneliness and loneliness of a dyadic partner may have longitudinal consequences for cardiometabolic health. However, these effects are contingent upon perceived quality of the marriage, specifically marital support.

Ryzyko braku relacji zawodowych. Konstrukcja Skali Niepewności Zatrudnienia w Sytuacji Pandemii

In a pandemic situation, anxiety about work has added to anxiety about the perceived threat to health or life. Job insecurity is a stressor that causes deterioration of mental and physical health, but also leads to behaviors that have negative consequences for the organization. The anxiety related to fears about the future of work may be increased due to limited contacts with co-workers (remote work, forced downtime) and social isolation, while social support is one of the most important stress buffer factors. In this article, we present the results of research on the construction of a scale for measuring job uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effect of materials and design on the reliability of through-glass vias for 2.5 D integrated circuits: a numerical study

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the factors responsible for substrate cracking reliability problem in through-glass vias (TGVs), which are critical components for glass-based 2.5 D integration.Design/methodology/approachNumerical models were used to examine the driving force for substrate cracking in glass interposers due to stress coupling during heating. An analytical solution was used to demonstrate how the energy release rate (ERR) for the glass substrate cracking is affected by the via design and the mismatch in thermal strain. Then, the numerical models were implemented to investigate the design factors effects, such as the pitch distance, via diameter, via pattern, via design, effect from a stress buffer layer and the interposer materials selection on the susceptibility to substrate cracking.FindingsERR for substrate cracking was found to be directly proportional to the via diameter and the thermal mismatch strain. When a via pattern is implemented for high-density integration, a coupling in the stress fields was identified. This coupling effect was found to depend on the pitch distance, the position of the vias, and the via arrangement, suggesting a via pattern-dependent reliability behavior for glass interposers. Changing the design of the via to an annular shape or a substrate-cored via was found to be a promising approach to reduce the susceptibility to substrate cracking compared to a fully filled solid via. Also, the use of a stress buffer layer, an encouraging design prospect presented for the first time for TGVs in this study, was found to significantly reduce cracking. Finally, alternative via and substrate materials showed lower tendency for substrate cracking, indicating that the reliability of glass interposers can be further enhanced with the implementation of such new materials.Originality/valueThis study signifies the first attempt to comprehensively evaluate the susceptibility to crack formation in glass interposers during heating. Therefore, this study provides new perspectives on how to achieve a significant potential reliability improvement for TGVs.

Open ZnSe/C nanocages: multi-hierarchy stress-buffer for boosting cycling stability in potassium-ion batteries

The unique open ZnSe/C nanocages composed of sub-10 nm nanoparticles can dramatically reduce diffusion-induced stresses and enhance the structural integrity with multi-hierarchy stress-buffered effect, resulting in excellent cycle stability.

A perovskite solar cell textile that works at −40 to 160 °C

A wearable solar cell textile that works at −40 to 160 °C has been achieved by designing a compact perovskite layer on aligned TiO2 nanotubes to act as a stress buffer layer on fiber electrode surfaces.