International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 1 No.

2; February 2011
Emotional Support Exchange and Life Satisfaction
Arzu ENER
Associate Professor
Hacettepe University
Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
E-mail: asener@hacettepe.edu.tr
Abstract
This study investigated emotional support exchange and the relation between the emotional support exchange
and well-being within the context of the socio-emotional selectivity and exchange theory. Consequently, it was
determined that the provision and receipt of emotional support decreased with age and older adults with
reciprocal and balanced emotional support exchange had higher well-being. In other words, study findings
supported the equity and quantity hypothesis.
Introduction
Maintaining high levels of subjective well-being (SWB) is one important aspect of successful aging (Baltes &
Baltes, 1990). Subjective well-being in the elderly is considered to be related with such factors as life
satisfaction, morale and happiness. (e.g., Kai et al., 1991; McDowell & Newell, 1996). Considering the
increased risks of loosing health, competence, social network and income with age, one can conclude that
older adults have lower levels of SWB compared to younger individuals. However, contrary to the
expectations, a number of meta-analyses in this field have demonstrated that SWB does not decrease with age.
Older adults have well-being no less than younger individuals. This paradoxical finding is widely expressed
by global dimensions of well-being, namely life satisfaction and happiness. (Pinquart, 1997a; 1998). In order
to interpret these counterintuitive results, new studies are needed to investigate the association between SWB
and those aspects of life that show increased risk of loss and decline in old age (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2000).
Subjective well-being is person's own evaluation of his/her life. This evaluation can be related to cognitive
conditions like satisfaction with one's marriage, work, and life, while it can also be affected by ongoing
situations (i.e., the presence of positive emotions and moods, as well as the absence of unpleasant effects)
(Diener, Sapyta, & Suh, 1998).
In gerontology, there are several ways to assess subjective well-being, for example, by measuring self-esteem,
life satisfaction and happiness (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2000). Life satisfaction is one of the most important
indicators for the positive effects of subjective well-being in older adults (Siu & Phillips, 2002). It is defined
as an overall assessment of ones life including the current life (Bowling, 1990; Neurgarten et al., 1961).
Living conditions and technology have advanced since the beginning of the 20th century, which brought in the
prolonged average life expectancy. The average life expectancy increased by 20 years worldwide, reaching up
to 66 years between 1950 and 2000. Another 10-year increase is expected by the year 2050 (United Nations,
2005). The elderly population is generally in a good physical health in USA, and the life expectancy was
estimated as 75.2 and 80.4 years for men and women, respectively (Kung et al., 2008). However, a long life
does not guarantee a satisfying life. Life satisfaction has been frequently examined in social gerontology
(George & Clipp, 1991). Nonetheless, determinants of life satisfaction are still inconclusive (Chou & Chi,
1999). As the number of aged population has been increased by certain demographic shifts, factors effective
on life satisfaction have gained importance.
The documented health benefits of social support may offer a promising avenue for reducing mortality and
increasing life satisfaction among older adults. Indeed, there is a robust association between social contact,
social support, health and well-being (House et al., 1988; Choi, 2001; Hilleras et al., 2001; Keyes et al., 2002;
Landau & Litwin, 2001; Mroczek & Spiro, 2005; Pinquart & Sorensen, 2000; Zhang & Yu, 1998). The
growing number of elderly citizens in the general population causes challenges to researchers, policy makers
and societies. There is an increasing need for further empirical insight into the needs and functioning of these
individuals as new regulations are required to allow effective service delivery to this population. Likewise,
due to this growing number, new attitudes should be developed toward the elderly in todays societies (Aureli
& Baldazzi, 2002). Studies on wellbeing and life satisfaction of the elderly have intensified in last three
decades. Literature consistently emphasizes that life satisfaction of this population is a complex phenomenon
influenced by multiple factors. One of the significant factors is the quantity and quality of a social network of
loved ones such as spouse, adult children, grandchildren, relatives and neighbors. These sources of social
support are considered to have vital impact on the elderly persons well being and life satisfaction (Florence,
2001).
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The social network provides emotional (affection, a sense of belonging, a sense of usefulness etc.) as well as
instrumental (goods, money, help with needs such as following up their appointments or giving them a ride to
a hospital etc.) support (Siu & Phillips, 2000).
Social Support
Many terms including social networks, social support, social ties and social integration are loosely used while
investigating the effects of social interaction on well-being and health. (Berkman et al., 2000). Social support
is often used interchangeably with social integration and social network to imply three different dimensions of
social interaction, and its existence or quantity. It is also used to address formal structure and functional
content of social interaction like emotional concern, instrumental or tangible aid (Gottlieb, 1985). On the other
hand, the careful and restricted use of "social support" commonly refers to dimensions of interaction and its
functional content (House, 1987). Social network and social support are two distinct concepts (Berkman,
1984). Social network could be defined as the social relationships of an individual with the surrounding
community (Mitchell, 1969; Laumann, 1973; Fischer et al., 1977). Social support can be seen as the
emotional, instrumental, and financial aids obtained from ones social network. Not all ties are supportive and
supports varry in the type, frequency, intensity, and extent. For example, some ties provide several types of
support, while others are more specialized to provide only one type of support. (Berkman et al., 2000).
Support is generally considered as an exchange or transaction between people. (Berkman, 1984)
Despite the absence of consensus on the concept of social support (Antonucci 1990), House (1981) identified
four types of supportive behavior: (1) emotional support which involves caring, trust, and empathy, (2)
instrumental support including helping others with their work, loaning money, and going out with others with
difficulty in moving, (3) informational support like giving information or teaching skills to provide a solution
to a problem, and (4) appraisal support like providing information to help somebody to estimate personal
performance (Leavy 1983). However, some researchers supported the idea that social support only had two
types: emotional and instrumental supports (Ingersoll-Dayton & Antonucci 1988). However, the exchange of
support depends on social ties and contact which decrease with age (Cumming & Henry, 1961; Lang, 2001;
Lang & Carstensen, 1994). Direct social contact is present only 10% of an older adults day (Baltes et al.,
1990). Nonetheless, despite this decrease in the quantity of social contact with age, its quality could increase.
In fact, the reduction in social contact may be a deliberate attempt to improve the quality of social contact, and
well-being also increases at the same time (Keyes, 2002).
Social Exchange
The scope condition for the exchange dimension of reference was most simply defined by Blau (1964):
"Social exchange as here conceived is limited to actions that are contingent on rewarding reactions from
others", which implied a two-sided, mutually contingent, and mutually rewarding process involving
"transactions" or simply "exchange." (Emerson, 1976). An exchange theory perspective implies that the
neutral or negative effect of intergenerational contact on the morale of elderly parents may emerge from an
imbalance in costs and rewards within the relationship (Stoller, 1985). Meanwhile, some researchers focused
on the reciprocity instead. Consideration in this area is dominated by theoretical perspectives which are equity
theory and social exchange theory. According to equity theory (Walster et al., 1978), those receiving more
support than they give may be distressed and feel guilty because it violates the norm of reciprocity and may
lead to a state of dependency. In contrast, if one seeks to maximize one's rewards and minimize losses in
relationships with others, as suggested by exchange theory (Berscheid & Walster, 1969; Homans, 1961), over-
benefiting should lead to less distress. In the studies on older adults, empirical findings based on predictions of
the equity and exchange theories are quite mixed. Ingersoll- Dayton and Antonucci (1988) assessed the effects
of over-benefiting and under-benefiting within the context of specific relationships (i.e., spouse, children, and
friends) and particular supportive exchanges (i.e., confiding and sickness care). Minimal support was found
for the effects of reciprocity on network demand, life satisfaction, and negative effects by equity theory.
Similarly, McCulloch (1990) did not find any evidence for a positive association between intergenerational
reciprocity and the morale among older parents. These findings were replicated by Davey and Eggebeen
(1998) who used longitudinal data of the National Survey of Families and Households. However, Antonucci
and colleagues (1990) reported that reciprocity generally enhanced the life satisfaction, whereas Stoller (1985)
determined that inability to reciprocate in exchanges had a negative effect on morale. At least three
hypotheses could be suggested regarding the effects of reciprocity on well-being. First, according to the equity
theory, those in an equitable relationship are more content. However, those receiving more support than they
give may be distressed and feel guilty because it violates the norm of reciprocity and may lead to a state of
dependency (Hatfield et al., 1985; Walster et al., 1978). Those who give more than they receive may feel
exploited by others and become irritated.
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Second, if one seeks to maximize one's rewards, as suggested by exchange theory (Berscheid & Walster,
1969; Davey & Eggebeen, 1998), over-benefiting should lead to less distress, whereas under-benefiting would
make one more distressed. Finally, the third hypothesis is related to self-esteem enhancement (Batson, 1998).
It involves providing support for someone in need and under-benefiting enhances self-esteem, and thus
increasing the well-being. This hypothesis also offers an explanation for the negative effects of receiving aid.
According to the exchange-based theories of relationships, intimacy increases in parallel with the equality of
exchange (Deutsch, 1985; Rook, 1987; Sprecher & Schwartz, 1994; Walster, Walster, & Berscheid, 1978).
Equitable reslationship provide positive emotion; therefore, the intimacy is expected to increase in this kind fo
relationship. On the other hand, one can get less support than one provide in the imbalanced exchanges,
which creates negative emotions. According to the equity theory (Walster et al., 1978), perceived inequity
generates negative effect. One feels guilt and shame if he/she receives more than he/she gives in a relation
(i.e., over benefited).
However, if one receives less than he/she punt into a relation, he/she can become distressed or even angry.
(i.e., under benefited). Equitable exchange creates positive emotion and intimate social contacts, while the
imbalanced exchange causes negative emotion or diminishes positive feelings (Keyes, 2002). Assistance is not
provided in one direction within an informal network. The financial and physical capacity of older persons is
quite important in determining the type of exchange. Troll (1971) stated that most of the parents spend as
much as they can for their children. However, it becomes quite difficult for older adults to give response in
their relations as they need more support with decreasing health status and functional capacity (Stoller, 1985).
Since psychological and instrumental factors are involved in the costs and rewards of exchanges between
generations, it is rather difficult to determine the degree of imbalance. Relatives may continue to provide
assistance because of familial expectations and/or obligations not depending on one's ability to response
(Dunkle, 1983). Younger adults could regard helping their parents as an opportunity to reciprocate for the
support of their parents in the past (Simmel, 1950).
They could also want to set an example for their children to observe parental caregiving as a filial
responsibility. Dono et al. (1978) stated that essential aid might only be given by a group of people who
benefitted from the older person in his productive years or who would like to benefit from their contributions
in the future. Reciprocity may be more closely related to provision of informal support among friends and
neighbors (Boszorneyi-Nagy and Spark, 1973; Dono et al., 1978). Friendship is a voluntary attachment.
Lowenthal and Robinson (1976) argued that relationship involves emotional ties, while the relation with
friends is reciprocal. Adams (1967) suggested that positive concern (i.e., the interest of the individual in the
well- being and activities of another) is an indicator of affinity in relations; on the other hand, consensus (i.e.,
sharing common values, interests, and attitudes) is the foundation of friendship. Wood and Robertson (1978)
regarded "obligation vs. choice" as a key element to distinguish between kinship and friendship.
Social Support and Life Satisfaction
A number of studies have been published in the last two decades regarding the social network and social
support. Social relationships and affiliation are now known to have powerful effects on physical and mental
health for a number of reasons (Berkman et al., 2000). Social support has a well-documented association with
both depressive symptoms (see Cohen & Wills, 1985) and life satisfaction (Markides & Martin, 1979;
Palmore & Kivett, 1977; Newsom & Schulz, 1996) . Certain studies demonstrated that old adults receiving
considerable amount of support were determined to have higher morale and life-satisfaction (Krause 1986;
Sugisawa 1993). For instance, emotional support is an important factor for recipients and providers as it
creates attachment sense (e.g., comforting and intimacy), alliance, guidance and appreciation of ones worth
(Mancini & Blieszner, 1992; Weiss, 1969) as well as objective and social contribution (Keyes & Ryff, 1998).
Inadequate emotional support may result in loneliness, anxiety, uncertainty, a sense of meaningless (Rook,
1987; Weiss, 1974), and vulnerability to stress (Stroebe & Stroebe, 1995). Receipt of the social support does
not necessarily bring about benefits. (Lu & Argyle, 1992). Social-support hypothesis suggesting that receiving
support improves health and well-being was tested and accordingly, some inconsistent results were obtained
(Kahn, 1994), demonstrating that receiving support could be harmful in some instances (Hays et al., 1997;
Seeman, Bruce, & McAvay, 1996). For example, dependency on other people for support can cause guilt and
anxiety; on the other hand, feeling like a burden to others who presumably provide support is associated with
increased suicidal tendencies even after controlling for depression (Brown et al., 1999; De Catanzaro, 1986).
The correlation between social support and dependency could explain the failure of previous studies which
consistently supported the social support hypothesis. Furthermore, the benefits of social contact may extend
beyond the received support to include other aspects of the interpersonal relationship that may protect health
and increase longevity, for example, giving support to others (Brown et al., 2003).
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However, despite the few exceptions (e.g., Liang et al., 2001), studies investigating the social-support have so
far have focused on the effect of receiving support on old adults who are regarded as weak and dependent on
help of others. Sanders (1988) pointed out that little focus was given on their contributions to their families;
however, the majority of the old adults, especially the newly old ones are relatively healthy and active. Both
the receipt and provision of support leads to a positive psychological outcome among the old people (Kim et
al, 2000). Therefore, some of the researchers stressed the importance of balance between the receipt and
provision of support, namely the reciprocal support exchange (Antonucci & Akiyama 1987; Ingersoll-Dayton
& Antonucci 1988; Maton 1988; Rook 1987; Stoller 1985). In their studies, adult people that experienced
reciprocal support exchange were determined to have better psychological outcomes than those with an
exchange imbalance. Considering the equity theory, Walster et al. (1978) argued that inequitable exchanges
cause distress and diminish the satisfaction level from individual relationship. In general, over-benefiting
causes a feeling of dependency or indebtedness, while under benefiting makes one feel burdened and
frustrated in interpersonal relationships (Davey & Eggebeen 1998; Lee & Ellithorpe 1982; Lu & Argyle 1992;
McCulloch 1990; Rook 1987; Sprecher 1986).
In fact, a recent study performed in America indicated that the provision of support was determined to have
positive effects on the psychological well-being of people by enhancing the personal control in an informal
network (Krause, Herzog & Baker 1992). In addition, Adams (1968) determined that reciprocity as an
important factor to sustain satisfactory relation with middle- class adults and widowed mothers. The
relationship with mother was more commonly described by adult daughters as balanced and satisfying, while
it was defined as one-direction, responsibility and obligation by adult sons. In a study on intergenerational
relations, Silverstein et al. (1996) suggested that receipt of the support causes distress among older adults
These findings are generally interpreted in terms of the loss of autonomy and control associated with
dependency on others to meet basic needs. In particular, highly vigorous support of adult children could incite
a deep-seated desire for independency.
This is consistent with the social breakdown syndrome (Bengtson & Kupers, 1986), suggesting that overly
strong social support provided to vulnerable older persons results in greater dependency by causing erosion in
skills of atrophy and competence, which further increases vulnerability and distress. There are, at least, two
reasons for a greater sense of psychological well-being caused by the provision of support. First, helping
needy people created an experience of fulfillment and self-validation, which increases well-being as well.
Second, it provides intimacy and trust (Liang et al., 2001). The effects of receipt and provision of support and
reciprocity are not clear nor direct (Liang et al.,2001). Empirical findings are still indeterminate for these
influences. Psychological functions were reported to increase in parallel with support of others (Krause, 1986;
Larson, 1974; Wood & Robertson, 1978), whereas some researchers reported little or no effect (Cohen &
Sokolovsky, 1980; Lee & Ellithorpe, 1982). The present study was organized to analyze the following
hypotheses put forward by socio-emotional selectivity and social exchange theories.
Hypotheses
1- Balanced emotional support exchanges indicate higher levels of life satisfaction compared with
unbalanced exchanges (i.e., giving more or receiving more).
2- The amount of received or given support is changed with age.
3- The difference between the received and given emotional support is reduced and becomes more
balanced with age.
Method
Sample
The study was performed on randomly selected 250 old adults aged over 60 years of age including 123 female
(50%) and 125 male (50%). Selection was based on voluntary participation. This study aimed to determine the
changing emotional support in old adults, related factors and the effects of changing emotional support on life
satisfaction of old people. The study of MacArthur Foundations Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) was
benefitted in the determination of data collection tools. Data was collected by face-to-face interviews with
participants. 48.8% of the participants were between 60-64 years of age, 26.0% between 65-60, 15.6%
between 70- 74 and 9.6% were 75 years of age. The majority of the participants (56.8%) had primary or less
education level, which was followed by secondary school graduates by 28.0%. 74.4% of the participants had
regular income. 52.0% perceived themselves in a good health, while 7.6% perceived their health condition as
bad. 72.8% lived in their own houses, while 9.6% were tenant. More than half of them (53.6%) lived with
their spouse, 43.2% with spouse and children, while 2.4% lived with spouse and relatives. None of them lived
alone. On the other hand, 2.8% had no social security.
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Instrumentation
Life satisfaction
Life satisfaction is defined as an overall assessment of ones life, including the current life (Bowling, 1990;
Neurgarten et al., 1961). This assessment can be related to the cognitive states such as satisfaction with one's
marriage, work, health, children, and overall life. In this article, flowing five items were used to calculated life
satisfaction level of participants: " how would you rate your life overall these days?, how would you rate
your work situation these days?, how would you rate your health these days?, how would you rate our
overall relationship with your children these days?, and how would you rate your marriage or close
relationship these days?. Responses were scored based on a 10-point scale. 0 means the worst possible life
in terms of overall/work/health and relationship with children spouse or partner and 10 means the best
possible life in terms of overall/work/health and relationship with children spouse or partner.
Emotional Support Exchanges
Studies differently defined and measured social support. Received actual support perceived availability of
support, density of network, frequency of network contact, and composition of network were used in these
definitions and measurements. In the present study, emotional support was used to evaluate social support.
Each respondent was asked to define the amounts of receipt and provision of support as hour. Emotional
support was evaluated the following titles: giving or getting comfort, listening or having someone listen
to you, and giving or getting advice. Subsequently, each respondent was asked to estimate the amount of
receipt and provision of emotional support in a mounth. The received and given support by respondents was
estimated in hour considering the following six types of relations. Receiver and provider of emotional support
was your spouse or partner, your parents or the people who raised you, your in-laws, your children or
grandchildren, any other family members or close friends, and anyone else (such as neighbors ). The
hours of emotional support were recorded into following ranges, each of which was coded to the midpoints:
None=0, 1 to 4 hr in a month= 2.5, 5 to 8 hr=6.5, 9 to 16 hr=12.5, 17 to24 hr= 20.5, 25 to 32 hr= 28.5, 33
to 40 hr= 36.5, and 41 or more hr= 44.5 (i.e., all variables were top-coded to reflect the equivalent of a 40-hr
work week). Total amounts of received and given emotional support were summed and separated into
scales.
Social Structural Variables and Controls
In the present study, several socio-demographic variables were measured to predict the receipt and provision
of emotional support and well-being. For this purpose, socio- structural variables including age, education,
perceived health, income, gender, and marital status were used.
Data Analyses
Data was collected through questionnaire form and the obtained data was evaluated by "SPSS for Windows
15.0" statistic software program. One way variance analysis (ANOVA) was used to determine the relation
between age and the provision of emotional support. The source of difference observed in the multiple
comparisons was determined by LSD test (Least Significant Difference). In addition, the relation between
receipt and provision of emotional support in different ages was evaluated by Pearson correlation analysis.
The effects of individual demographic characteristics on the receipt and provision of emotional support were
examined by regression analysis. The relation between the receipt and provision of emotional support in older
adults was investigated by one-way variance analysis (ANOVA). LSD test was used to determine the source
of difference observed in groups.
Results
The amount of emotional support provided by older adults in a month changed between 125.79 and 158.92 h,
while the amount they received was between 152.56 and 162.08 h. (Table 1). Accordingly, the amount of
social support provided by older adults was found higher than the amount of emotional support.The relation
between age and provision of emotional support was examined by one-way variance analysis. A significant
difference was detected between the given and received amounts of emotional support and age (F=3.192,
p<.05). LSD test was used to determine the source of difference. Consequently, the amount of provided
emotional support was significantly lower in people 75 years of age compared to ones between 65-69 years
of age (p<.05). In other words, the amount of provided social support decreased with age (Table 1). Analysis
results demonstrated that the amount of received emotional support also decreased with age. However, no
significant difference was detected between the amount of received emotional support and age (F=0.118,
p>.05) (Table 1).
Unadjusted means of received and provided emotional support by age are given in Table 2. In the examination
of correlation between the amounts of received and provided emotional support and age, high positive
correlation was determined in 60-64 and 65-69 age groups, while milde positive correlation was detected in
70-74 and 75-79 age groups (60-64: .70; 65-69: .74; 70-74: .66; 75: .49).
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Older adults providing more emotional support were observed to receive more emotional support. Therefore,
reciprocity is present in emotional support exchange despite the decreases in emotional support with age.
There is reciprocity in the exchange of emotional support in each age cohort.
Table 1. Amounts of Received and Provided Emotional Supports by age
Support Age N Mean Standard Deviation
60-64 122 158.92 69.442
65-69 65 158.79 62.952
Provided Emotional Support 70-74 39 136.87 83.935 p<0.05
75 24 125.79 51.841
Total 250 151.57 66.262
60-64 122 162.08 64.334
65-69 65 157.21 65.923
Received Emotional Support 70-74 39 155.07 73.221 p>0.05
75 24 152.56 53.272
Total 250 156.40 65.661

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics of Total Amount of Received and Provided Emotional Support by Age in
a Month (h)
Provided Emotional Received Emotional
Age Correlation
Support Support
60-64 (n=122)
Mean 158.92 162.08 0.701
Standard Deviation 69.44 64.33
65-69 (n=65)
Mea 158.79 157.21 0.741
Standard Deviation 62.95 65.92
70-74 (n=39)
Mean 136.88 155.08 0.662
Standard Deviation 83.94 73.22
75 (n=24)
Mean 125,79 152.56 0.499
Standard Deviation 51.84 53.27
Total
Mean 151.57 156.40 0.670
Standard Deviation 66.26 65.66

Table 3. The effects of demographic characteristics of older adults on the difference between the
receipt and provision of emotional support (Regression)
The difference between receipt and provision of emotional support
b
Age
60-64 - -
65-69 -0.914 -0.076
70-74 -2.012 -0.139
75 -2.131 -0.119
Sex (Male:0) 0.049 0.005
Education Level
Primary school or lower - -
Secondary School -1.431 -0.122
High School 3.229* 0.158
University 1.698 0.087
Regular Income (none:0) 0.832 0.069
Health Condition
Good - -
Medium 1.446* 0.135
Bad 0.073 0.004
Year of Marriage (<30:0) -1.251 -0.071
Fixed 1.165
F 3.245**
Adjusted R2 0.090

*: p<0.05, **:p<0.01
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Regression analysis was used to determine the difference between the amounts of received and provided
emotional support and the effects of age and control variables. Model was found significant in accordance
with the results of regression analysis. The significance rate was detected as 0.090 for the amounts of received
and provided emotional support. Education and health condition were determined as effective variables.
Despite the absence of a significant relation, the difference between the amounts of received and provided
emotional support was found to decrease with age (Table 3).
The relation between the amounts of received and provided emotional support and life satisfaction was
analyzed by variance analysis. The participants with equal amounts of received and provided emotional
support were included in reference group in order to determine the effects of balanced and unbalanced
changes on life satisfaction of older adults. Two dummy variables were created, including ones providing
more support than they receive and vice versa. The lowest mean point of life satisfaction was observed as 8.86
in older adults receiving more emotional support than they provided, while the highest mean value was
detected as 17.85 in ones with balanced received and provided emotional support. The results of one way
variance analysis demonstrated that the level of life satisfaction significantly changed by the receipt and
provision of emotional support. The life satisfaction of older adults with balanced received and given
emotional support was significantly higher than others (F:41.825, p<.01).
Table 4. Results of ANOVA Test Regarding the Effects of Changes in Emotional Support on Life
Satisfaction
Emotional Support N X SD F P Difference
Provided more 8 11.38 4. 406
provided=received 228 17.85 3.961 1-2
41.825 0.000*
Received more 14 8.86 4.470 2-3
Total 250 17.14 4.612
Discussion
Three hypotheses analyzed in the present study include the guidelines of socio-emotional selectivity and
social exchange theories. First, the quantity hypothesis suggests that the hours of given and received
emotional support should decrease with chronological age since adults become selective about social contacts
with age. Second, the exchange hypothesis suggests that the discrepancy between the hours of given and
received emotional support should decrease with age as greater intimacy and satisfaction are caused by more
balanced social exchanges and emotional regulation aims to become more salient with age. Third, equity
hypothesis, an extension of social exchange theory, maintains that the balanced relationships contribute to
higher levels of well-being. On the basis of these theories, following three questions are investigated in the
present study: Does the quantity of emotional support diminish with age?, Does the exchange of emotional
support become more balanced with age?, and Do unbalanced exchanges of emotional support predict lower
levels of subjective (life satisfaction) well-being with age?.
Findings evidently supported the quantity hypothesis and the equity hypothesis. However, exchange
hypothesis was refused. The amounts of received and given emotional support were determined to decrease
with age. The highest amounts were observed in the 60-64 age group, while the lowest values were detected in
the 75 age group. These results support the exchange hypothesis. Keyes (2001) reported that the amount of
received and given emotional support decreased with age. In addition, a high correlation was detected between
received and given emotional support in 60-69 age group, while a mild positive correlation was observed 70
age group. Older adults providing more emotional support were observed inclined to receive more support; in
other words, the lower amount of given emotional support could cause reduction in the received emotional
support. Therefore, reciprocity is present in emotional support exchange despite the decreases in emotional
support with age. There is reciprocity in the exchange of emotional support in each age cohort. In the studies
performed by Liang et al. (2001) and Keyes (2002), a positive correlation was detected between the received
and given support, and they tended to enhance each other.
The exchange hypothesis suggests that the discrepancy between the hours of given and received emotional
support should decrease with age to reflect more balanced exchanges with age. However, in the present study,
the difference between the received and given emotional support was found not to decrease with age, but
increase. For this reason, exchange hypothesis was refused in the present study. Furthermore, Keyes (2002)
reported that the discrepancy between the received and given emotional support decreased with age, and they
became more balanced. The differences between the studies could be caused by the culture samples and
implementation times of the studies. In the present study, older adults with balanced reciprocal support
exchange were determined to have higher levels of life satisfaction. In this regard, equity hypothesis was
supported.
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The results of many studies demonstrated that reciprocal support exchange had positive effects on
psychological welfare of older adults (Lowenstein, Katz ve Gur-Yaish, 2007; Antonucci & Akiyama, 1987;
Maton, 1988; Walster, Walster &Bersheid, 1978). However, certain other studies reported minimum
(Ingersoll-Dayton and Antonucci, 1988) or no relation (McCulloch, 1990) between reciprocal support
exchange and welfare. Findings of the present study challenge the convoy model of social support (see
Antonucci & Akiyama, 1987; Antonucci & Jackson, 1990). Antonucci and colleagues argued that the norm of
reciprocity can be present for longer period of time in human life because individuals keep a mental account
of received and given support. People demanding more emotional support than they give might not feel
distress if they provided more support to others when they were younger.
Because younger adults could provide more support than they receive, a finding consistent with the results of
this crosssectional study, they can benefit from this debt in older ages and receive more support without
feeling any guilt. However, in the present study, older adults with the lowest life satisfaction level were
composed of individuals receiving more support than they provided. In the study, only the changes in
emotional support with age were investigated. It would be useful to investigate different support changes in
future studies as social contacts can be defined by company and instrumental support as well as emotional
support. In other words, older adults prefer emotionally satisfying activities (i.e. companionship). They also
provide instrumental support like money, tools, and favors (e.g., repairing broken objects for others), which
creates emotional well-being.
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