Physical and emotional well-being and the balance of needed and received emotional support: Age differences in a daily diary study

Whether received social support matches the actual needs of the recipient is a largely overlooked aspect in research on associations of support and well-being. In particular, studies that investigate the match of needed and received support from a within-person perspective are rare. Therefore, we investigated the daily within-person relationship of well-being and the balance of needed and received social support in a German Sample of 79 younger (23–34 years) and 88 older adults (68–83 years). Health complaints and negative affect were predicted with linear effects of received and needed emotional support and quadratic effects of the balance (i.e., difference) of these two aspects using multilevel modeling of self-reports over 20 days. The predicted beneficial association between a match of needed and received support (i.e., a support balance) and well-being was observed among younger adults. Needed support was associated with more health complaints and negative affect on the same day. The match of needed and received support is important for well-being, particularly in younger adults. Future research should account for support needed in research on received support and shed more light into the processes underlying these short-term within-person relationships of social support and well-being. •Investigates support balance as difference score of needed and received support.•Examines quadratic relationships between balance support and well-being.•Takes a within-person look on social support processes on a day-to-day basis.•Includes a developmental view by comparing younger vs. older adults.