Relationship Between Gender, Stress, and Quality of Social Support.

The current findings supported Taylor's Tend and Befriend theory that females have higher reported stress levels, a larger support network, and report more quality in their social support.Practitioner points:  • Males and females may manifest stress differently in their relationships. • When working with males and females in practice it may be important to understand the depth and breadth of their social networks and how they utilize those networks. • Females indicate higher levels of stress and greater social support quality. • It is important to understand that one's social network can be an important source of support (a coping mechanism) but that it can also serve as a stressor in some cases.