The experience of being diagnosed with and treated for cancer is an extremely stressful experience for most individuals. Historically, the literature on stress and coping has focused on negative outcomes, such as depression and anxiety, in relation to one‘s experience with cancer. Under-represented in the literature has been a theoretical framework that examines positive and transformative experiences that may occur throughout the cancer experience. The current study assessed interpersonal variables that rarely have been investigated in relation to one‘s experience with cancer (i.e., received social support and unsupportive interactions) and their association with depressive symptoms, positive emotion, and posttraumatic growth in a sample of men and women recently diagnosed with cancer. The main research design was cross-sectional (although longitudinal analyses were conducted on an exploratory basis), and self-report data were collected from 60 participants who had been diagnosed with cancer on average 5.68 months prior to data collection. Contrary to hypotheses, hierarchical regression equations indicated that received social support was not related to any of the outcome variables. However, unsupportive responses from a main support person were found to be significantly and positively related to participants‘ reports of depressive symptoms and posttraumatic growth within the context of their cancer experience. A major contribution of the present study is that it called attention to the importance of studying unsupportive interactions separately from social support. Moreover, this is the first study to investigate the relationship between unsupportive interactions and posttraumatic growth in a sample of recently diagnosed cancer patients. Findings were surprising in that the more unsupportive responses individuals with cancer received from a main support person, the more personal growth they reported. The results from the present study have important research and clinical implications for understanding the relationship between unsupportive interactions and posttraumatic growth among men and women who have been diagnosed with cancer.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the moderator role of different types of social support (perceived vs. received) on the relationship between stress and health outcomes (depression, anxiety, and physical health) among the Turkish freshmen university students (with internal vs. external locus of control). In order to measure received social support, The Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors (ISSB) (Barrera, Sandler, &amp / Ramsay, 1981), was adapted into Turkish culture in Study 1 by using Middle East Technical University (METU) students from various departments. The sample of Study 2 consisted of 224 METU freshman students from several departments. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with perceived/received social support and stress (frequency, intensity, general) as independent variables and depression, anxiety, and general physical health problems as dependent variables for internal locus of control and external locus of control students separately. The findings suggested that for both internals and externals, stress intensity, stress frequency, and general stress predicted depression, anxiety, and general physical health problems for both perceived and received social support. Different patterns of relationships were found among perceived/received social support, stress (frequency, intensity, general), and the outcome variables (depression, anxiety, general physical health problems) for internal locus of control and external locus of control students. The findings and strengths as well as the limitations of the study were discussed.