Indirect effects of supportive communication during conversations about coping with relational transgressions

Researchers investigating relational transgressions have minimally explored the role of third-party personal network members in the coping process. It is argued that supportive messages during conversations about coping with relational transgressions are associated with transgressed individuals' perceived stress and feelings about the transgression. Results from a study involving conversations between 50 pairs of personal network members suggest that participants' perceptions of stress and negative emotions decreased from pre- to postinteraction. By testing an indirect effects model, it was found that emotion support had a negative indirect association with participants' perceptions of stress, anger, and dejection related to the transgression because of quality of support. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed, and directions for extending research on communicative coping are provided.