Abstract
The benefits of social connections for well-being are often assumed, yet few studies test whether social support predicts mental health over extended periods nor whether these effects are experienced equally across women and men. We address this gap by examining gender differences in the longitudinal associations between perceived social support and psychological distress using 14 annual waves of a nationwide panel study (N = 75,404; 62.1% women). Multigroup random intercept cross-lagged panel modelling revealed that within-person increases in perceived social support predicted subsequent declines in psychological distress over time for both women and men. However, this relationship was bidirectional, and the negative within-person effects of psychological distress on perceived social support were stronger than the effects of perceived social support on psychological distress among men (but not women). Analyses exploring gender interactions with age, sexual identity and ethnicity revealed that the effects of psychological distress were strongest among older, New Zealand European and heterosexual men. These results suggest that men’s psychological distress leads to decreased perceptions of social support from others in their lives, and this effect is more pronounced than the effect of social support over the same timeframe. The implications for health interventions are discussed.