Perceived availability of different types of social support among cynically hostile women.

One hundred and ninety six young women completed the Cook-Medley Hostility (Ho) scale and a measure of the perceived availability of social support. Results of partial correlations that adjusted for the confounding effects of neuroticism showed total hostility was most strongly associated with appraisal support (r = -.40, p < .001) and most weakly associated with esteem support (r = -.19, p < .01). These findings help contribute to a more precise understanding of the specific nature of the support deficits experienced by high hostile women. In addition, other findings suggest that different aspects of the Ho scale are differentially related to social support. Specifically, deficiencies in the perceived availability of support appear to be most strongly linked to cynicism.