Relations between agreeableness and perceived support in family relationships: Why nice people are not always supportive

Abstract

Do more agreeable individuals perceive more support, and are they perceived as more supportive, across all family relationships or only within specific relationships? In a study of 256 Dutch two-parent families with two adolescents, we examine whether links between Agreeableness and support are generalised across relationships or occur within specific relationships. Social Relations Model analyses showed that individuals who perceive their family members as more agreeable perceive more support from family members across relationships. Also, individuals who are perceived as more agreeable are perceived as more supportive across relationships, except for mothers. In addition, individuals who perceive specific family members as more agreeable perceive these specific members as more supportive. However, individuals who are perceived as more agreeable perceive more support only within specific relationships. Thus, agreeable family members are supportive across relationships, but agreeable family members perceive support only within specific relationships.