This study examined the role of social support in managing worry among a sample of Malaysian adults. An online questionnaire was completed by 136 participants (age M = 34, SD = 7.65; 71% female, 29% male). Each wrote open-ended, essay-type descriptions of their experiences with social support in relation to worry, as well as completing measures of pathological worry (Penn State Worry Questionnaire), normal worry (Worry Domains Questionnaire), and perceived social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). Results indicated that young adults experienced a higher degree of normal worry compared to older adults, but pathological worry was not significantly different between the two groups. No significant differences in worry were found in relation to gender, ethnicity or marital status. Perceived social support was negatively related to levels of both normal and pathological worry. Qualitative analyses pointed towards four important roles for social support: providing a sense of belonging and security, providing emotional relief or catharsis, helping to reappraise situations, and facilitating problem-solving and decision-making. The role of social support as a secure base that facilitates emotion management and helps to ground thinking is discussed.

中文翻译：

---

研究马来西亚的社会支持及其与忧虑的关系

这项研究检查了社会支持在处理马来西亚成年人样本中的担忧中的作用。136位参与者完成了在线问卷调查（年龄M = 34，SD = 7.65； 71％的女性，29％的男性）。每个人都针对他们与忧虑相关的社会支持的经历写了开放式，文章式的描述，并完成了病理性忧虑的衡量标准（Penn State忧虑问卷），正常忧虑（忧虑领域问卷）和感知的社会支持（多维感知的社会支持规模）。结果表明，与成年人相比，青年人的正常忧虑程度更高，但两组之间的病理性忧虑没有显着差异。在性别，种族或婚姻状况方面，人们在担心方面没有显着差异。感知的社会支持与正常和病理性忧虑程度均呈负相关。定性分析指出了社会支持的四个重要角色：提供归属感和安全感，提供情感缓解或宣泄，帮助重新评估情况以及促进解决问题和决策。讨论了社会支持作为促进情感管理和基础思考的安全基础的作用。