Sex differences in the provision of skillful emotional support: The mediating role of self–efficacy

This study focuses on associations between sex, self–efficacy in the domain of emotional support, and the skillfulness (person centeredness) of emotional support messages. In particular, it examines whether self–efficacy mediates the effect of sex on emotional support skill, and whether targets’ responsibility for their problems moderates this mediating effect. Participants)N = 715) produced messages in response to scenarios depicting distressed friends who were or were not responsible for their problems, and completed a measure of self–efficacy. Compared to men, women produced emotional support messages with a higher level of person centeredness and reported greater self–efficacy in the domain of providing emotional support. Regression analyses indicated that self–efficacy mediated approximately 30% of the sex–related variance in person centeredness. Target responsibility did not moderate this mediating effect.