The more (men), the less merry: Social density, social burden, and social support

Two questionnaire studies in rural Georgia examined how social and spatial density were related to social burden and social support. Results from the first study, which had 116 female respondents (82% white, 16% black, 2% Hispanic), indicated that high social density of males was related to less liking of the house and more psychological distress. Based on Study 1, it was hypothesized that high social density of males was related to less received social support whereas social density of females was related to more received social support. In partial support of that hypothesis, results from the second study, which involved 94 males and 105 females (83% white, 17% black), revealed that received emotional support was positively correlated with social density of females in the household. Also, consistent with Study 1, females considered males to be more burdensome than females. In addition, results from Study 2 suggested that males and females respond differently to social density.