Sense of Humor, Social Support and Stress: Exploration of the Role of Humor and Social Support on Perceived Stress on Campus

Abstract

This study examines the published research on health implications of humor and social support, and aims to investigate if and how their interaction influences perceived stress. The research that is reviewed was used to design a survey to test the hypothesis that perceived social support mediates the association of sense of humor with perceived stress. Undergraduate students (N = 130) reported their campus affiliations, completed a perceived stress scale, a sense of humor scale, and a perceived social support scale. In addition to analysis of the total sample, high and low sense of humor groups were created by selecting participants at ¾ standard deviation above and below the overall mean on the sense of humor scale to examine differences between the two groups. This study failed to replicate results from similar correlational research and results were not statistically significant. Although not statistically significant, correlations between perceived social support and stress and an interaction of perceived social support and sense of humor were the most promising findings that suggest the need for more rigorous research methods. Methodological issues found in past research on humor (Martin, 2001) persisted in the present study. Implications from the present study, the study’s limitations, and future research are discussed.