The term "contagion effect" has recently been introduced in the social support literature to describe a range of dysfunctional outcomes which can occur for providers in their efforts to support troubled individuals (Albrecht & Adelman, 1984). The purpose of this dissertation was to extend conceptual and empirical foundation for the study of the "contagion effect"--the provider's stress resulting from the intensity and amount of social support demanded by the recipient network. It was proposed that supporting co-workers, who are coping with work stress, can result in contagion (social stress) for the provider.

A communication network perspective and multiple research methods were used for investigating the relationship between support networks and contagion, and for understanding the contextual constraints which influence the provider's stress within the organizational setting. Drawing upon social impact theory, several internal network properties (i.e. multiplexity, connectivity, reciprocity) and external network properties (i.e. size, frequency and perceived helpfulness of outside support system); and level of organizational stress were hypothesized to be related to contagion outcomes.

Data collection included intensive interviews (n = 18), on-site observations, and survey collection at two points in time (n = 82; n = 68). Respondents were nurses from a large, private hospital in the Seattle urban area.

Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression techniques. The results of the analysis confirmed the positive relationship between stress and contagion (p < .001), yet failed to confirm hypotheses related to internal and external network features.

Qualitative analysis revealed several issues pertinent to the contagion effect among nurses, including the absence of positive feedback about their work, negative perceptions of their professional status, tension between nursing skills and expectations, and problems associated with obtaining spousal support.