Consumers experiencing lower levels of intimate social support are often left to navigate the requirements of life using only the resources available to them. In at least some cases, those resources are insufficient to cope with the demands of life. Supportive services represent one external source of coping resources that an individual might employ to maintain well-being in the absence of intimate social support. In this study we argue that the use of services can be an effective coping resource for people experiencing a lower level of social support. Using data from 600 U.S. adults, we explore the use of services as a mediating role in the relationship between social support and well-being. We find that while the use of supportive services promotes greater well-being, people experiencing lower levels of intimate social support are not more (or less) likely to seek such services. We feel this finding represents opportunities in the design of services and the education of consumers as to the benefits of their use.
