Abstract: This meta-analysis was designed to explore the relationship between social support and subjective well-being, and moderating effects of primary study characteristics on their associations. 86 primary studies were identified with a total sample size of 32948 participants. Results of the meta-analysis showed that the social support rating scale (SSRS), including its three dimensions, correlated significantly with subjective well-being, satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect, with rs ranging from -0.23 to 0.36. These correlations were moderated by type of participants. Among deaf/dumb students and middle school students correlations were highest while associations were lowest in older samples. Other study characteristics including type of publication, year of publication, and well-being scales employed did not have significant moderating effects on the relationship between SSRS and subjective well-being. Several unresolved issues and future research directions are also discussed.

Key words: social support, subjective well-being, social support rating scale, satisfaction with life, positive emotion, negative emotion