Social support has been considered an important coping resource moderating the stress associated with physical illness and disability. The role of social support as a buffering agent for stressful life events inherent in physical illness and disability was examined in 78 individuals with spinal cord injury, residing in community settings in Upstate New York. Subjects were administered the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL); the Critical Life Events Questionnaire; and two adjustment measures, the Beck Depression Inventory and the SCI Adjustment Scale. The ISEL was factor analyzed to provide a support specific measure. Overall, six indices of stress were developed. One index assessed global stress and one assessed stress specific to spinal injuries. The remaining four indices measured support-specific stressors corresponding to the four functions of social support (tangible, appraisal, belonging, self-esteem). A total of 14 combinations of stress indices and social support scales were regressed onto the two adjustment measures, resulting in 28 regression equations. Significant interactions were found for instrumental forms of support (tangible and appraisal) while emotional forms of social support (belonging and self-esteem) were found to have a direct impact on adjustment. Scales including general stressors not specific to disability yielded more stress buffering effects. These results suggest important clinical and theoretical directions for future explorations of the structure and role of social support and its interactive nature with stressful events experienced by individuals with spinal cord injuries who live in the community. (Author/NB)