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Intimate partners are a primary source of support in adulthood (Cutrona, 1996). When individuals have positive, supportive close relationships they are able to cope more effectively with life’s challenges, and thus have improved psychological and physical wellbeing, and relationship satisfaction, closeness and security (see Feeney & Collins, 2015; Uchino, Cacioppo, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1996). Yet, it is not always easy for people to support intimate partners, especially when they have their own needs and difficulties to contend with (Coyne & DeLongis, 1986; Coyne, Ellard, & Smith, 1990). Despite a vast literature on social support, very little is known about the characteristics of individuals (i.e., support providers) that restrict (or enhance) the support they can provide to partners (i.e., support recipients) in times of need. Moreover, even less research has identified the underlying factors that account for why these support-impeding characteristics create specific responses to partners’ support needs and in turn undermine support provision within relationships. This thesis addresses these important gaps in understanding by presenting three articles examining the distinct support provision processes associated with attachment anxiety, self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Each article tests whether the specific needs and difficulties closely tied to greater attachment anxiety, lower self-esteem, and elevated depressive symptoms account for why these dispositional characteristics are associated with providing lower support to intimate partners. Chapter Two presents two dyadic behavioural observation studies investigating whether chronic concerns about …