Ninety-four persons employed in direct care positions in a community-based agency that serves adults with mental retardation completed self-report questionnaires assessing relationships between social support and the adaptive outcomes of mood, perceived competence, and self-efficacy. Findings indicated that: (1) negative mood was negatively associated with the extent to which caregivers perceived that fellow employees are involved with their jobs, employees are supportive, and supervisors are supportive of employees; (2) no relationships were observed between support and perceived competence; (3) negative relationships were observed between several indices of support and generalized self-efficacy; (4) no one type of support was more strongly associated with adaptive outcomes than any other type of support; (5) clarity of expectations and task orientation were negatively associated with negative mood; and (6) work pressure was positively associated with negative mood. Results suggest that it may be helpful to consider social support when assessing the work climate of caregivers of persons with mental retardation. (JDD)