Aspects Of Social Support Research Articles

Feelings of Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction in Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Birth Order and Perceived Social Support.

Loneliness has been associated with several adverse psychosocial outcomes in childhood and adolescence. The present study aimed to investigate feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction in school-aged typically-developing (TD) siblings of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For this purpose, 118 siblings of children with ASD and 115 siblings of TD children and one of their parents participated in this study. Siblings of ASD-children reported higher levels of loneliness and social dissatisfaction than the controls. The hierarchical multiple regressions performed revealed that those feelings were inversely associated with being the first-born and with specific aspects of social support as perceived by the parent. The younger siblings of ASD-children seem to be in need of certain interventions beyond social support.

Association between aspects of social support and health-related quality of life domains among African American and White breast cancer survivors.

Social support is associated with breast cancer survivors' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). More nuanced information is needed regarding aspects of social support associated with different HRQoL domains among diverse populations. We assessed the association between emotional/informational and tangible support and five HRQoL domains and evaluated race as an effect modifier. African American and White women (n = 545) diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer completed a survey that assessed sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors. We assessed bivariate relationships between emotional/informational and tangible support along with overall HRQoL and each HRQoL domain.We tested interactions between race and emotional/informational and tangible social support using linear regression. The sample included African American (29%) and White (71%) breast cancer survivors. Emotional/informational social support had a statistically significant positive association with emotional well-being (β = .08, p = 0.005), social well-being (β = 0.36, p < 0.001), functional well-being (β = .22, p < .001), breast cancer concerns (β = .16, p = 0.002), and overall HRQoL (β = .83, p < .001). Similarly, tangible social support had a statistically significant positive association with emotional well-being (β = .14, p = 0.004), social well-being (β = .51, p < .001), functional well-being (β = .39, p < .001), and overall HRQoL (β = 1.27, p < .001). The interactions between race and social support were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Results underscore the importance of the different social support types among breast cancer survivors, regardless of survivors' race. Population-based interventions can be standardized and disseminated to provide guidance on how to increase emotional/information and tangible support for all breast cancer survivors by caregivers, health providers, and communities.

Comparison of mobile health education messages verses face-to-face consultation for weight reduction among overweight female adolescents in Thailand.

Background: Obesity is considered a significant public health problem in Thailand. This study was conducted to compare the impact of mobile health education messages verses face-to-face consultation on weight reduction among overweight female university students. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study comprised three groups: a control group, a group receiving mobile health education, and a group receiving face-to-face consultation. Each group contained 26 participants taking part over a period of 12 weeks, with a 12-week follow-up thereafter. The data analysis used two-way repeated measures ANOVA with least significant difference testing. The study was ethically approved at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Results: The results revealed that the group receiving mobile health education had the lowest average body mass index and waist-hip ratio after intervention ( p < 0.05). In addition, both intervention groups significantly improved their health belief, social support, and health behavior scores in comparison to the control group ( p < 0.001). The results show that the average scores for social support for eating and exercise at baseline were significantly lower than at post-intervention or follow-up ( p < 0.001). In addition, the results of both aspects of social support showed that the average social support score at post-intervention was significantly higher than at follow-up. Furthermore, the health behavior score measured post-intervention was higher than at follow-up. There was a statistically significant difference in average metabolism during physical activity ( p < 0.001) but no statistical difference in average eating behavior score. Conclusion: The study found that the use of mobile health education to deliver health programs facilitates communication between the healthcare provider and individual, and can empower adolescent females in their pursuit of weight loss by improving their attitudes and knowledge, leading to better health behavior.

Strength of social ties and perceived tangible support: distinct characteristics and gender differences of older adults’ social circles

ABSTRACT Social connections have been found to promote wellbeing among older adults. Studies note gender differences in older adults’ social network characteristics and aspects of social support. The present study examined gender differences in the association of social network characteristics (number of strong social ties) and perceived tangible support among a sample of elders (n = 278). Older men reported higher levels of perceived tangible support, while older women had more strong social ties. The number of strong social ties was associated with older women’s, but not men’s, increased sense of tangible support. Implications for cultivating elders’ wellbeing respective of gender particularities are discussed.

Joy of distance learning? How student self-efficacy and emotions relate to social support and school environment

The school closures due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic have posed an enormous challenge for all entities that take part in our children’s education. By displacing learning from schools to home environments, the crisis poses a risk of emotional and motivational problems. Based on research regarding the role of peers, learning in groups, school belonging, and educational equity, we explored students’ emotional and motivational processes in relation to different aspects of social support and the school environment. In the present study, 279 students from 20 classes of two secondary schools completed a questionnaire on their contextual situations in distance learning, the organization and amount of their learning, and the resulting emotions and motivations. Results show that students’ perceived joy during the crisis was relatively low, while perceived anxiety was relatively high. Regression analyses showed relations of general enjoyment and joy of learning in the crisis to self-efficacy belief, which was in turn influenced by environmental predictors such as support from family and school as well as the student–teacher relationship. Thus, school authorities and teachers can effectively contribute to students’ mastering of the crisis by establishing a transparent information policy, well-structured learning routines, and virtual lessons.

Social support for combat veterans: research results and recommendations for the organization of social rehabilitation

Social support for combat veterans is denoted by the term "social support measures", consequently, it is understood primarily as providing this category with benefits (federal, regional, municipal). Other functional aspects of social support in organizing social rehabilitation of combat veterans, such as meeting social needs, for instance, for information, closeness, protection, reassurance, etc., are not studied enough. This paper presents the results obtained in the study of the level of social support for combat veterans using the "Multidimensional scale of social support perception" methodology.

Social closeness and support are associated with lower risk of suicide among U.S. Army soldiers.

We tested the aspects of social support, unit cohesion, and religiosity hypothesized to be protective factors for suicide among U.S. service members. This case-control study compared U.S. Army soldiers who died by suicide while on active duty (n=135) to controls of two types: those propensity score-matched on known sociodemographic risk factors (n=128); and those controls who had thought about, but not died by, suicide in the past year (n=108). Data included structured interviews of next of kin (NOK) and Army supervisors (SUP) for each case and control soldier. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine predictors of suicide. Perceived social closeness and seeking help from others were associated with decreased odds of suicide, as reported by SUP (OR=0.2 [95% CI=0.1, 0.5]) and NOK (OR=0.4 [95% CI=0.2, 0.8]). Novel reports by SUP informants of high levels of unit cohesion/morale decreased odds of suicide (OR=0.1 [95% CI=0.0, 0.2]). Contrary to study hypotheses, no religious affiliation was associated with lower odds of suicide (OR=0.3 [95% CI=0.2, 0.6]). Perceived social closeness and unit/group cohesion are associated with lower odds of suicide. These results point toward social intervention strategies as testable components of suicide prevention programs.

The Impact of Preoperative Distress: A Qualitative analysis of the Perioperative Pain Self-Management Intervention

PurposePreoperatively distressed patients are at elevated risk for chronic postsurgical pain. Active psychological interventions show promise for mitigating chronic postsurgical pain. This study describes experiences of preoperatively distressed (elevated depressive symptom, anxious symptoms, or pain catastrophizing) and non-distressed participants who participated in the psychologically based Perioperative Pain Self-management (PePS) intervention. DesignThis is a qualitative study designed to capture participants’ perspectives and feedback about their experiences during the PePS intervention. MethodsInterviews were semi-structured, conducted by telephone, audio-recorded, transcribed, and audited for accuracy. Coded interviews were analyzed using a quote matrix to discern possible qualitative differences in what preoperatively distressed and non-distressed participants found most and least helpful about the intervention. ResultsTwenty-one participants completed interviews, 7 of whom were classified as distressed. Distressed participants identified learning how to reframe their pain as the most helpful part of the intervention. Non-distressed participants focused on the benefit of relaxation skill-building to manage post-surgical pain. Distressed and non-distressed participants both emphasized the importance of the social support aspects of PePS and- identified goal-setting as challenging. ConclusionsDistressed and non-distressed participants emphasized different preferences for pain management strategies offered by PePS. Most participants emphasized the importance of social support that PePS provided. Clinical ImplicationsOur results indicate that post-operative patients may benefit from interpersonal interaction with a trained interventionist. Our findings also suggest that distressed and non-distressed patients may benefit from varied intervention approaches. How to build flexibility into a manualized intervention or whether these subsets of patients would benefit more from different interventions is a direction for future research.

COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions Affecting Older Adults’ Social Interactions and Communication

ObjectivesDue to increased risk of social isolation caused by COVID-19, this study was conducted to understand changes in health behaviors among older adults, particularly concerning means of social interaction.MethodsCommunity dwelling adults ages 60 and older completed qualitative individual interviews via Zoom and a 24 item online survey, the Questionnaire for Assessing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Older Adults. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis and descriptive statistics.ResultsA total of 23 participants completed interviews and 25 completed online surveys. Participants were mainly female (72%), white (96%), with a mean age of 71.96 years. Nineteen (76%) participants were very concerned by the pandemic, and only one participant was not at all concerned. Participants frequently reported more interactions with their immediate family. Only five (20%) reported communicating withclose friends and family less often than before the pandemic began. Seven (28%) reported communicating with friends and family more often than before and about half (52%) reported that their frequency of communication was “about the same” as pre-pandemic. Twenty-one (84%) participants communicated with others daily or at least several times per week. However, participants reported less face-to-face interaction and increased use of technology, such as virtual happy hours. All participants stayed in touch with others by phone calls (100%). Other often used means of communication were texting (92%), video calls (68%), email (68%), social media (52%), and postal mail (48%). Participants also reported some social gatherings with individuals bringing their own food and social distancing maintained. Despite this, 16 participants (64%) reported feeling isolated from others sometimes or often.ConclusionsAlthough many older adults have adjusted their usual behaviors to stay in contact with others during the pandemic, this study found that most still felt isolated. Long-term feelings of isolation and lack of social support may compromise nutrition for this population. Therefore, it is crucial that nutrition professionals incorporate aspects of social support when working with these individuals.Funding SourcesJulie O'Sullivan Maillet Research Grant Award funded by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation (ANDF).

The Role of Race in Relations of Social Support to Hippocampal Volumes Among Older Adults.

Evidence suggests social support may buffer brain pathology. However, neither its association with hippocampal volume, a marker of Alzheimer's disease risk, nor the role of race in this association has been fully investigated. Multiple regression analyses examined relations of total social support to magnetic resonance imaging-assessed gray matter (GM) hippocampal volumes in the total sample (n = 165; mean age = 68.48 year), and in race-stratified models of African American and White older adults, adjusting for select covariates. Results showed greater social support was associated with greater GM hippocampal volumes among African American older adults only (p < .01). Our findings suggest greater total social support may play a role in supporting the hippocampus, particularly among African American older adults, who had lower hippocampal volumes than their White counterparts. Further research is needed to test these questions longitudinally and examine which aspects of social support may promote hippocampal integrity, specifically.

The Value of Companion Dogs as a Source of Social Support for Their Owners: Findings From a Pre-pandemic Representative Sample and a Convenience Sample Obtained During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain.

Dogs are a source of companionship and comfort for their owners, but the degree to which this might translate into real emotional and social support has not been quantified. Emotional and social support are essential to help people to get through personal crises such as bereavement. In this study we characterize the social support owners obtain from their dogs, provide evidence of how widespread this social support is amongst dog-owners, and show how social support from dogs can increase during a crisis (using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example). We collected data from a representative population-based sample of Spanish dog-owners and found that most respondents said that their dogs helped them to get through tough times. They got comfort from physical contact with their dogs, shared activities with them and treated them as confidants in a similar way to friends and family. These are all key aspects of social support, and dogs offer the advantage of being more available than human sources of support. It would be expected that the support that dogs provide would be increased during a time of personal crisis and when we looked at data collected from a convenience sample of Spanish dog-owners during the COVID-19 confinement that is what we found; during the confinement owners engaged in more shared activities with their dogs, hugged them more often and turned to them more as a source of companionship and comfort (p < 0.0001 in all cases). However, although owners did confide more in their dogs (p < 0.0001), the effect was not as great as for other aspects of social support. We suspect that this is because people were able to use telecommunications such as video conferencing to maintain their human confidant relationships. Our findings indicate that dogs can substitute for humans as sources of some kinds of social support when conventional sources are unavailable. Our conclusion is that where a dog is present in a household, it should be regarded as an important resource for social support. This should be considered when designing clinical interventions and when public health decisions are being made.

A psychodiagnostic tool for the structural assessment of the social network in patients with schizophrenia: validity and psychometric properties

The aim of the study was to develop a new valid psychometric diagnostic tool for a multi-factor social network assessment of schizophrenic patients, called «The structural assessment of the social network of schizophrenic patients». The new development is based on the social network analysis model elaborated by S. L. Phillips (1981) and translated into Russian by Gurovich I. Ya. et al. (2007). The authors of this article additionally developed an algorithm for assessing the activity of patients on social networks of the Internet. Reducing non-informative variables and conducting a confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 265 observations of schizophrenic patients (F20.0) aged from 18 to 55, recruited in four medical organizations (145 patients admitted to the hospital and 55 outpatients), resulted in determining a four-factor structure of the patients’ social network: «Objective parameters», «Internet activity», «Emotional aspect of social support» and«Reciprocal support». The method has demonstrated high internal and external validity, as well as applicability in the clinical practice in schizophrenia due to the low resource consumption and compact applicability. Measurable factor indicators of the patients’ social networks obtained by using the structural assessment of the social network of schizophrenic patients allow to determine the targets for psychocorrectional interventions and to increase the effectiveness of psychosocial rehabilitation. In addition an automated method for calculating final indicators has been developed, as well as manual, practical recommendations and corresponding printed forms.

The relationship between social support and life expectancy in cancer patients during chemotherapy;an original study

Introduction: Developing patients’ tolerance in receiving treatment and enhancing their life expectancy has been increasingly recognized as the important end-points in cancer disease. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed at exploring the relationship between received social support and its correlation with life expectancy in cancer patients during chemotherapy. Patients and Methods: Around 210 cancer patients were selected through simple sampling procedure from the clinics of Isfahan medical science University, Iran. Sherbourne and Stewart questionnaire and Miller questionnaire were used to assess social support and life expectancy, respectively. The collected data were analyzed by independent t test and linear regression. Results: We found a significant positive correlation between total social support score and life expectancy scores. Additionally, a significant positive correlation between different aspects of social support — tangible support, emotional support and kindness—with positive social interaction and life expectancy was detected. Conclusion: Our results highlights that social support may develop life expectancy in cancer patients depending on the extent of disease; however, extensive and longitudinal studies on social support and life expectancy in cancer patients should be performed.

"I Had to Make Them Feel at Ease": Narrative Accounts of How Women With Breast Cancer Navigate Social Support.

Social scientific studies of social support predominantly focus on the positive associations between social support and emotional well-being. The negative aspects of social support have received much less attention. We conducted semi-structured interviews of women with breast cancer (n = 47) to examine the emotional strain associated with social support and how recipients navigate it in ways that protect themselves and their relationships. Based on our analysis of narratives of women's lived experiences of breast cancer, we found that social support can be perceived negatively and associated with experiences of emotional strain. Interviewees engaged in strategies of avoidance, information control, and cognitive reframing to minimize emotional strain. We applied the concept of emotion work to understand the complexity of emotional strain in this context. The findings highlight the difficulties of social support from a recipient's perspective and emphasize the importance of perception and agency in navigating this experience.

Social support, social network size, and suicidal ideation: A nine-year longitudinal analysis from the Mind Your Heart Study

Substantial research has investigated the impact of social support on the development and course of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, its measurement has been inconsistent, and different facets of social support may have differential effects on suicidal ideation (SI). The present study used data from 743 veterans recruited between 2008 and 2010 as part of the Mind Your Heart Study to investigate the relationship between two aspects of social support (social network size and perceived social support) and SI over 9 years. Using the 9th item of the PHQ-9, we created two composite scores: (1, chronicity) the proportion of years the participant endorsed SI and (2, severity) the severity of SI across the follow-up period. We found that, when modeled individually, both larger social network size and greater perceived social support predicted lower SI chronicity (β=-.16, β = -0.19 respectively; ps < .001) and lower SI severity (β=-0.15 and β = -0.19, respectively; ps < .001). However, when modeled together and controlling for PTSD and depression symptoms, increased social network size but not perceived social support predicted lower SI chronicity (β=-0.09, p = .01 and β = 0.02, p = .48, respectively) and SI severity (β=-0.07, p = .045 and β = 0.01, p = .71, respectively). These findings suggest that social network size may be an important target for intervention, and that future work is needed to better delineate the effect of different features of social support on risk for suicide.

Of Social Support on Self-Regulated Learning in Sarmag program Students

Social support is the existence of interpersonal interactions that are shown by providing assistance to other individuals, where the assistance is generally obtained from people who are meaningful to the individual concerned. In addition, social support also affects self-regulated learning which involves peer support, family support, facility support, information support and emotional support. Aspects of social support that affect self-regulated learning are emotional support, reward support, instrumental support, information support and social network support. The characteristics possessed by self-regulated learning are individuals who have the ability to be active in regulating their learning activities in various ways. The environment around the individual such as the family environment, community environment, academic environment, and group environment have an influence on individual success in learning. This study aims to see the effect of social support on self-regulated learning in Sarmag program students with a total of 121 students as respondents. The sampling method used an accidental sampling technique, while the data collection technique used a questionnaire. Hypothesis testing using simple regression analysis, which shows that there is a very significant effect of social support on self-regulated learning in Sarmag program students with an F value of 30.323 with a significance value of 0.000 (P &lt; 0.05) and an R square value of 0.203 which indicates The effect of self-regulated learning which is very significant on social support is 20.3% with the remaining 79.7% influenced by other factors, namely self-efficacy, motivation, Intelligence Quotient.

Caregiving intensity and caregiver burden among caregivers of people with dementia: The moderating roles of social support

Using the Pearlin stress process model, the present study aimed to test if there was an association between caregiving intensity and caregiver burden, to analyze what type of association existed, and to test if different indicators of social support moderated such association among caregivers of people with dementia. Data from the baseline assessment of the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH II) (N = 637) were used. Caregiver burden (12-item Zarit caregiver burden scale), caregiving intensity (caregiving hours), and social support (Lubben social network, received support, satisfaction with support, and negative interactions) were the main measurements. Separate multivariate regression models were conducted with Stata 16. The results showed that the relationship between caregiving hours and caregiver burden was a nonlinear inversed U shape after controlling all of the socio-demographic variables. Further analyses showed that when caregiving hours reached 14 hours per day, the levels of burden were the highest. In addition, received support, satisfaction with support, and social network significantly buffered the relationship between caregiving hours and caregiver burden when they were examined separately. However, only social network played a significant buffering role when examining the four social support indicators simultaneously. These findings suggest the need for programs and practices that emphasize the importance of identifying, gaining, and strengthening positive aspect of social support, especially in how to broaden a caregiver's social network while caring for a family member with dementia.

Reentering the Community after Prison: Perspectives on the Role and Importance of Social Support

Individuals reentering the community after prison can face a host of complex challenges. Social support appears to be an important factor in helping recently released men and women by promoting adjustment and success in multiple areas of life. However, social support during the reentry is not well understood in terms of what types of support help individuals, who can best provide this support, how certain aspects of social support might be harmful, and pathways through which support helps individuals. This qualitative study explores four common types of social support that have been identified in the research literature: emotional, instrumental, informational, and companionship. In-depth interviews with 26 adults recently released from prison found variation in the type of support received, the source of the support (primary or secondary groups), and whether the support was primarily positive, negative or harmful, or absent. Exploratory findings surfaced around seven potential pathways through which social support might help individuals who are reentering the community. Suggestions are made for the future work of practitioners and researchers during the reentry period.

The Relationship between Social Support and Depression in University students: The Meaning in Life as Mediation

This study aims to explore the relationship between social support, meaning in life and depression, and further explore the mediating role of meaning in life between social support and depression. This survey of 287 university students were investigated with the short version of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-13), the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), and the Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ). The results showed that: (1)The junior is the most serious period of depressive symptoms(11.33±7.019), and also an important turning point; (2) Non-only-child (10.23±6.713) were significantly higher than the only-child (9.02±6.230) about depressive symptoms (p=0.0368); (3)The depression were significantly negatively correlated with social support (r=-0.35, p&lt;0.01) and the meaning in life(r=0.39, p&lt;0.01), but there was a significant negative correlation between the meaning in life and social support (r=0.28, p&lt;0.01); (4) The meaning in life plays a partial mediating role between social supports and depressive symptoms in university students. This research provides theoretical evidence for the prevention and intervention of university students’ depression from two aspects of social support and meaning in life.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON TREATMENT ADHERENCE IN TB PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Background: Adherence to treatment regimens in TB patients was carried out by using a pharmacological and non-pharmacological approach or paying attention to the social aspects of the patient.Objective: This review is to analyze and identify the literature related to the social support approach to treatment adherence in TB patients.Design: The systematic design of this review is to find and review journal articles from the database using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA).Data Sources: This systematic review is based on literature studies from various journal data bases in the last 5 years, including Scopus, ScienceDirect, ProQuest and Google Scholar by conducting a comprehensive review. The keywords in this Systematic review are adjusted to the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) and use a combination of Boolean operators (AND and OR), namely "Social Support" OR "Family Support" OR "Peer Group Support" OR "Nurse Support" AND "adherence OR Compliance" AND "Tuberculosis" OR "pulmonary TB”.Review Methods: The review method on this systematic review uses the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Evaluation) guidelines and the assessment of the quality of the study in the article uses the JBI critical appraisal tools.Results: In this literature ten articles fit the inclusion and exclusion criteria and relate to the topic. It was found that social support which includes family support, peer support and support from health workers is one of the driving factors for treatment adherence in TB patients.Conclusion: Aspects of social support which include family support, peer group support and support from health workers have an important role and become a driving factor for TB patients to adhere to the treatment regimen. For further research, the development of interventions to improve adherence to TB patients needs to consider these social aspects. Keywords: Medication Adherence, Social Support, Tuberculosis.