Social Companionship Research Articles

Social support for cancer patients and alcohol and tobacco use: an integrative review

Objective: to assess the knowledge about social support and mental health of people diagnosed with cancer, smokers, and alcohol users, and the implications of these behaviors for cancer treatment. Methods: integrative review using the following databases: CINAHL, Embase, LILACS, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, without restriction of period and language. The data was analyzed descriptively. Results: 3,010 documents were identified, 14 studies were eligible. The different types of social support received by people with cancer and a history of alcohol and tobacco use stand out: emotional (n=5), informational (n=4), family and material (n=2 each), religious, sexual-affective partner, tangible, affective, positive social interaction, instrumental and social companionship (n=1 each). Conclusion: targeted social support that is sensitive to the particularities of the history of substance use can significantly improve the way people cope with the disease and treatment. Contributions to practice: providing integrated social support for this population is essential for thinking about quality of life throughout treatment and recovery.

Exploring the Moderating Role of Perceived Supervisor support in the Effect of Employees’ Workplace Loneliness on Intention to Quit From the SDGS Perspective

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating role of perceived supervisor support in the effect of workplace loneliness on intention to quit. Theoretical Framework: The underpinning theories of this study is organizational support theory (OST) and social exchange theory (SET). This study focuses on decent work and economic growth goal, one of the Social Development Goals (SDGs), as it contains examining if the different work conditions due to the COVID 19 pandemic may cause different attitudes and behaviors. Method: This study employs a survey technique, one of the quantitative research methods, on 200 employees working for a cruise tourism company. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS statistical programs. Results and Discussion: As a result of the findings, it was found that emotional deprivation has no effect on employees’ intention to quit while the lack of social companionship has positive and significant effect on intention to quit. In addition, it was determined that perceived supervisor support has a moderating effect on the association between emotional deprivation and intention to quit whereas no moderating role of perceived supervisor support on the relationship between lack of social companionship and intention to quit was found. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by testing the theories of OST and SET in terms of diferent sectoral characteristics in the business world. Questioning the theories of organizational support and social exchange widens the scope of related literature. While enriching the existing literature by conducting such a research, a new explanation has been provided for the associations between variables.

Social support resources in adolescents and young adults with advanced cancer: a qualitative analysis

PurposeAdolescents and Young Adults (AYAs) with cancer are an at-risk group with unique palliative and supportive care needs. Social support in AYAs with cancer is associated with better coping, quality of life, and psychosocial well-being. Here, we extend existing research to examine the sources and types of support received by AYAs with advanced cancer.MethodsAYAs participated in a semi-structured, 1:1 interview on communication and psychosocial support needs. The present analysis focused on social support experiences for AYAs with advanced cancer. Directed content analysis was used to develop the codebook. Established social support constructs provided a coding framework. We presented our qualitative findings as a code frequency report with quantified frequency counts of all “source of support” and “type of support” codes. We assigned a global “sufficiency of support code” to each AYA.ResultsWe interviewed 32 AYAs with advanced cancer (Mage = 18, SDage = 3.2, 41% female). Most AYAs identified family (namely, caregivers) as their primary source of support and stated that family universally provided all types of support: emotional, informational, instrumental, and social companionship. They received informational and emotional support from clinicians, and received emotional support and social companionship from healthy peers, cancer peers, and their existing community. One-third of participants were coded as having “mixed support” and described a lack of support in some domains.ConclusionAYAs with advanced cancer described caregivers as their universal source of support, and that other support sources provided support for specific needs. Future research should continue to evaluate social support needs and family-based palliative and supportive care interventions to bolster social support resources in this high-risk group.

Evaluation of combining daytime structure, lifestyle-monitoring and social companionship in socially assistive robots for gerontechnology

Evaluation of combining daytime structure, lifestyle-monitoring and social companionship in socially assistive robots for gerontechnology

Development and validation of the relational behavior interactions scale for couples

In this research, we developed and validated a measure of couple-based reported behavior interactions (RBI). Specifically, Study 1 was designed to describe the development of the scale and to examine its reliability; Study 2 (N = 222), was designed to examine factors that could differentiate men and women. Additionally, we tested if women's behaviors could predict their partner's behavior. Results from the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a three-factor structure for couples' RBI which were labelled: Social Companionship and Affective Behavior Interactions (SAI) (Factor 1), Fulfilling Obligations and Duties of the Partner (FOD) (Factor 2) and Openness in the Relationship (OR) (Factor 3). In linear regression analyses, there was a significant difference between men and women in the second factor, which represents behaviors associated with fulfilling the responsibilities of a partner. On the other hand, neither the SAI factor nor the OR factor showed any distinct gender differences. The SPSS PROCESS analysis revealed that women's Social Companionship and Affective Behavior Interactions (Factor 1), and Openness in the Relationship (Factor 3) significantly predicted their male partner's behaviors. The relationship duration significantly moderated the association between women's and men's behaviors for both factors. Results are discussed in light of the need for a broader understanding of romantic behavioral interactions.

‘Taking Pictures is Like Treasure Hunting’: Exploring the Therapeutic Value of Photography as a Qualitative Research Method

Photography has been increasingly used in qualitative research. However, little is known about the benefits of photography-based research from the perspective of the research participants. This article aims to investigate the views of a group of fifteen mental health service users on the therapeutic benefits and limitations of photography as a research method. For this purpose, visual and textual data from four weekly photography workshops, photo-elicitation interviews, and a reflection and feedback group were thematically analysed. Four overarching themes were identified in support of the therapeutic value of photography: (1) forging social companionship and camaraderie, (2) intra-personal reflection and self-awareness, (3) connection with nature, and (4) photography as an occupation. Therapeutic limitations and challenges of photography as a research method are also discussed. The findings of this study may be applicable beyond the area of mental health and contribute to enhancing the ethical principle of beneficence in research by creating opportunities for personal growth and wellbeing for research participants involved in photography-based studies.

Development and Validation of the Workplace Affective Events Survey.

Background Work, a central aspect of human life, serves vital economic and social functions. There is a burgeoning interest in positive emotions in the workplace, which can enhance creativity, foster social connections, and improve problem-solving abilities. These emotions are pivotal in key organizational outcomes, including employee performance and health. Despite the extensive examination of factors like job satisfaction and workplace stressors, a knowledge gap exists regarding the everyday workplace events that influence emotions and their contribution to overall workplace emotional health.The present study introduces the Workplace Affective Events Survey (WAES), a new tool that can facilitate the advancement of research in this field. Purpose This study aimed to develop a tool to assess daily workplace events that lead to positive or negative emotional responses and the intensities of such responses. The study also examined the relationship between theseevents and the associated affect-intensities with trait affect, and social companionship at work for convergent validation. Methodology The tool development entailed a multi-phase approach which encompassed item generation, content validation, pre-pilot trials, and pilot testing of the WAES. Participants were entry and mid-level service sector employees aged 25-55 years. Themes generated using focus group discussions and one-to-one interviews were mapped against a known taxonomy of workplace affective events. Expert validation and pre-pilot trials helped inrefining the final items. The main phase engaged 300 individuals from nine service industries across 29 organizations in an urban metropolitan city in India. WAES was administered alongside standardized measures of trait-affect and workplace social companionship. Results WAES subscales demonstrated acceptable reliability. Participants reported positive daily affective events more often than negative ones, with the average intensity of positive emotions surpassing that of negative emotions. Notably, trait affect scores and social companionship exhibited significant correlations with daily affectiveevents and their intensity. Conclusions The WAES offers a novel tool to investigate daily emotional experiences in the workplace. The data suggest that a within-person disposition such as trait-affect might play a lesser role in generating positive affective events than contextual factors.These findings underscore the value of creating work environments that consistently nurture positive emotional experiences.

Becoming a mother: A role learning perspective on the use of online community resources to facilitate a life-role transition

Transitioning into motherhood can be stressful and resource-intensive, filled with numerous concerns and uncertainties during pregnancy, such as biological changes and unforeseen outcomes. Expectant mothers, those lacking prior motherhood experience, frequently seek solace within online communities, utilizing them as sources of social support to navigate the complexities of the first-time motherhood experience and to facilitate the exploration of their life-role transition. Drawing on role theory, conservation of resources theory, social support research, and socialization literature, this study explores how online communities can provide social resources for expectant mothers to facilitate their role learning, and examines the antecedents and outcomes of role learning. Based on a two-wave survey of 185 expectant mothers (pregnant with their first child), the results show that online community resources (i.e., informational support, emotional support, and social companionship) positively impact role learning (conceptualized as a higher-order factor, including role meaning, role competence, and role internalization), and role learning significantly enhances their subjective well-being. Moreover, role learning fully mediates the links between each type of social support and subjective well-being. A better understanding of the social support mechanisms involved in role learning may empower healthcare providers to leverage the capabilities of social media, thereby offering effective guidance to pregnant women confronting uncertainties in their transition to new life-roles.

Design and Development of a Technological Platform Based on a Sensorized Social Robot for Supporting Older Adults and Caregivers: GUARDIAN Ecosystem

AbstractIn this paper, a new ecosystem to support older adults and their caregivers in an indoor living environment is proposed. The GUARDIAN ecosystem is designed to address the different needs of end users in different countries. The ecosystem consists of a socially assistive robot (SAR), including sensors, and two mobile applications (one for caregivers and one for the older user). Starting from a user-centred and value-sensitive co-design approach, three key user requirements have been identified: monitoring, reminding, and social companionship. User requirements were translated into technical requirements to develop a flexible system architecture. Usability tests were performed to verify the satisfaction level about the GUARDIAN concept. User tests were carried out in three different countries involving 13 older adults, 14 informal carers and 15 formal carers showing that the proposed ecosystem satisfies the user requirements. These results confirm the feasibility of the application of the GUARDIAN ecosystem in living indoor environments.

Evaluating the role of social media in providing support for family caregivers of individuals with spinal cord injury.

Quantitative study. The study aimed to explore Family Caregivers of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (FC-SCI) social media use patterns, most frequently used platforms, importance of social media for receiving and providing support, and type of social support (i.e., social companionship, emotional support, informational support) that FC-SCI receive or provide online. FC-SCI participants from Canada and USA. FC-SCI responded to measures regarding the social media platforms they use to access support, the importance of each platform, and the types of online social support they access through social media. Sample consisted of 115 FC-SCI. Most caregivers were a partner or spouse of the individual with SCI (n = 110) and female (n = 111). Majority of FC-SCI spent 1-3 h daily on social media (n = 74), and Facebook was used predominantly (n = 108), followed by Instagram (n = 92), and YouTube (n = 66). For receiving or providing support, Facebook was ranked most important (60%), followed by Instagram (26%) and YouTube (17%). The mean differences and standard deviation were found for the types of social support: emotional support (25.93 ± 7.60), social companionship (23.85 ± 7.46), and informational support (27.24 ± 7.50). Using social media for informational support is desired by FC-SCI as it is easily accessible, and time-efficient. The prevalent use of social media for support by FC-SCI demonstrates that social media is a valued platform for support. The support benefits for the mental and physical health of caregivers should be further evaluated.

Social companionship with artificial intelligence: Recent trends and future avenues

The social companionship (SC) feature in conversational agents (CAs) enables the emotional bond and consumer relationships. The heightened interest in SC with CAs led to exponential growth in publications scattered across disciplines with fragmented findings, thus limiting holistic understanding of the domain and warrants a macroscopic view of the domain to guide future research directions. The present study fills the research void by offering a comprehensive literature review entailing science performance and intellectual structure mapping. The comprehensive review revealed the research domain's major theories, constructs, and thematic structure. Thematic and content analysis of intellectual structure resulted in a conceptual framework encompassing antecedents, mediators, moderators, and consequences of SC with CAs. The study discusses future research directions guiding practitioners and academicians in designing efficient and ethical AI companions.

From Screens to Projector, Wall, and TVs: Conceptualizing Livestreams as Design Material for Direct and Indirect Viewership Experiences

Livestreams are now ubiquitous-moving beyond web and mobile-based platforms into products such as fitness machines and smart home assistants. As such, viewership practices have also become varied and diverse: livestreams are used for interactive entertainment, social companionship, and multi-perspective spectatorship for music festivals and sporting events. At the premier in-person gaming livestream event, Games Done Quick (GDQ), attendees engage in a variety of different viewership practices across different event spaces where the livestream is projected on large stage screens, onto walls as peripheral displays, and routed to televisions in hotel venue rooms. This study takes GDQ as an information-rich fieldsite to examine how livestream viewership shifts, changes, and interleaves across physical spaces to provide an expanded livestream experience. From 11 semi-structured interviews with GDQ attendees and participant observations at three GDQ events, we found diverse practices of both direct and indirect viewership: the livestream is viewed in collocation with an audience and stage, but is also used to establish viewership continuity across disjoint spaces, tangentially to shop for interesting moments, as a timekeeping device, and even as a means of auditory obfuscation. To unpack these forms of viewership, we conceptualize livestreams as design material and identify its two key qualities of focality and metacontent. We illustrate how examining livestreams' focality and metacontent qualities allow us to understand the relationship between different livestream configurations and different viewership behaviors, as well as chart out new under-explored design directions for livestreaming that blend physical and digital spaces.

How do people respond to computer-generated versus human faces? A systematic review and meta-analyses

Computer-generated (CG) beings are rapidly infiltrating the human social world. Yet evidence about how humans respond to CG faces is mixed. The present systematic review and meta-analyses aimed to synthesise empirical evidence from studies comparing people's responses to CG and human faces, across key face processing domains of interest to psychology, neuroscience, and computer science. We tested whether effects were moderated by the perceived realism of CG relative to human faces, and whether CG and human faces showed the same identity or not. We hypothesised that people would be able to tell CG and human faces apart, and that other types of responses would favour human over CG faces. While results supported our hypotheses across several domains (perceptions of human-likeness, face memory, first impressions, emotion labelling), some responses did not differ for CG and human faces (quality of interactions, emotion ratings, facial mimicry, looking behaviour). We also found a reduced inversion effect for CG relative to human faces, though only minimal data were available for hallmark face effects (ORE, N170 and FFA responses). Overall, findings highlight potential strengths and challenges of using CG faces across a range of applications, including e-health, social companionship, video-gaming, and scientific work.

Workplace loneliness mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and job performance: Differing by extraversion.

This study investigated the mediating role of workplace loneliness relating perceived organizational support to job performance, as well as the moderating role of extraversion in such relationship. 332 full-time Chinese employees from various enterprises voluntarily participated in the two-wave surveys via either paper-and-pencil or online survey conducted at Credamo and Tencent Questionnaire website. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping analyses were employed to examine the hypotheses. Results indicated that workplace loneliness partially mediates the linkage between perceived organizational support and job performance; extraversion serves as a moderator in the relationship between workplace loneliness and job performance, as well as the mediating role of workplace loneliness linking perceived organizational support to job performance, such that the relationship is stronger when extraversion is high. Supplementary analyses revealed that social companionship, but not emotional deprivation, serves as a mediator in the relationship between perceived organizational support and job performance; extraversion enhanced the direct influence of social companionship on job performance, as well as the indirect influence of perceived organizational support on job performance via social companionship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

“I’ve never experienced this before, I don’t know what I need”– a qualitative study on social support and self-care during the first year after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

Purpose To describe perceived support, support needs and self-care among individuals during the first year after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Material and methods The study had a qualitative descriptive design with a deductive approach using the concepts of social support and self-care. The informants (n = 16) had been treated for aSAH at a university hospital in Sweden and were interviewed one year after the event. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and a manifest directed content analysis was performed. Results The findings revealed great variation in the narratives, both regarding the support received and the support desired, as well as the described self-care abilities. All codes were covered by the predefined categories and subcategories: social support (including esteem/emotional support, informational support, social companionship, instrumental support) and self-care (including self-management, self-monitoring, symptom management, self-efficacy). Conclusions Not being offered the support needed aggravated the possibility to manage the new life after aSAH. The confidence in self-care abilities was influenced by symptom control and how much life had changed in comparison to before the aSAH. Educational efforts are suggested to facilitate the transition from hospital discharge and to promote specialized rehabilitation at home and self-care abilities.

Too human and not human enough: A grounded theory analysis of mental health harms from emotional dependence on the social chatbot Replika

Social chatbot (SC) applications offering social companionship and basic therapy tools have grown in popularity for emotional, social, and psychological support. While use appears to offer mental health benefits, few studies unpack the potential for harms. Our grounded theory study analyzes mental health experiences with the popular SC application Replika. We identified mental health relevant posts made in the r/Replika Reddit community between 2017 and 2021 ( n = 582). We find evidence of harms, facilitated via emotional dependence on Replika that resembles patterns seen in human–human relationships. Unlike other forms of technology dependency, this dependency is marked by role-taking, whereby users felt that Replika had its own needs and emotions to which the user must attend. While prior research suggests human–chatbot and human–human interactions may not resemble each other, we identify social and technological factors that promote parallels and suggest ways to balance the benefits and risks of SCs.

COMPANION CARE ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCTION IN ADMISSIONS AND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT USE AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Older adults with unmet social needs, including social isolation and loneliness, have higher rates of hospital readmission and emergency department (ED) use. Our objective was to determine if Papa Inc., a nationwide service that pairs older adults with “Papa Pals” for companionship and assistance, was associated with reductions in readmissions and ED visits. SummaCare, a Medicare Advantage Organization in Ohio, partnered with Papa to offer free companion care to their members. We explored changes in inpatient admission rates and ED high-utilizers (defined as members with 4+ ED visits in a calendar year) from 2018 through 2021 using a claims-based analysis. Analysis included members who used 30+ minutes of Papa services in 2021 and had historical claims data from 2019 (n=1,420), matched 1:1 to a non-Papa comparison group (n=1,420) using a validated risk scoring model. Overall, average age was 78, 62% were female, 2% were ED high-utilizers in 2021. Increased enrollment in Papa occurred post hospitalization. The case-mix adjusted 30-day readmission rate in 2021 was 12.6% for Papa users (compared to 14.1% for non-Papa; and 14.5% for Papa users before enrollment), revealing a 1.5% to 2% decline in readmission rate after enrollment in Papa. Using case-mix adjusted relativities, Papa members had 0.89 readmissions for every 1.00 readmission for non-Papa users. Compared to the matched cohort, the Papa cohort had 34% fewer ED high-utilizers during the intervention year. Results provide preliminary evidence that a social companionship service may reduce readmissions and frequent ED use, and can inform future trials on companion-based interventions.

Measuring Online Social Support: Development and Validation of a Short Form for Chinese Adolescents.

Supportive interactions on social media have great potential to benefit adolescents' development. However, there is no instrument to measure online social support (OSS) in China. The study aimed to develop and validate a Chinese short version of the Online Social Support Scale (OSSS). The original scale was translated into Chinese through multiple forward and backward translation protocols. The calibration sample (N = 262) was used to select items and test the reliability, validity, and internal structure of the short form. The cross-validation sample (N = 267) was then used to assess measurement invariance by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and examine criterion validity based on its relationships with life satisfaction, depression, and time on social media. The 20-item Chinese short version of OSSS (OSSS-CS) includes four factors: esteem/emotional support, social companionship, informational support, and instrumental support. Our results suggest that the OSSS-CS has high internal consistency, construct validity, and criterion validity. Furthermore, evidence of partial cross-validity demonstrated invariance of the variance-covariance matrices, factor structure, factor loadings, and factor variance across independent samples. The results also revealed that the original OSSS could be replicated across cultures. Finally, the short form developed in the study can be used as a reliable and valid measure of online social support among the Chinese adolescent population.

Feasibility of pair-housing of rats after cranial implant surgery.

Rat models employing cranial implants are increasingly employed to facilitate neural stimulation and recording in freely moving animals. Due to possible damage to wound, implant or attached devices, rats with cranial implants are traditionally housed singly, and little information is available on group- or pair-housing. Here we describe a protocol for pair-housing rats following cranial implant surgery and describe our experience with pair-housing during post-surgical recovery and up to 16 weeks following surgery.Thirty-six adult Wistar rats of both sexes were implanted with deep brain stimulation electrodes. Ten rats were equipped with an additional wireless headstage. Rats were housed in stable pairs before surgery and re-introduced 0-18 h post-surgery. Rat grimace scores did not indicate pain after conclusion of the analgesia protocol, physiological parameters were in the normal range three days post-surgery and weight loss did not exceed 10%. Rats with a cement cap only were pair-housed continuously without damage to the headcap. Rats carrying an additional fragile headstage had to be separated during lights-off periods to prevent headstage damage but could be pair-housed during lights-on periods.Pair-housing is a feasible and effective method to facilitate the rats' need for social companionship following cranial implant surgery.

Will I See Faces Like Mine?: Exploring Perceived Constraints to Outdoor Recreation Experiences at an HBCU

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore perceived constraints of structured outdoor recreation experiences for students attending a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). Data were collected from four focus group sessions. Grounded Theory was used to analyze the data and from an analysis of data, four themes emerged: 1. Family impact, 2. Companionship, 3. Social media and technology, and 4. HBCU and Black American cultures. This study confirmed the importance of social companionship and the need for relevant marketing strategies as motivators for Black student participation in outdoor recreation activities at this HBCU. A common thread among the groups, was the perception of Whiteness in outdoor spaces and its negative impact on outdoor recreation involvement.