Types Of Social Support Research Articles

Interpersonal Resilience Inventory: Assessing positive and negative interactions during hardships and COVID‐19

AbstractWhen people face difficult life situations, close interpersonal interactions that are positive (supportive, warm, and intimate) and negative (critical, withdrawing, and unhelpful) can be assessed with the Interpersonal Resilience Inventory and should be distinct from social support indices (structural support and perceived support schema), associated with stress and well‐being, and salient across different stress contexts. Online participants completed the Interpersonal Resilience Inventory when facing family or financial stressors (n = 327) and the COVID‐19 pandemic (n = 180). Confirmatory factor analysis, discrimination, correlations, and models regressing stress and well‐being on positive and negative interactions indicated that scales are distinct and explain unique variance in stress and well‐being beyond general social support. Results highlight the unique function of perceived interactions. This study expands previous medical and couple‐specific work on perceptions of positive and negative interactions by assessing them across important relationships, in two unique stress contexts (family and financial hardships, and COVID‐19), and after controlling for other types of social support (support schemas and structural support). This work is important for building parsimonious theories of perceived interactions that may be generalizable across relationships and stress contexts and may illuminate social support pathways to well‐being.

What’s Age Have to Do With Comfortableness in Seeking and Providing Social Support After a Disaster?

Disasters are associated with loss of property and loss of psychological well-being. Receiving various types of social support, such as emotional or tangible support, from various sources, such as family or friends, have been found to reduce the adverse impact of a disaster on affected adult community residents. It is not well studied, though, why some adults will not seek or provide support after a disaster while other adults will. The purpose of this study was to explore how age might play a role in how comfortable adults were in seeking social support from others and how age might play a role in how comfortable adults were in providing social support to others after a disaster, the 2014 San Diego County, CA wildfires. One hundred and twenty-two community residents (18 to 80 years) were recruited with 33 adults identified as Secondary Disaster Survivors and 89 adults identified as Non-Victims. Analyses revealed that age did play a role in Secondary Survivors’ comfortableness in seeking support from others; Older Adults (50-80) were significantly less likely than Middle-aged Adults (30-49) to feel comfortable in seeking support. There was no significant comfortableness difference between Middle-aged and Younger Adults (18-29) in seeking support. There were no age group differences in comfortableness in providing support to others for Secondary Survivors and Non-Victims. Implications from this data suggest that local disaster organizations should actively support affected older adults post-disaster while also including unaffected adults of all ages in the process of providing support to those in need.

Chronic pain acceptance and Social Support Among Patients with Chronic Disease

Chronic pain acceptance is developing as a vital concept to understand ways that chronic pain patients can remain engaged with valued parts of life. If patients find their pain inacceptable, they will likely work to avoid it at all costs and readily seek to reduce or eliminate it. Such measures may not be of best interest when they require no pain reduction and many missed opportunities to work more effectively and productively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of chronic pain acceptance among individuals who suffering chronic disease as well as to identify the differences in chronic pain acceptance due to gender and age. Furthermore, the study aimed to identify the extent to which social support (family, friends, and government organizations) contribute to predict the acceptance of chronic pain in patients with chronic diseases. The researchers selected a random sample consisted of (254) (104 males, 150 females) patients, their age ranged between (20-60) year were participated in this study. Two measurement tools have been used; chronic pain acceptance questioner (CPAQ) and social support scale. The results showed that females were reported higher level of chronic pain acceptance than male. In addition, the results found a statistically significant positive correlation between a type of social support (family, friends, and government) and acceptance of chronic pain. To measure the contribution of social support sources to the acceptance of pain, the results showed that all sources of social support (family, friends and government) contributed to the acceptance of pain, but the support of friends was the highest contribution to the acceptance of pain.

Digitalized social support in the healthcare environment: Effects of the types and sources of social support on psychological well-being

The positive benefits of social support within healthcare communities are well documented. However, with the increasing number of online healthcare communities, digitalized social support requires further scrutiny. Additionally, it remains unclear which type of social support contributes most to a support seeker's psychological well-being and happiness. Drawing on the theory of social support, this research investigates the interactional effect of the social support types and sources of social support on one's well-being and happiness in the digitalized healthcare environment. Employing two experiments involving an online healthcare community of Chinese parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), this research also examines the mediating effect of social relationship coping efficacy. The findings suggest that emotional support in the digital environment results in a higher level of well-being and happiness than informational support offers, and such significant differences are due to individual variations in social relationship coping efficacy. Further, counterintuitive to the received wisdom, emotional support from community members results in higher well-being and happiness than such support from close family members. The study has important implications for healthcare community managers and close family members by encouraging emotional support that leads to increased well-being and happiness.

Social support dimensions predict parental outcomes in a Spanish early intervention program for positive parenting

Research has shown that social support influences parenting, and yet few studies have reported how different dimensions of social support influence outcomes in a group-based parenting intervention for parents with young children. We examined the influence of social support source, type, satisfaction, and access barriers on parental outcomes in the “Growing Up Happily in the Family” program targeting parents with children aged 0–5. The sample was 256 mainly at-risk (87.2%) and non-at-risk parents participating in 49 program groups in local social services in three Autonomous Communities of Spain. Social support variables were examined as predictors of pre-post change scores in parents’ child-rearing attitudes, sense of parental competence, and parenting stress using hierarchical linear regression analyses. Results showed significant contributions of social dimensions to lack of empathy, belief in corporal punishment, parental satisfaction, dysfunctional interaction, and perception of the child as difficult. The direction of the effects varied depending on the social support dimension considered. While formal support use was associated with positive changes in parenting stress, informal support predicted positive changes in child-rearing attitudes. Support involving tangible and positive social interaction and the cumulation of perceived barriers to service access were related to negative changes in child-rearing attitudes and satisfaction with the role. In conclusion, efforts should be made to promote the dimensions of support that are most useful in increasing the effectiveness of evidence-based parenting programs.

Measurement Invariance of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Among Chinese and South Asian Ethnic Minority Adolescents in Hong Kong.

Seven hundred adolescents (Chinese = 50%; South Asian ethnic minority = 50%) with mean age of 15.3 years (SD = 1.53). Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was performed to assess measurement invariance of the MSPSS scale across Chinese and South Asian ethnic minority samples. Results show that the original three-factor structure of the MSPSS was supported in both samples. Measurement invariance was supported in terms of configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance. Given partial scalar invariance was achieved, the latent mean differences were compared across samples. Chinese adolescents had higher levels of all three types of social support when compared with their South Asian ethnic minority counterparts. The present study attempts to assess the measurement invariance of the MSPSS across ethnic groups in Asian society, which sheds light on future research that involves perceived social support among adolescents in Chinese culture contexts.

Predicting users' continued engagement in online health communities from the quantity and quality of received support

AbstractOnline health communities (OHCs) have been major resources for people with similar health concerns to interact with each other. They offer easily accessible platforms for users to seek, receive, and provide supports by posting. Taking the advantage of text mining and machine learning techniques, we identified social support type(s) in each post and a new user's support needs in an OHC. We examined a user's first‐time support‐seeking experience by measuring both quantity and quality of received support. Our results revealed that the amount and match of received support are positive and significant predictors of new users' continued engagement. Our outcomes can provide insight for designing and managing a sustainable OHC by retaining users.

The Role of School Social Support and School Social Climate in Dating Violence Victimization Prevention among Adolescents in Europe.

The aim of the article is to show the role of school social support and school social climate in dating violence victimization prevention among adolescents in Europe. Study participants were students from secondary schools (age 13–16) in Spain, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Poland and UK. The analysis in this text concern student with dating experience (n = 993) (57.2% of girls and 66.5% of boys). School social support was measured by School Social Climate, Factor 1 Scale (CECSCE) and by Student Social Support Scale (CASSS), subscales teachers and classmates. The association between school social support and different types of dating victimization (physical and/or sexual dating violence, control dating violence and fear) was measured by calculating the prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals, estimated by Poisson regression models with robust variance. All the models were adjusted by country and by sociodemographic variables. The results show that the average values of all types of social support are significantly lower in young people who have suffered any type of dating violence or were scared of their partner. The likelihood of suffering physical and/or sexual dating violence decreased when school social support increased [PR (CI 95%): 0.96 (0.92; 0.99)]. In the same way, the likelihood of fear decreased when school social climate increased [PR (CI 95%): 0.98 (0.96; 0.99)].There is an association between school social support and school social climate and experiences of being victim of dating violence among adolescents in Europe. Our results suggest that in the prevention of dating violence building a supportive climate at schools and building/using the support of peers and teachers is important.

Advocating for a Loved One in the Setting of Uncertainty: A Mixed-Methods Study Among Caregivers of Sepsis Survivors at the Point of a Sepsis Readmission.

The trajectory of recovery after sepsis varies. Survivors may have considerable ongoing limitations, requiring a caregiver for a prolonged period. To learn about experiences, quality of life, coping, resilience, and social support of caregiver caring for survivors of sepsis. We conducted a convergent mixed-methods study, recruiting informal caregivers of patients who had survived sepsis in the past year and were readmitted to the intensive care unit with sepsis. Individual face-to-face, semistructured interviews and validated surveys on quality of life, coping, caregiver burden, resilience, and social support were administered to caregivers. Interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Surveys were scored and summarized using descriptive statistics. Caregivers were primarily middle-aged, White, and female. Half were spouses of their care recipient. Caregivers reported some deficits in mobility, pain, and anxiety/depression. Coping styles varied, with engaged coping being more prevalent. Most caregivers reported mild to moderate burden, all reported either normal or high resilience levels, and types of social support were similar. However, interviews and survey findings were not always consistent. Major themes that emerged from the analysis included (1) advocating for and protecting their loved one, (2) coping with caregiving, (3) uncertain future, (4) rewards of caregiving, and (5) need to optimize communication with family. Caregivers of sepsis survivors are protective of their care recipient and use a variety of strategies to advocate for their loved one and to cope with the uncertainty involved in a new intensive care unit admission. More advocacy and support are needed for this population.

Effectiveness of laptop-based versus smartphone-based videoconferencing interaction on loneliness, depression and social support in nursing home residents: A secondary data analysis

Introduction The worldwide coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic re-emphasises the importance of videoconferencing in supporting interactions between nursing home residents and their family and friends. However, there is a scarcity of comparative studies on how modalities of conferencing programs impact health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to compare laptop-based with smartphone-based videoconferencing programs on nursing home residents’ perceptions of loneliness, depressive symptoms and social support. Methods This retrospective secondary analysis used data from two previous studies on the effectiveness of videoconferencing programs (laptop-based and smartphone-based) to improve outcomes of loneliness, depressive symptoms and social support (type and source) among nursing home residents. Generalised estimating equations compared differences from baseline measures with measures at 1 and 3 months between the two groups with and without adjusting for the effects of confounding variables. Results With the exception of age, there were no differences in demographics between participants in the laptop and smartphone groups. Neither changes from baseline in mean scores for loneliness nor depressive symptoms differed between groups. However, changes in mean scores from baseline between groups were significantly greater in the smartphone-based group compared with the laptop-based group for three types of social support: informational and appraisal at 1 and 3 months; and emotional at 3 months. Changes from baseline in mean scores for social support from friends (at 1 and 3 months) and other sources (at 3 months) were also significantly greater for the smartphone group compared with the laptop group. Discussion The two modalities of videoconferencing did not differ in effects on depressive symptoms or loneliness. However, smartphones had a greater effect on the type and source of social support compared with laptops. Whether the small screen of a smartphone reduces users’ anxiety and allows them to talk more on screen is worth studying.

Toward Resilience: Medical Students' Perception of Social Support.

There is strong evidence that social support-particularly perceived social support-functions as a protective factor for health. Few studies have investigated how medical students perceive the types of social support they experience. To determine how osteopathic medical students perceive social support, understand the factors that influence their perceptions, and explore how group participation in a cocurricular, academic program could affect student perceptions. In this cross-sectional study of 983 medical students at a multicampus osteopathic medical school in the Midwest, potential respondents were invited by email in March 2018 to participate in a self-reported evaluation of their perceived social support using a 40-question Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL). The demographic variables included gender, race, age, current phase in medical school, Hispanic heritage, campus assignment, and hometown population type. A total score for each type of social support and a summative score for overall perceived social support were calculated. Descriptive statistics were applied to provide a summary of the distribution of study variables. Bivariate analyses were conducted using student t test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistic to determine distribution of 4 social support constructs and overall social support by all the study variables; α < .05 was considered statistically significant. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine the association between all study variables and 4 social support constructs. Pairwise interactions were calculated to determine whether the association differed by any of the study variables. Self-esteem support was the lowest type of perceived social support overall in the total sample (mean [SD], 23.5[2.0]). Hispanic students reported lower overall mean perceived social support than those who did not identify as Hispanic (100 vs 104; P=.04). Older study participants had higher mean tangible support compared with their younger counterparts (26.25 vs. 25.60, P=.018; t [264]=1.18). Older study participants also had higher mean appraisal support compared with their younger counterparts (26.57 vs. 25.92, P=.06; t [266]=1.27). Female medical students reported lower levels of belonging support overall (mean [SD] 26.79, [2.10]). Students from rural hometowns reported a higher sense of belonging support than any other group. Female students from suburban and urban hometowns reported lower levels of belonging support compared with women from rural hometowns (Adj. β=-0.96, P=.01). Students who participated in the rural and urban underserved program had higher self esteem support compared with those who did not participate in the rural and urban underserved program (Adj. β=-1.30, P=.05). Students in the clinical phase of medical education reported lower levels of belonging support than students in the preclinical phase (26.14 vs. 26.69, P=.05; t[256]=1.07). It is critical to understand the ways medical students experience social support and the factors that contribute to it. Longitudinal studies following medical students over time would contribute to a more complete understanding of social support in medical students as they move from preclinical to the clinical phases of medical school.

Using robot animal companions in the academic library to mitigate student stress

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to interrogate the relationship between self-reported levels of acute stress, perceived social support and interactions with robot animals in an academic library. The authors hypothesized that (1) participants would report lower stress and higher positive affect after their interaction with a robot support animal and (2) perceived supportiveness of the robot support animal would positively predict the amount of stress reduction the participants reported.Design/methodology/approachThe authors hosted a robot petting zoo in the main library at a mid-sized Midwestern university during finals week. Participants were asked to rate their stress level prior to interacting with the robot pets (T1) and then after their interaction they were asked about their current stress level and the perceived supportiveness of the robot animal (T2). Data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests for the pretest and post-test scores.FindingsThe results showed a significant decrease in acute stress between T1 to T2, as well as a significant increase in happiness and relaxation. Participants reported feeling less bored and less tired after their interactions with the robot support animals. The findings also reveal that the degree to which individuals experienced a reduction in stress was influenced by their perceptions of the robot animal's supportiveness. Libraries could consider using robot pet therapy.Originality/valueThis study reveals the benefit of robot support animals to reduce stress and increase happiness of those experiencing acute stress in a library setting. The authors also introduce the concept of socially supportive contact as a type of unidirectional social support.

Are “Superwomen” without social support at risk for postpartum depression and anxiety?

ABSTRACT Postpartum depression and anxiety are common among women. Previous research has found perfectionism and the lack of social support to be associated with psychological distress. This study examined (1) social support as a protective factor against postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms and perfectionism as a risk factor; (2) associations between different types of social support and postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms; and (3) social support as a moderator between the relationship of perfectionism and postpartum depressive and anxiety symptoms. A total of 596 postpartum participants were included. Participants completed measures on postpartum depression, anxiety, social support, and perfectionism. Multivariate regressions revealed perfectionism was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms but predicted anxiety symptoms. Social support was a significant protective factor against depressive and anxiety symptoms. All support subscales were significantly associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, with support from friends having the largest effect size (partial η2 = .061). High levels of support significantly moderated the relationship between perfectionism and depressive symptoms, β = .003, 95% CI [.0006, .005], t (592) = 2.53, p = .012, and average and high levels of support significantly moderated the relationship between perfectionism and anxiety symptoms, β = .0023, 95% CI [.0002, .004], t (592) = 2.13, p = .03. These results emphasize the importance of social support for postpartum women’s mental health, especially for “Superwomen” with perfectionistic tendencies. Implications for healthcare and policies are discussed.

Network Support Using Social Networking Services to Increase Exercise Adherence Among Korean-Chinese Middle-Aged Migrant Women: Mixed Methods Study.

BackgroundSocial networking services (SNSs) are recognized to be a promising approach to easily deliver health interventions and to enhance social support for exercise adherence. However, the patterns and aspects of social support through SNSs have not been reported and their influence on other social-cognitive factors remains inconclusive.ObjectiveOur objective is to explore how social support delivered through SNSs impacts interactions among Korean-Chinese (KC) middle-aged women and to identify how this approach influences social-cognitive factors for exercise (eg, sense of community, self-efficacy for exercise, and social support for exercise).MethodsA mixed methods design was used. Text analysis of SNS messages and text mining using the Korean Natural Language Application (KoALA) were conducted. Social-cognitive factors (eg, sense of community, self-efficacy for exercise, and social support for exercise) were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks using a structured questionnaire. A comparison of social-cognitive factors at baseline and at 12 weeks was conducted to identify any potential significant changes, using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.ResultsA total of 259 SNS messages were collected from 24 KC women, distributed among four chat groups, who participated in a 12-week walking intervention program between August and October 2018. The individual average frequency of chatting via the SNS was 10.79 (range 0-34) and the most frequent type of social support through the SNS was network support (172/259, 66.4%). The most common words extracted from the SNS were Health, Exercise, Participation, and We. Overall, the perceived levels of sense of community (P<.001) and social support for exercise (P=.002) were significantly increased at 12 weeks compared with baseline. Group 1 (P=.03) and Group 4 (P=.03), whose members demonstrated the highest frequency of network support, experienced a significant increase only in the level of sense of community.ConclusionsBy integrating these data and conducting a mixed methods analysis, we observed that among the types of social support, network support was a key point for the promotion of social-cognitive factors in increasing exercise adherence. Therefore, network support through SNS-based interventions should be considered as a useful strategy to help vulnerable migrant populations make changes to exercise behaviors.

Empowering low-socioeconomic status parents to support their children in participating in tertiary education: co-created digital resources for diverse parent personas

ABSTRACT Increasing the participation of students from low-socioeconomic status (LSES) communities in tertiary education has been a policy focus of successive Australian governments. LSES parents are important influencers, yet are often unsupported in their efforts to help their children. Via two qualitative studies across metropolitan, regional and remote locations in four Australian states, a strengths-based, service-design approach identified four LSES parent personas: magpies, emus, possums and penguin parents. Each parent persona was at a different stage of change, requiring different types of social support. Digital solutions were co-created with LSES parents, reflecting the preferences of each persona. Four additional high-level contributions of this research include identification of the link between stage-of-change and social support requirements, LSES parents’ preference for passive or mid-range levels of digital interactivity, differences in social support needs among LSES parents and the preference for and design of a digital transition-to-tertiary study support portal for LSES parents.

The impact of social support on job stress of shift working mothers: a study of casino employees in Macao

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory understanding of the impact of social support on job stress of shift working mothers in Macao casinos.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research method was adopted in this study. A snowball sampling strategy was used to recruit participants, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted on participants from different casinos of six Macao gaming operators.FindingsThe paper found out that emotional and instrumental supports from families and friends are the most important social support for shift working mothers to cope with their job stress in casinos.Research limitations/implicationsA qualitative method may lead to a misinterpretation or ignorance of key information due to the researcher bias. The snowball sampling strategy may lead to a biased sample which may not represent the entire population.Originality/valueThe understanding of what types of social support that shift working mothers appreciate and need the most may provide managerial implications for casino operators for a better support to their female employees.

Exploring the Relationship of Personality and Social Support Types among College Students

This study investigated the relationship between Big Five personality traits and social support types among college students. Data was collected from 189 university students from a research institution in the US. Findings indicated that learners who have Agreeableness and Extraversion personality traits seek for more broadly social support resources in college study and life. Additionally, learners who have Neuroticism traits are negatively associated with all social support resources. It is expected that this study would assist college faculty and student affairs professionals to better understand the differences of personality traits among college students and craft feasible strategies so as to encourage these students to seek sufficient social support resources on their personal development. Keywords: Big Five personality, college students, social support, higher education DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-31-03 Publication date: November 30 th 2020

The Influence of Social Support to the Quality of Life of Tuberculosis Patients in Depok, West Java Province, Indonesia

The quality of life of Tuberculosis (TB) patients is very important to be considered due to infectious disease is chronic that it can affect quality of life. In order to improve quality of life is by providing social support to TB patients. This study aims to discuss the influence of social support to the quality of life of TB patients. This was a longitudinal study (repeated measurements). Data collection with interviews to respondents using the WHOQOL-BREF and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Data analysis using General Estimation of Equotion. The results showed that social support has a strong influence to the quality of life of TB patients (OR = 7.9); An influential source of social support to improve the quality of life of TB patients were family, friends and significant others. Family support provides the highest contribution with an OR of 19.7; An influential type of social support to improve the quality of life of TB patients were emotional, informational and companionship support. Emotional support provides the highest contribution with an OR of 7.4. Social support to TB patients given at the 5th month of treatment have a positive impact on the quality of life with PAR% was 70%. This study recommends improving the social support to TB patients to increase quality of life of TB patients.

Education and social support: do migrants benefit as much as natives?

Education and having access to social support play a vital role in the human life. Integrated and better-educated people demonstrate an increased personal health and well-being. Social isolation, on the contrary, can affect not only the personal development, but also pertains to society. These topics are especially relevant in the current migration debate. Our paper examines the link between schooling and the individuals’ probability to receive different types of social support, in particular emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support. Using logit and ordinal logit regressions on cross-sectional micro-data provided by the SOEP, we distinguish between two subgroups, the native population and people who migrated to Germany. Our findings confirm that higher levels of education increase the probability to access social support as well as the number of support providers in the network. Migrants are disadvantaged when it comes to the access of social support. However, our results suggest no significant negative returns to education for people with migration experiences.

The social dynamics involved in recovery and return to sport following a sport-related concussion: A study of three athlete-teammate-coach triads

An athlete's connection to their team and team members is an important part of their sport experience. However, researchers currently know little about the nature of these social dynamics with respect to concussed athletes. Our study explored athletes' recovery and reintegration into the team environment following a sport-related concussion. We conducted semi-structured interviews with each member of three athlete-teammate-coach triads (N = 9). We analysed the data using thematic narrative analysis and present the results as three stories that focused on each athlete's experience. For Cassie, we found two major plot points in her story: the transition in her role (and shift in identity) from athlete to student assistant coach/team manager and, once recovered, back to an athlete on the team. For Jess, we found that the main plot in her story was “pressure”. Specifically, the interplay between internal (placed on herself) and external (perceived from teammates and coaches) pressures to return to sport. In the third and final story, the main plot point was the tensions that arose from Jaden's preferences for social support and the type of support that his teammates and coaches believed he needed during his recovery. Our results highlight the interplay between athlete's personal and social identities, feelings of pressure to return and readiness, and the challenges of providing the right amount and type of social support. This research contributes to our limited understanding of the social dynamics involved in athletes' return to sport following a concussion.