Social support and recovery from sexual assault: A review

This article reviews empirical studies of social support and sexual assault in order to evaluate the empirical evidence for the role of support in recovery from mental health and physical health consequences of this crime. Evidence is mixed with regard to the effect of social support, with some studies showing no significant effect and others showing positive effects of support on postassault recovery. Negative aspects of social relations (e.g., negative social reactions), while less studied, show consistent and strong negative effects on sexual assault victims. Factors that may modify the relationship of support and sexual assault outcomes are reviewed, including: assault characteristics, specific support provider factors, victim coping and functioning, preassault support network, and other postassault experiences, such as criminal justice system involvement. Limitations of existing research are noted. Suggestions for future research on the relationship of social support and sequelae of sexual assault are provided, with a focus on development of support network interventions for victims.     

The influence of perceived family support on post surgery recovery

The objective of this work was to investigate the possible relationship between perceived family support, levels of cortisol and post surgery recovery. The study sample comprised 42 patients that were due to undergo open cholecystectomy surgery in a Regional Health Authority Reference Centre of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in Spain. The FACES-II questionnaire was used for the evaluation of perceived family support and to measure the three fundamental dimensions of perceived family behaviour: cohesion, adaptability and family type. The day before surgery, a sample of saliva was taken from each subject in order to determine the level of cortisol. Results showed a clear relationship between family support and recovery. Patients with higher scores on the Cohesion Scale demonstrated better post surgery recovery (F = 8.8; gl = 40; p = .005). A relationship between levels of cortisol, perceived family support and recovery was also revealed. Patients with lower scores on the Cohesion scale and higher cortisol levels demonstrated poorer post surgery recovery (F = 10.96; gl = 40; p = .006). These results are coherent with other studies that have highlighted the beneficial effects of perceived family support on mental and physical health.     

Social support from a friend,perceived support,and social problem solving

This research combined experimental and correlational methods to investigate the effects of social support on social problem-solving effectiveness and perceived stress. During a wait period, college students were given the opportunity to work on practice items from a mildly stressful social problem-solving task, either alone or in the company of a close friend. Participants and friends were allowed to talk about the practice items but were not required to do so, and supportive transactions were tape recorded and content analyzed. All students then completed social problem-solving and perceived stress items alone. Participants who waited with friends did not show superior problem-solving effectiveness unless companions provided particular supportive behaviors. Participants with high perceived support scores rated the experiment as less stressful than those with low scores, but perceived support was not related to companions' actual supportive behaviors. The results were discussed in terms of implications for understanding the mechanisms of social support.     

Social support from friends and family in a Tibetan village

Friendships are prevalent in human societies. However, it is unclear whether people rely on the same strategy to derive support from friends and relatives. In the present study, I conducted a survey to elicit the egocentric support networks of 40 village residents in a Tibetan village in Qinghai province in China. The study showed that the participants reported equal amounts of support from friends and from relatives, and they preferred a shallow strategy over a deep strategy to derive support from friends; they equally preferred the two strategies to derive support from relatives. My study suggests that even if friends compensate for the variation of kin support in quantity, friendship should not be considered as one‐for‐one substitute for kinship.     

Social support and cancer: Adult patients' desire for support from family,friends, and health professionals

Examined cancer patients' desire for social support from family, friends, and health professionals upon whom they most depended for support. Before a single interaction with each of these sources, nonhospitalized adult cancer patients (N = 64) completed a questionnaire indicating their desire for support from the source on 11 functional components. Results indicated that emotional and instrumental functions of support were distinct and required separate examination. Distinctiveness of primary sources was manifest by patients' overall preference for tangible aid from family, modeling from friends who had cancer, and open communication and clarification from health professionals. Family and friends were equally preferred sources for dealing with affective reactions to the stressfulness of cancer. All three sources were similarly desired for self-esteem enhancement and for relief from decision-making and problem-solving responsibilities. Finally, patients' perceived prognosis but not the objective severity of their illness was associated with a heightened desire for support, especially for instrumental support functions.     

Social networks as assets and liabilities in recovery from stroke by geriatric patients

Interactions in the social networks of 48 elderly stroke patients were examined as factors influencing outcomes after hospital discharge. Structured interviews assessed the frequency of perceived positive and negative interactions, as well as patients' behavioral independence, time use, personal adjustment, and cognitive functioning. Negative interactions occurred less frequently than positive ones. After controlling for status at hospital discharge, negative and positive interactions differentially explained variance in morale, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive functioning. Although negative interactions were associated with poorer morale and greater psychiatric symptoms, positive interactions were associated with less mental confusion. Patients' reporting and not reporting negative interactions did not differ significantly on a variety of social and demographic variables previously shown to predict social interactions and well-being. Findings indicate that social interactions may both impede and facilitate rehabilitation for older adults and have implications for both theories of social support and the design of therapeutic interventions.     

Social support from fellow group members triggers additional effort in groups

This research demonstrates social support from fellow group members as unique trigger of additional effort and performance in groups. Support‐induced effort gains are shown both compared with groups without social support and individual work. Study 1 examined existing beliefs about motivating group work among employees with professional group work experience (n = 130). The results revealed social support as one of the most frequently reported sources of group‐induced effort gains. Study 2 explored self‐reported effort intentions in group training scenarios among athletes (n = 94). Finally, Study 3 examined performance as a manifest indicator of effort in an experimental persistence task among students (n = 88). The results of Study 2 and Study 3 showed significant gains due to social support in both self‐reported effort and manifest performance, respectively. Together, the results demonstrate that receiving social support from fellow group members leads to higher effort in groups at the level of existing beliefs about motivating group work, at the level of effort intentions, and at the level of manifest performance behavior. The observed findings cannot be explained by established sources of motivation gains in groups such as social comparison or social indispensability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social support and college student contraceptive use

Sources of social support for contraceptive use were examined in a survey of 280 sexually active college students (132 female and 148 male) aged 17-23 years. Variables measured were contraceptive use at last intercourse, perceived social support for contraceptive use, and motivation to comply with these sources of support. Friends and partners were identified as equally supportive, but only partner support was related to contraceptive use. Among nonusers of an effective method, best friend support exceeded partner support. Finally, students reported more motivation to comply with their partners than with friends or parents. Men were even less likely to comply with support provided by a best friend than women. The finding that parental support was not an important factor suggests that contraceptive use is best promoted through the self-disclosure and open discussion young adults enjoy with peers. Moreover, a desire to please one's sexual partner seems to outweigh advice provided by a best friend. Thus, contraceptive promotion among young adults should be targeted not only at potential users, but also at sexual partners. The potential of such an approach is demonstrated by this study's finding that young men were willing to use condoms when encouraged by their partner, despite widespread dislike of this method.     

Social support,occupational stress and anxiety

When occupational stressors, that is stress-producing environmental circumstances (SPECs) in the workplace, lead to anxiety, this anxiety is considered work-related strain. Social support is frequently recommended as a treatment of such strain, because it is expected to help in one of three ways: by directly reducing the anxiety, by interacting with SPECs to reduce the strength of their effects on anxiety, and by weakening the strength of the SPECs themselves. Future research on anxiety and social support in conjunction with work-related SPECs could shed new light on the relations among these three, variables by employing one or more of three approaches: designing investigations that allow stronger causal inference, testing hypotheses derived from theory, and examining potential cross-cultural differences in the nature of and reactions to social support.     

Effects of preoperative roommate assignment on preoperative anxiety and recovery from coronary-bypass surgery

This study examined the effect of preoperative roommate assignment on the preoperative anxiety and postoperative recovery of 27 male coronary-bypass patients. Patients were assigned preoperatively to a roommate who was either similar or dissimilar in his surgical status (preoperative vs. postoperative, respectively) and either similar or dissimilar in his type of operation (cardiac vs. noncardiac, respectively). The results indicated that the similarity/dissimilarity of a roommate's surgical status exerted important effects. Specifically, patients who before their operations had a postoperative roommate were less anxious preoperatively, were more ambulatory postoperatively, and were released more quickly from the hospital than patients who before their operations had a preoperative roommate. In contrast, the similarity/dissimilarity of the roommate's type of operation exerted no significant effects either separately or in interaction with the similarity of the roommate's surgical status. Theoretical implications, possible mechanisms, and practical implications for hospital policy are discussed.     

Social support from weak ties: Insight from the literature on minimal social interactions

When people face difficult life events, such as cancer or bereavement, they fare better when they receive support. These “experiencers” are likely to seek and receive support from a wide range of people, from close others to acquaintances. Indeed, the social support literature has long acknowledged the value of having a diverse support network. Research suggests that experiencers often perceive “weak ties” (i.e., acquaintances) as sources of support, and that experiencers sometimes prefer to get support from weak ties rather than strong ties. Providing support can be challenging for all kinds of supporters, however weak ties may be more likely than strong ties to allow worries about their inability to provide effective support to stop them from providing any support at all, thus depriving experiencers of opportunities for additional support. In this paper, we focus on the fact that often the provision of support occurs via a social interaction. We draw on the social psychology literature on minimal social interactions to suggest reasons why potential weak tie supporters might doubt their ability to provide effective support, and to generate advice to encourage potential supporters to reach out. Finally, we suggest future areas of research, with the ultimate goal of helping to expand the support that is available for people experiencing difficult life events.     

Social support and coping: A longitudinal analysis

This paper examined the interrelation between social support and coping in a longitudinal study of 380 clinically depressed individuals. A two-wave, two-variable panel analysis revealed that connections between support and coping varied by gender and across the specific sources of support and modes of coping examined. In the family context, increases in support were related to increases in problem-solving coping among women and to a decline in emotional discharge coping among men. In the work context, increases in social support were related to a greater reliance on affective regulation among women and to more information/support seeking among men. Overall, the results suggest that specific aspects of support and coping processes jointly mediate the link between stress and adjustment among depressed individuals.     

Social support and the course of bipolar disorder

The current study prospectively examined the impact of social support on symptom severity and recovery from episodes in bipolar disorder, both as a direct influence and as a buffer of life events. Fifty-nine individuals with Bipolar I disorder were followed longitudinally with monthly symptom severity interviews. Social support was measured by the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction, and life events were assessed using the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule. Individuals with low social support took longer to recover from episodes and were more symptomatic across a 6-month follow-up. Results suggest a polarity-specific effect, in that social support influences depression but not mania. Discussion focuses on theoretical implications of a series of polarity-specific findings within the field.