"Thanks for sharing that": ruminators and their social support networks.

Receiving positive social support after a trauma generally is related to better adjustment to the trauma. The personality of trauma survivors may affect the extent to which they seek social support, their perceived receipt of social support, and the extent to which they benefit from social support. The authors hypothesized that people with a ruminative coping style, who tended to focus excessively on their own emotional reactions to a trauma, compared to those without a ruminative coping style, would seek more social support, and would benefit more from social support, but would report receiving less social support. These hypotheses were confirmed in a longitudinal study of people who lost a loved one to a terminal illness.     

Supportive relationships in later life

We adopted a multidimensional approach to the study of the social support convoys of older adults. We distinguished between age and gender differences in four specific dimensions of the social support convoy: (a) existence versus functioning of relationships in the convoy, (b) kinds of relationships (i.e., those with children, siblings, and friends), (c) types of social support (i.e., emotional support, respect, and health support), and (d) receipt versus provision of support. Using a national survey of 718 adults, multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were performed to determine age and gender differences in these four dimensions of social support. The multidimensional approach was useful in pinpointing those aspects of the social support convoy affected by aging. We anticipated that the social support convoy would be devastated by aging. Instead, we found that older people received less support (i.e., emotional and health support) in the absence of sibling relationships. Otherwise, the effects of aging had more to do with what the older person contributed to the convoy than with what he or she received. Women had better social support resources than men, particularly within their friendships. We found no evidence, however, that women's social support advantage counterbalanced the effects of aging on the convoy.     

Gender effects on social support provision and receipt

This study was conducted to examine the influence of gender on social support provision and receipt using both self-report and observational methodologies. In response to another person sharing a problem, we predicted that men would be more likely than women to provide advice, and women would be more likely than men to provide emotional support. We also predicted women would be more likely than men to receive emotional support, and men would be more likely than women to receive negative support. Sixty-one pairs of college students, same-sex and mixed-sex dyads, shared a problem with each other. Problem-sharing transactions were audiotaped and transcribed for content analysis. Opposite-sex providers offered more emotional support than did same-sex providers, whereas same-sex providers listened more than did opposite-sex providers. No gender differences were found for advice-giving. Men were more likely than women to receive negative support. These results suggest that gender composition of the dyad has a greater influence on support provision and receipt than provider or recipient gender alone.     

In search of altruistic community: Patterns of social support mobilization following Hurricane Hugo

Twelve months after Hurricane Hugo, 1,000 disaster victims and nonvictims were asked about social support they exchanged following the hurricane. Victims of disaster received and provided very high levels of tangible, informationa, and emotional support. Disaster exposure (loss and harm) was a strong predictor of help received and a modest predictor of help provided. However, postdisaster help was not distributed equally and disaster exposure was more strongly related to social support in some groups than in others. Race, education, and age most consistently moderated the impact of disaster exposure on receipt of postdisaster support. Blacks and less educated victims received less help than similarly affected victims who were white or more educated. Relative disadvantage of being old in receiving support was not the case for those elderly disaster victims who experienced threats to their lives or health. Some subgroups of victims were relied upon disproportionately for providing assistance. Implications for social support research are addressed. This research was supported by Grant MH45069 from the Violence and Traumatic Stress Research Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health to Fran H. Norris, principal investigator.     

Reciprocal support provision: personality as a moderator?

In some cases, support provision can be predicted by the history of prior social exchange. Receiving may encourage providing. Moreover, personality dispositions may moderate the degree to which persons reciprocate support. Co‐student dyads (N = 43) facing an exam repeatedly reported their levels of received and provided support. Data revealed both direct and moderated reciprocal support provision. Actors' receipt of emotional support predicted the subsequent change in actors' provision of emotional support, indicating reciprocity. Also, more reciprocal emotional support provision was found in introverted and open individuals, whereas more reciprocal instrumental support provision was observed in introverts and less open individuals. Findings were partially validated when partner‐provided support instead of actor‐received support served as the predictor of later support provision. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The experience and effects of emotional support: What the study of cultural and gender differences can tell us about close relationships,emotion, and interpersonal communication

Theorists claim that emotional support is one of the most significant provisions of close relationships, and studies suggest that the receipt of sensitive emotional support is associated with diverse indices of well–being. Research highlighting the beneficial outcomes of emotional support raises several important questions: Does emotional support play a similar role in the personal relationships of both men and women and those representing different ethnicities and nationalities? Is what counts as effective, sensitive, emotional support the same for everyone? And when seeking to provide emotional support, do members of distinct social groups pursue similar or different goals? This article reviews and synthesizes empirical research assessing gender, ethnic, and cultural differences in emotional support in the effort to ascertain the extent and import of these differences. Particular attention is given to demographic differences in (a) the value placed on the emotional support skills of relationship partners, (b) the intentions or goals viewed as especially relevant in emotional support situations, and (c) the evaluation of distinct approaches to providing emotional support. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the findings are explored.     

Predicting receipt of social support: a longitudinal study of parents' reactions to their child's illness

A sample of 101 women whose children required medical attention were interviewed at the time of initial hospital contact and again 1 year later. On the second occasion, their spouses were also interviewed for their assessment of their wives' personal and social characteristics. Greater personal resources, more intimate relations, and lower discomfort in seeking support were related to greater receipt of social support 1 year later. Chronic stress conditions were found, however, to diminish the effect of individuals' social characteristics on receipt of support. Spouses assessments showed moderate agreement with that of their wives, lending support to the validity of the findings. Implications for interventions in health-care settings were discussed.     

Gratitude when it is needed most: social functions of gratitude in women with metastatic breast cancer

Theory and evidence suggest that everyday positive emotions may be potent factors in resilience during periods of chronic stress, yet the body of evidence is scant. Even less research focuses on the adaptive functions of specific positive emotions in this critical context. In the current research, 54 women with metastatic breast cancer provided information about their emotional responses to benefits received to test hypotheses regarding the social functions of gratitude. One set of analyses provide support for the hypothesized role of ego-transcendence in feeling gratitude upon receipt of a benefit from another person. As predicted, in a second set of analyses, grateful responding to received benefits predicted an increase in perceived social support over three months only for women low in ambivalence over emotional expression. These findings add to evidence regarding the social causes and consequences of gratitude, supporting a view of gratitude as an other-focused positive emotion that functions to promote high-quality relationships. Discussion focuses on the chronically stressful context as an important testing ground for theory on gratitude and other positive emotions.     

Attachment insecurity as a moderator of cardiovascular arousal effects following dyadic support

We examine the cardiovascular arousal effects of emotional support receipt, and the moderation of these by the support recipient’s and provider’s attachment. Seventy couples engaged in a laboratory dyadic supportive interaction, while their ECG was monitored. With more emotional support, men with high attachment anxiety showed greater arousal reduction during the dyadic interaction, whereas men with low attachment anxiety showed less reduction; additionally, women coupled with partners with high attachment anxiety showed greater arousal reduction, whereas women coupled with partners with low attachment anxiety showed less reduction. Men and women with high attachment avoidance showed less arousal reduction, whereas those with low attachment avoidance showed greater reduction. These results highlight the differential ways in which support gets under the skin.     

Effects of provision and receipt of social support on adjustment to laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

Radical prostatectomy has a negative impact on prostate cancer patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Social support may help patients adjust to their situation after surgery. We investigated patients' accounts of received social support as well as their spouses' accounts of provided social support as predictors of patients' HRQoL 6 months after surgery. Moreover, we tested whether patients with lower HRQoL at 2 weeks after surgery had the most benefit from spousal support. A total of 77 patients (M = 61.57 years, SD = 6.03) and their spouses (M = 58.46 years, SD = 7.52) completed questionnaires at 2 weeks and 6 months after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Received social support, spousal provided social support, and HRQoL were assessed 2 weeks after surgery, and HRQoL was assessed again 6 months later. Patients with lower HRQoL at 2 weeks after surgery benefited more from the receipt and their partners' provision of support in terms of HRQoL 6 months later than patients with a higher HRQoL at the beginning. Assessing patients' HRQoL might be one method to identify those individuals who are in special need of support from their spouses.     

Does social support predict smoking abstinence in dual-smoker couples? Evidence from a dyadic approach

Background and Objectives: Romantic partners have a significant influence on their health behaviors. Evidence for the effectiveness of social support for smoking abstinence, however, is mixed and the role of social support for smoking abstinence in dual-smoker couples is understudied.

Design: 77 dual-smoker couples were assessed 30 days after a joint quit attempt using a dyadic approach.

Methods: Received and provided support, self-reported and objectively measured smoking abstinence were assessed from both partners. Actor and partner effects of received and provided support on self-reported and objectively measured smoking abstinence and their difference for men and women were investigated with the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model using multilevel modeling.

Results: A significant actor effect emerged: Higher reports of received emotional support were related to an increased likelihood of objective smoking abstinence for men and women alike. For men only, partner effects of women’s received emotional and instrumental support emerged (p?<?.10): Higher reports of women’s support receipt were associated with an increased likelihood of men’s self-reported abstinence.

Conclusion: Received emotional support seems to play a key role in dual-smoker couple’s abstinence, whereas provided support does not seem to make a difference in successful quitting in dual-smoker couples.     

Self‐evaluative consequences of social support receipt: The role of context self‐relevance

Past research suggests that receiving social support can increase distress if it threatens self‐esteem, self‐efficacy, or competence. These costs may be more apparent in self‐relevant contexts, as such concerns should be more salient in these situations. This research tests whether context self‐relevance moderates affective responses to support receipt and whether this pattern is mediated by self‐evaluation. We report support for these hypotheses in both a daily diary study (N = 304 couples) of real‐world stress and a laboratory experiment (N = 77 students) in which support receipt and task self‐relevance are manipulated. We discuss connections between this work and the broader literature on social support receipt, including how other social processes (e.g., social comparison) may contribute to the costs associated with support receipt.     

大学生应对策略的特点及其与社会支持水平关系的研究

以423名大学生为被试,采用问卷法考察了大学生应对策略的特点、性别差异及其与社会支持之间的关系.研究发现:(1)大学生更多地倾向于使用积极解决问题和寻求情感支持的应对策略,而转移注意力和消极解决问题应对策略相对较少;(2)社会支持总体感受水平与积极解决问题和寻求情感支持的应对策略显著正相关,而与消极解决问题和转移注意力的应对策略显著负相关;对男生而言,社会支持感受在积极解决问题应对策略上贡献率相对较大;对女生而言,社会支持感受在寻求情感支持应对策略上贡献率相对较大;(3)不仅不同性别大学生的应对策略存在显著差异,而且不同社会支持感受水平的同性别大学生的应对策略也存在显著差异.男生比女生采取更多的消极解决问题策略,而采取更少的寻求情感支持应对策略;不论男生或女生高社会支持感受组均比低社会支持感受组采用更多的积极解决问题和寻求情感支持的应对策略,而更少的采用转移注意力和消极解决问题的应对策略.     

Correlates of social support receipt

Psychological correlates of social support receipt were examined in an investigation of stress and coping among 150 middle-aged community residents. Subjects were interviewed monthly for 6 months, each time concerning a specific stressful situation in the previous month. Social support received and methods of coping were assessed each time, as well as other variables. Factors hypothesized to be associated with support receipt were person predispositions, appraisal patterns with regard to specific stressful encounters, and coping strategies used. Each was most strongly associated with a particular type of social support. Person predispositions related most strongly to emotional support received, appraisal factors related most strongly to aid, and coping strategies related most to informational support received. Furthermore, of the three sets of variables, the individual's ways of coping appeared to be most strongly associated with all types of social support received. Two implications are explored. First, we suggest that the three types of social support studied represent different constructs with different antecedents and consequences. Second, we argue that coping behavior provides interpersonal cues regarding what is wanted or needed in a stressful situation and that the members of the social environment respond accordingly.     

The effects of perceived social support on quality of life in patients awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting and their partners: testing dyadic dynamics using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

Patients awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) need support from their partners or family caregivers to manage their self care successfully and to maximise quality of life. Partners need social support to help overcome the stressful tasks of an unexpected caregiving role. It is not known whether the individual's perceived social support contributes to their own, as well as their partner's quality of life. The aims of this study were to assess differences in social support and quality of life in patients and partners awaiting CABG, and to examine whether patients' and partners' perceived social support predicted their own, as well as their partner's quality of life before CABG. This cross-sectional study recruited 84 dyads (patients 84% males, aged 64.5 years and partners 94% females, aged 61.05 years). Perceived social support was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support survey, with sub-scales for informational/emotional support, affectionate support, tangible support and positive social interaction. Quality of life was assessed using the Short-Form 12 Health Survey. Dyadic data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, with distinguishable dyad regression. Results revealed the patients' informational/emotional support exhibited an actor effect on their own mental health (? = 0.19, p = 0.001); indicating those with low informational/emotional support had poorer mental health. There was a partner effect of the patients' informational/emotional support on their partner's mental health (? = 0.14, p = 0.024), indicating the patients' informational/emotional support was associated with the partner's mental health. None of the other types of social support exhibited an actor effect or a partner effect on the patient's or the partner's mental or physical health. More research into the relationship between social support and mental health is needed to help inform the design of interventions that target the dyad.     

Relationships Among Disease,Social Support,and Perceived Health: A Lifespan Approach

We examined the relationship between the cumulative presence of major disease (cancer, stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension), social support, and self‐reported general and emotional well‐being in a community representative sample of predominantly White and African American respondents (N = 1349). Across all ages, greater presence of disease predicted poorer reported general health, and predicted lower emotional well‐being for respondents 40 and above. In contrast, social support predicted better‐reported general and emotional well‐being. We predicted that different types of social support (blood relatives, children, friends, community members) would be relatively more important for health in different age groups based on a lifespan or life stage model. This hypothesis was supported; across all ages, social support was related to better reported general and emotional health, but sources of support differed by age. Broadly, those in younger age groups tended to list familial members as their strongest sources of support, whereas older group members listed their friends and community members. As a whole, social support mediated the effect of disease on reported well‐being, however, moderated mediation by type of support was not significant. The results are consistent with a lifespan approach to changing social ties throughout the life course.     

Welfare participation and social support in late life

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among participation in welfare programs, gender, and change in social support in adults aged 65 and older. It was hypothesized that older men receiving public assistance would encounter more social network problems than older women on welfare. The findings reveal that during the 7-year study older men in receipt of welfare benefits, compared with older women on welfare, received less social support from others, were more dissatisfied with the assistance they got, and encountered more negative interaction from informal social network members (i.e., family and friends). The results suggest that those who administer welfare programs, as well as public policymakers, should consider developing interventions that address the wider psychosocial problems associated with receiving public assistance.     

Feelings of belonging in a congregation: a social–psychological assessment

The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate a conceptual model that explores the social aspects of congregational life that promote feelings of belonging in a congregation. The following core hypotheses are embedded in this model: (1) individuals who go to church more often will receive more spiritual support from fellow church members; (2) people who get more spiritual support from coreligionists will have more practical wisdom; (3) those with more practical wisdom will be more likely to provide emotional support to the individuals in their congregation; (4) people who provide emotional support to fellow church members will be more highly valued by their coreligionists; and (5) individuals who feel they are valued by their fellow congregants will be more likely to believe that they belong in the place where they worship. Data from a recent nationwide survey (N?=?1154) of Christians provide support for each of these relationships.     

The effect of social support on prenatal care.

This article examines the effects of social support on the receipt of adequate prenatal care. A study was conducted to test the hypotheses that social support helps women overcome obstacles to obtaining such care, and that social support has greater effects on women facing the most obstacles. Survey data were gathered for more than 90% of the women who gave birth in Oklahoma hospitals during specific periods in the summer of 1986. The authors found only weak support for the first hypothesis, and for the second hypothesis found only support that must be qualified according to the measure of social support. Strong evidence indicates, however, that difficulty in paying for prenatal care, personal inconveniences, and unwanted pregnancies are obstacles to obtaining such care. The findings account for some of the frequently observed demographic differences associated with receipt of adequate prenatal care, although such differences persisted even after the obstacles were considered. The authors present implications for policy makers seeking to improve women's receipt of adequate prenatal care.     

Traumatic stress, life events, and emotional support in women with metastatic breast cancer: cancer-related traumatic stress symptoms associated with past and current stressors.

This study examined levels of intrusion and avoidance symptoms and their relationships to past life stress, current emotional support, disease-related variables, and age in 125 women with metastatic breast cancer. The results indicate that a sizable proportion of these women experienced clinically significant levels of intrusion and avoidance symptoms related to their cancer, particularly those with both more stressful past life events and higher current levels of aversive emotional support. Additionally, both types of symptoms were associated with shorter time since recurrence, and avoidance symptoms were associated with smaller emotional support networks. These results indicate that metastatic breast cancer is an emotionally traumatic event for a significant proportion of women, particularly those with past life stressors and unsupportive social environments.