Religiosity, Spirituality, and the Subjective Quality of African American Men's Friendships: An Exploratory Study

The present study fills a crucial gap in literature surrounding the lives of African American men by exploring factors that shape the quality of these men's friendships. Drawing on data from a sample of 171 African American men, the study examines the relative utility of subjective religiosity, subjective spirituality, advice exchange, and affective sharing as predictors of the level of perceived support from male and female friends. Findings reveal age differences in subjective religiosity, subjective spirituality, and in level of advice and affective exchange in men's same-sex as well as cross-sex friendships. Age differences emerged in men's perceptions of the supportiveness of their friendships with women but not with men. Age was not a predictor of perceived supportiveness of same-sex or cross-sex friendships. Subjective religiosity did not predict support in same-sex or cross-sex friendships. Subjective spirituality positively predicted perceived support in men's same-sex friendships but not in cross-sex friendships. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

领悟社会支持、实际社会支持与大学生抑郁

该研究以316名大学生为被试,探讨了领悟社会支持和实际社会支持与大学生抑郁之间的关系。结构方程模型的分析表明,大学生对当前社会支持的领悟对抑郁具有直接的缓冲作用;实际社会支持主要通过领悟社会支持对大学生的抑郁情绪起缓冲作用。研究结果暗示着,领悟社会支持是一种在应对压力情境中发展起来的特质或图式,在个体应对压力时表现为一种弹性人格,从而防止消极情绪的恶化或产生。     

社会支持与身心健康关系研究述评

该研究从社会支持的概念入手．探讨了社会支持的结构与测量．社会支持对身心健康影响的作用模型,影响社会支持的因素,并对研究中存在的问题及研究方向进行了探讨。     

老年人社会支持与期望的调查研究

运用问卷调查法,通过对272名城市老年人的调查,考察了老年人的社会支持与期望的现状及其特点。结果发现:老年人的社会支持系统很不平衡,性别、年龄、受教育年限和职业对老年人的婚姻和家庭生活,人际关系和互助行为,住房情况和经济状况,以及心理需要和社会期望等具有不同的影响;相当比例的老年人在不同侧面尚需要家人和社会的关注、理解和支持。     

Length and Locus of Friendship Influence Church Members' Sense of Social Support and Comfort with Sharing Emotions

ABSTRACT

This study investigated whether older people involved with religious congregations differentiate their friends within the congregation from their friends outside the congregation in terms of perceptions of social support and their comfort with sharing various positive and negative emotions. The study also examined older adults' perceptions of differences in social support and comfort with sharing emotions with friends they have known a long time and friends they have known for three years or less. The results showed significant differences between long time friends and new friends in terms of a stronger sense of social support and greater comfort with sharing positive and negative emotions. No differences were noted for social support or comfort with sharing emotions in comparisons of friends within and outside of congregations. Study participants were significantly more comfortable sharing positive emotions than negative emotions with all categories of friends and there was a significant positive relation between social support and comfort with sharing emotions. Results are discussed in terms of the types of congregations to which the participants belonged and the role of congregational leaders in providing opportunities for older people to develop and sustain friendships within the faith community.     

Social Anxiety and Friendship Quality over Time

Abstract

High social anxiety in adults is associated with self-report of impaired friendship quality, but not necessarily with impairment reported by friends. Further, prospective prediction of social anxiety and friendship quality over time has not been tested among adults. We therefore examined friendship quality and social anxiety prospectively in 126 young adults (67 primary participants and 59 friends, aged 17–22 years); the primary participants were screened to be extreme groups to increase power and relevance to clinical samples (i.e., they were recruited based on having very high or very low social interaction anxiety). The prospective relationships between friendship quality and social anxiety were then tested using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Model. Friendship quality prospectively predicted social anxiety over time within each individual in the friendship, such that higher friendship quality at Time 1 predicted lower social anxiety approximately 6 months later at Time 2. Social anxiety did not predict friendship quality. Although the results support the view that social anxiety and friendship quality have an important causal relationship, the results run counter to the assumption that high social anxiety causes poor friendship quality. Interventions to increase friendship quality merit further consideration.     

Friendship Quality and Social Development

A high-quality friendship is characterized by high levels of prosocial behavior, intimacy, and other positive features, and low levels of conflicts, rivalry, and other negative features. Friendship quality has been assumed to have direct effects on many aspects of children's social development, including their self-esteem and social adjustment. Recent research suggests, however, that friendship quality affects primarily children's success in the social world of peers. Friendship quality could also have indirect effects, by magnifying or diminishing the influence of friends on each other's attitudes and behaviors. Having high-quality friendships may lessen children's tendencies to imitate the behavior of shy and withdrawn friends, but little evidence supports the hypothesis that high-quality friendships magnify friends' influence.     

我国老年人的社会支持与服务

鉴于我国老龄化现状,简要地回顾了社会支持的定义与种类,考察了我国传统的孝顺价值观和行为;并着重分析了我国老年人的社会支持与服务,包括老年人的社会支持与幸福感,老年人的家庭支持与照料,老年组织与公共老年服务;以及我国老年人社会支持的城乡差异。     

Friendships and Adaptation Across the Life Span

Friends foster self-esteem and a sense of well-being, socialize one another, and support one another in coping with developmental transitions and life stress. Friends engage in different activities with one another across the life span, but friendship is conceived similarly by children and adults. Friends and friendships, however, are not all alike. The developmental significance of having friends depends on the characteristics of the friends, especially whether the friends are antisocial or socially withdrawn. Outcomes also depend on whether friendships are supportive and intimate or fractious and unstable. Among both children and adults, friendships have clear-cut developmental benefits at times but are mixed blessings at other times.     

Social integration and social support in a life crisis: Effects of macrosocial change in east Germany

The breakdown of the former communist system in East Germany was a major critical life event for those who left that country as well as for those who stayed behind. When the borders were opened, a longitudinal study was launched to examine the psychological readaptation process. Some indicators of social changes of migrants compared to nonmigrants were available. At three points in time over 2 years, both groups reported on their social bonding and social support. Migrants readjusted well by making new friends. In particular, young men were socially active, and more same-sex than opposite-sex friendships were established. The group of young migrants reported having received the most support, in particular when they had a partner. Anticipated support, in contrast, was highest for young single women who did not migrate. Results contribute to the understanding of social dynamics that occur after a stressful relocation.     

Social support processes in early childhood friendship: A comparative study of ecological congruences in enacted support

Examined congruences between children's friendships and classroom social ecologies in three distinct settings, and poses that such congruences or social adaptations are aptly characterized as a process of enacted social support; i.e., an interpersonal transaction involving the reduction or evasion of stress. Data were derived from Corsaro's recent ethnographics of children's friendship and peer culture in a University Preschool (Corsaro, 1985) and Head Start center (Corsaro, 1994), and from Rizzo's (1989) ethnography of friendship development among first-grade children. Despite vast differences across settings, the nature and activities of children's friendships appeared consistently linked with specific organizational features in their life-worlds and in this way may constitute significant interpersonal and individual adaptations to that world. In this view, friendship is best seen not as a static entity, which children appropriate in a consistent fashion, but as a general and malleable concept, which they modify and use in a collaborative fashion to address shared psychosocial concerns. Findings are related to research on the link between perceived and enacted support, and on the interplay between relational and social support processes.     

初中生的社会支持与人格的关系

采用问卷法对432名初中生主观感知的社会支持、外界提供的社会支持与人格之间的关系进行研究,结果表明：（1）在大多数维度上,主观感知的社会支持与外界提供的相应支持及人格有显著的正相关。（2）人格类型不同的初中生主观感知的社会支持有显著差异。（3）人格的谨慎性和开放性、外界提供的社会支持对主观感知的社会支持有显著的正向预测作用;谨慎性和外向性对外界提供的社会支持有显著的正向预测作用。     

Gender Differences in Social Support for Socially Anxious Individuals

Given that social anxiety disorder is a common, chronic, debilitating disorder and socially anxious women appear to have different experiences related to social development and social support than men, it is essential that the gender differences in social anxiety and social support be understood. The present study examined perceived social support quantity and satisfaction in 23 women and 28 men seeking treatment for social anxiety disorder. Contrary to expectations, men and women did not differ on measures of social support. However, younger, unmarried women reported having smaller social support networks and less satisfaction with their social support networks than older, married women. Analyses of socially anxious men did not reveal such a pattern. The current study provides preliminary evidence that younger, single women have social support networks that are less satisfying than the social support networks of older, married women. Inclusion of social support modules within a cognitive behavioral treatment approach for social anxiety disorder may be warranted, particularly for young, unmarried women.     

一项社会支持的心理学研究

本研究以我国东、西部439户被征地农民家庭的主要劳力为对象,通过问卷调查,考察了被征地农民的社会支持。结果发现：被征地农民所获得的总的社会支持水平与城市居民投有显著差异,但在社会支持的某些维度上具有明显差异;我国东部地区被征地农民所获得的社会支持水平显著高于西部地区;人口统计因素(如年龄、受教育水平等)和社会心理因素(如征地前的职业、征地后的经济来源等)对被征地农民社会支持的不同方面具有不同影响。研究认为,征地部门需要重视被征地农民的就业安置或职业培训、以提高被征地农民的社会支持水平。尤其是我国西部地区被征地农民的社会支持水平。     

酒精性肝损伤的防治思考

艾滋病是当前许多国家面临的最主要的公共卫生和社会问题。社会支持在艾滋病的预防与控制方面发挥着重要作用,运用社会支持网络理论,阐述了社会支持的概念与作用,分析了艾滋病患者的社会支持需要及艾滋病患者社会支持现状,并提出了完善社会支持系统的几点建议。     

Workplace Bullying and Burnout: The Moderating Effects of Social Support

This study aims to investigate the moderating effects of social support on the link between workplace bullying and burnout. This correlational study includes 222 employees recruited from various industry sectors. Participants completed the Revised Negative Acts Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Social Support Scale. Colleague and supervisor support moderated the relationship between both work- and person-related bullying with burnout, whereas family and senior management support moderated the links between burnout and person-related and physically intimidating bullying, respectively. High levels of emotional support were associated with greater emotional exhaustion in work-related and overall bullying. Different forms of social support moderated the links between different forms of workplace bullying and different components of burnout. The present findings may inform anti-bullying prevention programs and interventions supporting bullying victims.     

Deployment Stress and Well-Being Among Military Spouses: The Role of Social Support

The demands of military service, including the intensity and frequency of military operations, can have numerous effects on military families. Evidence suggests that spousal support may play an important role in the resiliency of military families. The present study examined the roles of deployment stress and social support in the psychological well-being of spouses of deployed military personnel (N = 639). The results showed that deployment stress and perceived social support from family, nonmilitary friends, and military partner played independent roles in the psychological wellbeing of military spouses. This evidence suggests the importance of taking perceived social support into account when explaining the variance in the psychological wellbeing of military spouses. Results are discussed in light of some methodological constraints, and the potential implications related to heightening families’ perceptions of interpersonal relationships are emphasized.     

Predicting Support for Arabs' Autonomy from Social Dominance: The Role of Identity Complexity and Dehumanization

The present study extends previous research on the influence of social dominance orientation (SDO) in international affairs by investigating the role of sociocognitive processes such as social identity complexity (SIC) and intergroup dehumanization in explaining the relationship between SDO and support for Arabs' autonomy. An Italian heterogeneous sample (N = 123), in terms of gender, age, political orientation, religiosity, and income level, was considered. We expected that those low on SDO would be more likely to support Arabs' autonomy, would have higher SIC, and would be less likely to dehumanize Arabs. We also expected that SIC and dehumanization would sequentially mediate the relationship between SDO and support for Arabs' autonomy. Results revealed that Italians low on SDO have higher SIC (i.e., a more inclusive social identity) which endorses lower dehumanization of Arabs. This in turn explained the influence of SDO on support for Arabs' autonomy. These findings integrate the literature about SDO and SIC and enhance the understanding of the sociocognitive processes underlying people's support for international egalitarian movements.     

Ethnicity and Social Support During Pregnancy

Data from two multi-ethnic prospective studies of African American, Latina, and non-Hispanic White pregnant women were used to examine the influence of contextual factors on social support processes during pregnancy. Multiple types of support (perceived support, received support, support satisfaction, network support) and sources of support (baby's father, family, friends) were assessed. The role of ethnicity in social support was examined after controlling for the contribution of related contextual factors (SES, marital status, age, parity, employment) to these processes. The impact of ethnicity and related contextual factors differed across sources of social support. Ethnic differences in support from family and friends, but not from the baby's father, emerged. However, marital status was a consistent predictor of support from the baby's father, and SES was a consistent predictor of support from friends. Overall, the findings of two studies suggest that although ethnicity is associated with support from friends and family, other contextual factors, such as marital status and SES, influence support processes during pregnancy.     

You,me, and meaning: an integrative review of connections between relationships and meaning in life

Social relationships are seen to be vital to human functioning, both in terms of psychological functioning and physical health. Relationships are a cornerstone of well-being. For instance, having positive relationships has been linked to greater happiness, life satisfaction and physical health outcomes. Meaning in life, or the perception that one's life is significant and has a purpose, is another prominent cornerstone of well-being. As such, social relationships and meaning in life should have reciprocal associations. In this paper, cross-cultural theory and empirical research will be reviewed to explore the role of family, romantic and friendship relationships in supporting meaning in life. Further, we will discuss the implications of the current research and propose new directions for future research.