Global Versus Health-Specific Social Support and Match of Preferred and Perceived Social Support Levels in Relationship to Compliance and Blood Pressure of Hypertensives1

A comparison of the relative usefulness of a standardized measure of global perceived social support (Procidano and Heller, 1983) with a health-specific index showed that the latter was a better predictor of compliance for a sample consisting mostly of older female hypertensives. However, the relationship of support and compliance to actual health, as measured by blood pressure levels at two times separated by 3 to 6 months, was found to be weak. The hypothesis that the degree of fit between preference for social support and amount of perceived support would affect compliance was not upheld. A model of social support as the positive reaction of others to patients with good health status was proposed as an alternative or complement to the prevalent model in which support is viewed as an antecedent of compliance, and eventually, of improved health.