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Social support and health
- from Psychology, health and illness
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- By Thomas A. Wills, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Michael G. Ainette, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Edited by Susan Ayers, University of Sussex, Andrew Baum, University of Pittsburgh, Chris McManus, Stanton Newman, Kenneth Wallston, John Weinman, Robert West
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- Book:
- Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine
- Published online:
- 18 December 2014
- Print publication:
- 23 August 2007, pp 202-207
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Social support and health
This chapter discusses the relation of social support to health outcomes. We consider approaches to the conceptualization of social support and discuss findings on the relation of social support to onset, progression or recovery from chronic illnesses which are major sources of mortality. An emphasis is on understanding physiological and behavioural mechanisms through which social support is related to health status. In a final section we summarize developments in this area, note current debates and suggest directions for clinical research.
Conceptualization and measurement of social support
There are two major approaches to conceptualizing social variables related to health. The structural approach focuses on assessing the structure of a person's network of social connections. In a typical network assessment the respondent is asked to name persons with whom he/she has a connection, typically including questions about spouse, family, friends, neighbours and workmates. Network assessments may also include questions about membership of community organizations (e.g. churches, professional or service organizations, fraternal organizations) and participation in sports, cultural activities and leisure/recreational activities. A score for network size is based on the total number of connections a person has; a score for social integration is based on the total number of different roles a person has in the community; and a score termed ‘social participation’ is based on the total amount of participation in activities that involve other people. These indices are taken to represent the extent of a person's integration in the community (Cohen, Underwood & Gottlieb, 2000).