This study employs two measures of social support: local relatives support (LRS) and informal credit and savings group membership (IGM), from three pooled cross-sections of rural Zimbabwean farmer-households, to investigate the role of social support in the number of sustainable land management practices (SLMPs) that they adopt. The results indicate that households with greater self-sufficiency capabilities are more likely to receive social support in the form of IGM and less likely to receive it in the form of LRS. Secondly, being spatially proximate to neighbours that receive social support is associated with the farmer-household also receiving social support. Thirdly, receiving social support increases the likelihood of adopting more SLMPs. Fourthly, households without social support would have adopted more SLMPs if they had received social support. Finally, self-enforcing social support in the form of IGM is associated with a higher likelihood of SLMP adoption compared to LRS, which depends on relatives’ benevolence.

Temporary Childbirth Migration (TCM), where women return to their natal homes during or after pregnancy, is a common but understudied practice in India and South Asia. This study examines the influence of social support systems on TCM decisions among Indian women, focusing on the roles of husbands, in-laws, and parents. The study was conducted in the Vadu Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) in Western Maharashtra, India, and involved 41 in-depth interviews with triads comprising women, their husbands, and mothers-in-law. Participants varied in age, education, occupation, marriage, migration type, and delivery method and included women with infants up to two years old. Data were analysed using rapid and traditional coding approaches with predefined and emergent codes. Findings were categorised under four key domains of social support: emotional, financial, instrumental, and informational. Emotional support from mothers fosters a stress-free environment; financial support from family influences location; instrumental support for household tasks differs across settings; and informational guidance from experienced family members guides expectant mothers. Healthcare access, household status, and the husband’s role also shape migration choices. Women prioritise proximity to medical facilities, comfort, and freedom in their natal homes. Decisions are typically inclusive, involving multiple family members. The study shows that social support, cultural norms, and practical needs influence TCM decisions, and further research is needed to support women’s choices during the perinatal period. In conclusion, recognising emotional, financial, informational, and instrumental support can help providers and policymakers improve maternal and child health outcomes.

The current study examined mothers’ and fathers’ dyadic trajectories of perceived social support and their associations with children’s prosociality. Data were drawn from 4,329 children (52% male, 48% female; 44% Black, 22% Hispanic, 17% White) in a prospective birth cohort study of low-income families. Repeated-measures latent class analysis identified three trajectories of social support at the level of the mother–father dyad from birth to age five: “High and Concordant” (64%), “Paternal-Advantaged, Declining Maternal” (20%), and “Maternal-Advantaged” (16%) social support. Child prosocial behavior differed significantly across dyadic social support trajectories. Children of parents in the “Paternal-Advantaged, Declining Maternal” (M = –0.06, SE = 0.20; p < .001) and “Maternal-Advantaged” (M = –0.26, SE = 0.19; p < .001) social support trajectories scored significantly lower on prosocial behavior at age five than those with “High and Concordant” social support (M = 0.37, SE = 0.04). These differences persisted at age nine for children of parents in the “Paternal-Advantaged, Declining Maternal” social support trajectory. Findings suggest that consistent and adequate social support within the parental dyad is critical to cultivating children’s prosocial skills.

The Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model (Welk, 1999) has provided a specific framework to understand children’s and adolescents’ physical activity behavior. The objectives were (1) to analyze whether the data collected in Chilean and Spanish adolescents fit the proposed model and (2) to analyze the countries’ differences (Spain vs. Chile) in enabling, predisposing, and reinforcing as well as the demographic factors that influence physical activity. The sample comprised 2318 adolescents from Spain (Mage = 14.5, SD = 1.36; 51.9% females) and 734 from Chile (Mage = 14.7, SD = 1.47; 54.2% females). The variables measured were reinforcing factors: fathers’, mothers’, friends’, and Physical Education teachers’ social support; predisposing factors: perceived competence and enjoyment; enabling factor: body mass index; and demographic factor: country of origin. Results showed that the youth physical activity promotion model was supported by the data collected from Spanish and Chilean adolescents. Nevertheless, differences in the model were observed when comparing the Spanish and Chilean populations. Perceived competence and the father’s social support predict Chilean adolescents’ physical activity. In Spain, perceived competence and the mother’s social support predict adolescents’ physical activity. Therefore, the country of origin is a key factor in understanding physical activity because education and family culture may influence physical activity in different ways.

Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living with HIV are at increased risk of developing suicidality. Yet little is known about the effects of HIV-related stigma, mental health challenges and social support on suicidality among AGYW living with HIV. We analysed cross-sectional data from 711 AGYW living with HIV who participated in two large prospective South African cohort studies, Mzantsi Wakho (2017–2018) and HEY BABY (2018–2019). Standardised and validated questionnaires were used to measure HIV-related stigma, mental health symptomology (mediator), social support (moderator) and suicidality (outcome). A moderated mediation analysis was used to investigate (1) the direct effects of HIV-related stigma on suicidality, (2) the indirect effects as mediated through mental health symptomology and (3) the moderating effects of social support on mental health issues and suicidality, adjusted for potential confounders. Higher HIV-related stigma (β = 0.45 [0.13, 0.78], p < 0.001) was directly associated with higher suicidality. Mental health symptomology was associated with increased risk of suicidality (β = 1.05 [0.66, 1.44], p < 0.001) and partially mediated the effect of HIV-related stigma on suicidality. Social support buffered the indirect effects of HIV-related stigma on suicidality (β = 0.86, bias-corrected 95% CI [0.01, 2.41]). HIV-related stigma is associated with higher suicidality. Programmes that simultaneously address stigma and strengthen social support services may improve mental health and reduce suicidality among AGYW living with HIV.

Employees rely heavily on computer-mediated communication (CMC). While CMC provides significant benefits, it also presents some challenges. The theoretical mechanisms underlying these opposing effects remain poorly understood, limiting our ability to mitigate the drawbacks of CMC use while maximizing its advantages. This study leverages job design theory to unravel the complex relationship between CMC use and employee basic need satisfaction, an important determinant of employee well-being and performance. More specifically, we propose that CMC use can satisfy the basic psychological needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy as defined in self-determination theory, by providing social support, a critical job resource. However, it may also impede psychological need satisfaction by introducing technology-induced job demands, such as interruptions and techno-workload. A daily diary study among 143 employees reporting on at least 2 days of working from home corroborated these hypotheses: CMC use was positively related to daily relatedness satisfaction through enhanced social support. Conversely, it was negatively associated with daily autonomy satisfaction through task interruptions and techno-workload. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results, confirming the dual role of CMC in fulfilling and challenging basic psychological need satisfaction.

Social support is a key coping resource; its specific role for refugees from sub-Saharan Africa in high-income settings remains poorly understood. This systematic review synthesises existing evidence on the sources of social support and how these networks aid coping during resettlement. We applied an optimised search strategy to identify studies examining social support among sub-Saharan African refugees across six academic indexing databases. We then undertook a meta-synthesis of the identified studies. This involved the use of meta-thematic analysis of the interpretations and quotes presented in each study, combining thematic analysis through the reviewer’s reflexivity. The PRISMA framework guided the review process to ensure methodological rigour. A total of 22 articles were included in the qualitative meta-synthesis. The synthesis revealed four key sources of social support: 1) family, 2) friends, 3) ethnic and community groups, and 4) cultural and religious supports. These support sources played multiple roles, including enhancing community engagement and reciprocity, providing practical and emotional assistance, offering relief from distress and cultivating cultural continuity and adaptation. However, some individuals distanced themselves from their ethnic community and preferred self-driven coping. Access to social support systems remains a crucial coping resource for many sub-Saharan African refugees in high-income settings, alleviating distress and enhancing resilience. Programs that strengthen informal social support networks through community-driven initiatives can enhance the relevance of social support. Future research should investigate the role of social support across various phases of resettlement in relation to psychosocial well-being.

In this study, we investigate why individuals in need of social support refrain from asking for help from social service providers in the third sector. This phenomenon of non-take-up of social support is still underexplored, and our theoretical understanding of it is highly fragmented. Based on psychological, socio-epidemiological, socio-cultural, and public administration research, we distil potential determinants of non-take-up of social support. Based on 55 narratives (individual interviews) and two focus groups (n = 16) in the Dutch municipality of The Hague, we examine empirical evidence for these determinants. Our results indicate that (perceived) bureaucratic obstacles and the desire to maintain one’s (feeling of) independence are critical barriers to help-seeking behaviour for social support from third sector social service providers. We conclude with a discussion of our findings and their implications for practice and propose new research avenues.

Older adults hold various social roles that are assumed to change over time due to life transitions. The (relative) importance assigned to these roles is proposed as a distinct and relevant component of later-life social functioning, yet longitudinal research is lacking. This exploratory study examined the stability and change in the (relative) importance of various social roles, as well as potential predictors of individual differences in change. It used three waves (2019, 2020, 2023) of the Health, Aging, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS) study and comprised 3,935 older adults (mean age 66.9 years, 54% female) who rated the importance of nine social roles across the three waves, along with baseline questions on demographics, social support and personality. Latent growth curve models showed that, over time, older adults had fewer roles, fewer important roles and rated their roles as less important, although effects were generally small. While family roles remained consistently highly valued, the relative importance of friend roles increased, whereas the importance of care-giving and work-related roles declined. Generally, individuals with characteristics facilitating role accumulation and maintenance (i.e. supportive network, good health and higher levels of extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness) identified more (important) roles. No predictors explained individual differences in the change in role importance over time. These findings provide a comprehensive view of the stability and slight change in the personal centrality of social roles early in older adulthood, offering a foundation for future confirmatory research on the impact of social roles on later-life social functioning and wellbeing.

It is widely believed that civic associations are capable to produce social capital, here understood as an individual asset resulting from relations of mutual support and assistance. Although hardly anybody denies that socializing is widespread in many civic associations, it still remains to be shown that this socializing provides a genuine commitment to support. This paper explores the relationship between involvement in civic organizations and social support. The data analysed come from a nation-wide survey “Organized Sport and Social Capital—Revisited” (OSSCAR) representing the adult population in Germany. Findings show that participation in civic associations is associated with higher levels of social support. This effect is stronger for active participants and weaker for passive members. Path analyses further indicate that this effect is mediated by a person’s sociability orientations as well as her commitment to prosocial values. These findings help providing a more nuanced understanding of mechanisms of social capital formation in civic associations.

This paper examines the effects of practical and emotional social support to changes in personal and vocational wellbeing of employees and training participants of social purpose enterprises. This study finds that among participants with lower baseline optimism and self-esteem, those who found the practical social support from their organization to be more relevant to their work outcomes had significantly higher optimism and self-esteem at the time of the survey, compared to other low baseline participants who had assigned less importance to their work-centred practical support. Social support did not influence those with high baseline scores in optimism and self-esteem, or changes to self-efficacy and vocational identity. Implications on support intervention within social purpose enterprises and for the broader field of social enterprise research are discussed.