Excessive use of Facebook: The influence of self-monitoring and Facebook usage on social support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikanda Pornsakulvanich

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study examined the influence of self-monitoring and the amount of Facebook use on Facebook addiction, and the associations among self-monitoring, Facebook addiction, Facebook usage, and social support. A cross-sectional design was used to collect the data from 257 college students who have used Facebook. The findings indicated that high self-monitors were more likely to be addicted to Facebook than were low self-monitors. In addition, the number of friends and Facebook activities were the major predictors of the amount of time on Facebook. High self-monitors, Facebook activities, and the amount of time predicted Facebook addiction. Moreover, the number of friends and low-self-monitors were linked to social support. Keywords: Facebook addiction, Facebook usage, self-monitoring, social support

Interaction between social influence and payoff transparency.

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Zhou, Xinyue; Xie, Wenwen; Ye, Maolin

2014-02-01

Social influence and payoff transparency interact with each other to influence decision making. Social influence masks payoff transparency, and lacking transparency drives people to seek social influence. Moreover, our survey supports our claim by showing that social influence and payoff transparency correlate with each other (r(53) = -.71). Bentley et al.'s model can be revised to accommodate the covariance.

The influence of cultural and religious orientations on social support and its potential impact on medication adherence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatah E

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Ernieda Hatah,1 Kien Ping Lim,1,2 Adliah Mohd Ali,1 Noraida Mohamed Shah,1 Farida Islahudin1 1Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 2Pharmacy Department, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Jalan Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Purpose: Social support can positively influence patients’ health outcomes through a number of mechanisms, such as increases in patients’ adherence to medication. Although there have been studies on the influence of social support on medication adherence, these studies were conducted in Western settings, not in Asian settings where cultural and religious orientations may be different. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of cultural orientation and religiosity on social support and its relation to patients’ medication adherence. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of patients with chronic diseases in two tertiary hospitals in Selangor, Malaysia. Patients who agreed to participate in the study were asked to answer questions in the following areas: 1 perceived group and higher authority cultural orientations; 2 religiosity: organizational and non-organizational religious activities, and intrinsic religiosity; 3 perceived social support; and 4 self-reported medication adherence. Patients’ medication adherence was modeled using multiple logistic regressions, and only variables with a P-value of <0.25 were included in the analysis. Results: A total of 300 patients completed the questionnaire, with the exception of 40 participants who did not complete the cultural orientation question. The mean age of the patients was 57.6±13.5. Group cultural orientation, organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, and intrinsic religiosity demonstrated significant associations with patients’ perceived social support (r=0.181, P=0.003; r=0.230, P<0.001; r=0.135, P=0.019; and r=0.156, P=0.007, respectively. In the medication adherence model

PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT AND PARENTS ADJUSTMENT

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Patrizia VELOTTI

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Social networks often provide an important source of support for new parents. General, parent support programs sustain social-emotional development of children. Different aspects could impact both the quantity and quality of the sources of social support and the perception that parents would had. This study examines the role of social support in the couples of new-parents and assesses the influence of attachment models on it. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS were administered to a sample of 100 participants. Results indicated a perception of social support more pronounced in women, mainly on the dimension of social support derived from the partner. Furthermore, for women and not for men, an association between attachment models to the AAI and the different perceptions of social support was revealed. Data seems support the opportunity to assess parents during early rehabilitation interventions. Support groups could be used with insecure parents and has positive effects in reducing stress and promoting adjustment to the disability for children and their families.

Direct and Indirect Pathways From Social Support to Health?

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Kim, Seoyoun; Thomas, Patricia A

2017-07-04

We aimed to investigate potential direct and indirect pathways linking social support and health, while considering mental health and chronic inflammation as inter-related outcomes. The study also contributes to the literature through testing potential bidirectional relationships between social support, mental health, and chronic inflammation. This study uses Structural Equation Modeling and two waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), including 1,124 community-living older adults aged 57-85 years at Wave 1 (2005). Analyses show that social support influenced mental health indirectly through better self-esteem. Moreover, social support was associated with lower levels of chronic inflammation but chronic inflammation did not influence social support. The growing number of older adults with an aging population urgently calls for a greater understanding of factors influencing their physical and mental health. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of social support in older adults' health, while specifically focusing on understudied indirect pathways from social support to health. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Influence of social support on health among gender and socio-economic groups of adolescents

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Geckova, A; van Dijk, JP; Stewart, R; Groothoff, JW; Post, D

Background: The influence of social support on health was explored among gender and socio-economic groups with the aim of contributing to the explanation of socio-economic health differences among Slovak adolescents. Methods: The sample consisted of 2616 Slovak adolescents (52.4% male, 47.6% female,

The Influence of Social Support on Dyadic Functioning and Mental Health Among Military Personnel During Postdeployment Reintegration.

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Cederbaum, Julie A; Wilcox, Sherrie L; Sullivan, Kathrine; Lucas, Carrie; Schuyler, Ashley

Although many service members successfully cope with exposure to stress and traumatic experiences, others have symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety; contextual factors may account for the variability in outcomes from these experiences. This work sought to understand mechanisms through which social support influences the mental health of service members and whether dyadic functioning mediates this relationship. We collected cross-sectional data as part of a larger study conducted in 2013; 321 military personnel who had at least 1 deployment were included in these analyses. Surveys were completed online; we collected data on demographic characteristics, social support, mental health measures (depression, PTSD, and anxiety), and dyadic functioning. We performed process modeling through mediation analysis. The direct effects of social support on the mental health of military personnel were limited; however, across all types of support networks, greater social support was significantly associated with better dyadic functioning. Dyadic functioning mediated the relationships between social support and depression/PTSD only when social support came from nonmilitary friends or family; dyadic functioning mediated social support and anxiety only when support came from family. We found no indirect effects of support from military peers or military leaders. Findings here highlight the need to continue to explore ways in which social support, particularly from family and nonmilitary-connected peers, can bolster healthy intimate partner relationships and, in turn, improve the well-being of military service members who are deployed.

The Influence of Social Support on Dyadic Functioning and Mental Health Among Military Personnel During Postdeployment Reintegration

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Wilcox, Sherrie L.; Sullivan, Kathrine; Lucas, Carrie; Schuyler, Ashley

2016-01-01

Objectives: Although many service members successfully cope with exposure to stress and traumatic experiences, others have symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety; contextual factors may account for the variability in outcomes from these experiences. This work sought to understand mechanisms through which social support influences the mental health of service members and whether dyadic functioning mediates this relationship. Methods: We collected cross-sectional data as part of a larger study conducted in 2013; 321 military personnel who had at least 1 deployment were included in these analyses. Surveys were completed online; we collected data on demographic characteristics, social support, mental health measures (depression, PTSD, and anxiety), and dyadic functioning. We performed process modeling through mediation analysis. Results: The direct effects of social support on the mental health of military personnel were limited; however, across all types of support networks, greater social support was significantly associated with better dyadic functioning. Dyadic functioning mediated the relationships between social support and depression/PTSD only when social support came from nonmilitary friends or family; dyadic functioning mediated social support and anxiety only when support came from family. We found no indirect effects of support from military peers or military leaders. Conclusion: Findings here highlight the need to continue to explore ways in which social support, particularly from family and nonmilitary-connected peers, can bolster healthy intimate partner relationships and, in turn, improve the well-being of military service members who are deployed. PMID:28005474

The influence of social support from the family on health related-quality of life in persons with a colostomy.

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Leyk, Magdalena; Ksiaz˙ek, Janina; Habel, Agnieszka; Dobosz, Marek; Kruk, Agnieszka; Terech, Sylwia

2014-01-01

We evaluated the influence of social support on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in persons with a colostomy, taking into account time since surgery. The study was conducted in 8 cities in Poland. The sample comprised 128 patients with a colostomy; their mean age was 66.24 years. Forty-five percent of participants had lived with a colostomy for more than 5 years, and 16% had a colostomy for less than 1 year. The questionnaire used in the study included 76 questions divided into 3 parts. The first part comprised 8 questions that queried demographic characteristics. Parts 2 and 3 included 2 validated scales assessing HRQOL and social support, respectively. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal instrument. Social support received was assessed using the Berlin Social Support Scale. In the case of both scales, the respondents were asked to assess their status during the last 7 days. The study was conducted by an interviewer during monthly meetings of colostomy support groups as well as during hospitalization. The respondents gave their verbal answers to questions read by the interviewer or completed the questionnaires by themselves. After the questionnaire was completed, the interviewer verified completeness of answers. The outcome time elapsed since surgery was categorized as 3 subgroups: (1) respondents having a colostomy 1 year or less, (2) respondents having colostomy for more than 1 or up to 5 years, and (3) respondents having colostomy more than 5 years. Analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between level of social support and HRQOL among persons with a colostomy (R = 0.361, P = .000029). Moreover, we observed that the time elapsed since colostomy surgery influenced this relationship. Level of social support and HRQOL were not significantly related in persons living with a colostomy ≤1 year (R = 0.155, P = .525). The correlation was significant in persons with a

Overlapping genetic and environmental influences among men's alcohol consumption and problems, romantic quality and social support.

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Salvatore, J E; Prom-Wormley, E; Prescott, C A; Kendler, K S

2015-08-01

Alcohol consumption and problems are associated with interpersonal difficulties. We used a twin design to assess in men the degree to which genetic or environmental influences contributed to the covariance between alcohol consumption and problems, romantic quality and social support. The sample included adult male-male twin pairs (697 monozygotic and 487 dizygotic) for whom there were interview-based data on: alcohol consumption (average monthly alcohol consumption in the past year); alcohol problems (lifetime alcohol dependence symptoms); romantic conflict and warmth; friend problems and support; and relative problems and support. Key findings were that genetic and unique environmental factors contributed to the covariance between alcohol consumption and romantic conflict; genetic factors contributed to the covariance between alcohol problems and romantic conflict; and common and unique environmental factors contributed to the covariance between alcohol problems and friend problems. Recognizing and addressing the overlapping genetic and environmental influences that alcohol consumption and problems share with romantic quality and other indicators of social support may have implications for substance use prevention and intervention efforts.

WORKPLACE SOCIAL SUPPORT AND WORK–FAMILY CONFLICT: A META-ANALYSIS CLARIFYING THE INFLUENCE OF GENERAL AND WORK–FAMILY-SPECIFIC SUPERVISOR AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT

OpenAIRE

KOSSEK, ELLEN ERNST; PICHLER, SHAUN; BODNER, TODD; HAMMER, LESLIE B.

2011-01-01

This article uses meta-analysis to develop a model integrating research on relationships between employee perceptions of general and work–family-specific supervisor and organizational support and work–family conflict. Drawing on 115 samples from 85 studies comprising 72,507 employees, we compared the relative influence of 4 types of workplace social support to work–family conflict: perceived organizational support (POS); supervisor support; perceived organizational work–family support, also k...

Groningen orthopaedic social support scale: Validity and reliability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Akker-Scheek, I.; Stevens, M.; Spriensma, A.; van Horn, J.R.

2004-01-01

BACKGROUND: Social support is an important factor in the rehabilitation process, as it has a positive influence on patients' health, functioning and recovery. In particular, perceived social support and instrumental support are important after total hip or knee arthroplasty. However, nursing staff

"Transformation Tuesday": Temporal context and post valence influence the provision of social support on social media.

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Vogel, Erin A; Rose, Jason P; Crane, Chantal

2018-01-01

Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook have become integral in the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. Users of SNSs seek social support and validation, often using posts that illustrate how they have changed over time. The purpose of the present research is to examine how the valence and temporal context of an SNS post affect the likelihood of other users providing social support. Participants viewed hypothetical SNS posts and reported their intentions to provide social support to the users. Results revealed that participants were more likely to provide social support for posts that were positive and included temporal context (i.e., depicted improvement over time; Study 1). Furthermore, this research suggests that visual representations of change over time are needed to elicit social support (Study 2). Results are discussed in terms of their practical implications for SNS users and theoretical implications for the literature on social support and social media.

[Influence of autonomy support, social goals and relatedness on amotivation in physical education classes].

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Moreno Murcia, Juan A; Parra Rojas, Nicolás; González-Cutre Coll, David

2008-11-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze some factors that influence amotivation in physical education classes. A sample of 399 students, of ages 14 to 16 years, was used. They completed the Perceived Autonomy Support Scale in Exercise Settings (PASSES), the Social Goal Scale-Physical Education (SGS-PE), the factor of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES) adapted to physical education and the amotivation> factor of the Perceived Locus of Causality Scale (PLOC). The psychometric properties of the PASSES were analyzed, as this scale had not been validated to the Spanish context. In this analysis, the scale showed appropriate validity and reliability. The results of the structural equation model indicated that social responsibility and social relationship goals positively predicted perception of relatedness, whereas the context of autonomy support did not significantly predict it. In turn, perception of relatedness negatively predicted amotivation. The findings are discussed with regard to enhancing students' positive motivation.

The Influence of Inadequate Teacher-to-Student Social Support on Amotivation of Physical Education Students

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Shen, Bo; Li, Weidong; Sun, Haichun; Rukavina, Paul Bernard

2010-01-01

Guided by Green-Demers, Leagult, Pelletier, and Pelletier's (2008) assumption that amotivation (absence of motivation) is a multidimensional construct, we designed this study to investigate the influence of inadequate teacher-to-student social support on amotivation of high-school physical education students. Five hundred and sixty-six ninth…

Neighborhood Influences on Perceived Social Support Among Parents: Findings from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods

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Tendulkar, Shalini A.; Koenen, Karestan C.; Dunn, Erin C.; Buka, Stephen; Subramanian, S. V.

2012-01-01

Background Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. Methodology/Principal Findings The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03), predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. Conclusion Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time. PMID:22493683

Neighborhood influences on perceived social support among parents: findings from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods.

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Tendulkar, Shalini A; Koenen, Karestan C; Dunn, Erin C; Buka, Stephen; Subramanian, S V

2012-01-01

Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03), predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time.

Social support influences on eating awareness in children and adolescents: the mediating effect of self-regulatory strategies.

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Gaspar de Matos, Margarida; Palmeira, Antonio L; Gaspar, Tania; De Wit, John B F; Luszczynska, Aleksandra

2016-01-01

The impact of the social environment on healthy eating awareness results from complex interactions among physical, economic, cultural, interpersonal and individual characteristics. This study investigated the impact of social support and social influence on healthy eating awareness, controlling for socio-economic status, gender and age. Additionally, the mediating effect of self-regulation strategies was examined. A total of 2764 children and adolescents aged 10-17 from four European countries completed self-report measures on healthy eating awareness, social influence and the use of self-regulation strategies. Healthy eating awareness and the use of self-regulation strategies were more likely to occur among younger participants. An interaction between gender and age was related to the use of some self-regulation strategies; compared to girls, boys decreased the use of self-regulation strategies more from pre-adolescence to adolescence. Peer social influence was associated with more unhealthy eating in older participants. Results suggest a need to promote self-regulatory competences among young people in order to assist them with regulating their eating behaviours, especially in the presence of peers. Both school-based interventions and family-based interventions, focusing on self-regulation cognitions and social (peer) influence, could help children and adolescents to use self-regulatory strategies which are essential to eat healthier.

The influence of personal networks and social support on study attainment of students in university education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eggens, Lilian; van der Werf, M. P. C.; Bosker, R. J.

In this paper, the influence of personal networks and social support on study attainment of students in university education is examined. Furthermore, the paper aimed at clarifying the possible mediating role of achievement motivation, time spent on studying and working, procrastination and

Neighborhood influences on perceived social support among parents: findings from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shalini A Tendulkar

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03, predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. CONCLUSION: Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time.

The influence of social networks on self-management support: a metasynthesis.

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Vassilev, Ivaylo; Rogers, Anne; Kennedy, Anne; Koetsenruijter, Jan

2014-07-15

There is increasing recognition that chronic illness management (CIM) is not just an individual but a collective process where social networks can potentially make a considerable contribution to improving health outcomes for people with chronic illness. However, the mechanisms (processes, activities) taking place within social networks are insufficiently understood. The aim of this review was to focus on identifying the mechanisms linking social networks with CIM. Here we consider network mechanisms as located within a broader social context that shapes practices, behaviours, and the multiplicity of functions and roles that network members fulfil. A systematic search of qualitative studies was undertaken on Medline, Embase, and Web for papers published between 1st January 2002 and 1st December 2013. Eligible for inclusion were studies dealing with diabetes, and with conditions or health behaviours relevant for diabetes management; and studies exploring the relationship between social networks, self-management, and deprivation. 25 papers met the inclusion criteria. A qualitative metasynthesis was undertaken and the review followed a line of argument synthesis. The main themes identified were: 1) sharing knowledge and experiences in a personal community; 2) accessing and mediation of resources; 3) self-management support requires awareness of and ability to deal with network relationships. These translated into line of argument synthesis in which three network mechanisms were identified. These were network navigation (identifying and connecting with relevant existing resources in a network), negotiation within networks (re-shaping relationships, roles, expectations, means of engagement and communication between network members), and collective efficacy (developing a shared perception and capacity to successfully perform behaviour through shared effort, beliefs, influence, perseverance, and objectives). These network mechanisms bring to the fore the close

The Relationship of Social Engagement and Social Support With Sense of Community.

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Tang, Fengyan; Chi, Iris; Dong, Xinqi

2017-07-01

We aimed to investigate the relationship of engagement in social and cognitive activities and social support with the sense of community (SOC) and its components among older Chinese Americans. The Sense of Community Index (SCI) was used to measure SOC and its four component factors: membership, influence, needs fulfillment, and emotional connection. Social engagement was assessed with 16 questions. Social support included positive support and negative strain. Principal component analysis was used to identify the SCI components. Linear regression analysis was used to detect the contribution of social engagement and social support to SOC and its components. After controlling for sociodemographics and self-rated health, social activity engagement and positive social support were positively related to SOC and its components. This study points to the importance of social activity engagement and positive support from family and friends in increasing the sense of community. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Work-related health complaints in surgical residents and the influence of social support and job-related autonomy.

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Boerjan, Martine; Bluyssen, Simone J M; Bleichrodt, Robert P; van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn M; van Goor, Harry

2010-08-01

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the influence of job-related autonomy and social support provided by consultants and colleagues on the stress-related health complaints of surgical residents in the Netherlands. All (n = 400) Dutch residents in training in general surgery were sent validated self-report questionnaires. Odds ratios were calculated predicting health and exposure to long-term stress for gender, number of working hours, type of hospital, level of social support, job-related autonomy and training phase. The interactions between job-related autonomy and level of social support provided by consultants and colleagues, and all variables, were analysed. A total of 254 of 400 (64%) residents returned questionnaires that were eligible for analysis. Residents experienced more health complaints than the average member of the Dutch working population (4.0 versus 2.5; p = 0.000). Male and senior residents were significantly 'healthier' than female and junior residents, respectively. Social support by consultants was a strong predictor of health and social support by colleagues showed a significant interaction with gender. Women and residents in university hospitals experienced less social support by consultants than men and residents in general teaching hospitals. Residents working in university hospitals experienced lower levels of job-related autonomy and less support from colleagues in comparison with those working in general teaching hospitals. A working week of > 60 hours adversely affected health and job-related autonomy. Social support provided by consultants and colleagues, and job control, are important factors that interact with the work-associated, stress-related health of residents in training in general surgery. Residents report a greater number of health complaints than the average member of the working population, especially female and junior residents. General teaching hospitals seem to provide better support at work than

Social Skills, Social Support and Well-Being in Adolescents of Different Family Configurations

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Vanessa Barbosa Romera Leme

2015-04-01

Full Text Available There is no consensus in the literature regarding the influence of family configuration on the psychological well-being of adolescents. Based on the perception of adolescents, this study evaluates the influence of family configuration, social skills and social support appraisals as potential predictors of adolescent psychological well-being. The participants were 454 adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years from nuclear, separated and remarried families. The adolescents were students in the first and second years of public high school. The data were collectively obtained in the classroom using the Social Skills Inventory for Adolescents, the Social Support Appraisal Scale and the Psychological Well-being Scale. The results indicated that family configuration is not associated with the psychological well-being of adolescents. The social skills of empathy, self-control, civility, social resourcefulness and affective approach as well as the social support appraisals from friends and family were the best predictors of adolescent psychological well-being. The implications of the results are discussed with respect to future research and interventions.

Physical activity and social support in adolescents: analysis of different types and sources of social support.

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Mendonça, Gerfeson; Júnior, José Cazuza de Farias

2015-01-01

Little is known about the influence of different types and sources of social support on physical activity in adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between physical activity and different types and sources of social support in adolescents. The sample consisted of 2,859 adolescents between 14-19 years of age in the city of João Pessoa, in Northeastern Brazil. Physical activity was measured with a questionnaire and social support from parents and friends using a 10-item scale five for each group (type of support: encouragement, joint participation, watching, inviting, positive comments and transportation). Multivariable analysis showed that the types of support provided by parents associated with physical activity in adolescents were encouragement for females (P genders (males: P = 0.009; females: P physical activity varies according to its source, as well as the gender and age of the adolescents.

Social Relationships Moderate Genetic Influences on Heavy Drinking in Young Adulthood.

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Barr, Peter B; Salvatore, Jessica E; Maes, Hermine H; Korhonen, Tellervo; Latvala, Antti; Aliev, Fazil; Viken, Richard; Rose, Richard J; Kaprio, Jaakko; Dick, Danielle M

2017-11-01

Social relationships, such as committed partnerships, limit risky behaviors like heavy drinking, in part, because of increased social control. The current analyses examine whether involvement in committed relationships or social support extend beyond a main effect to limit genetic liability in heavy drinking (gene-environment interaction) during young adulthood. Using data from the young adult wave of the Finnish Twin Study, FinnTwin12 (n = 3,269), we tested whether involvement in romantic partnerships or social support moderated genetic influences on heavy drinking using biometric twin modeling for gene-environment interaction. Involvement in a romantic partnership was associated with a decline in genetic variance in both males and females, although the overall magnitude of genetic influence was greater in males. Sex differences emerged for social support: increased social support was associated with increased genetic influence for females and reduced genetic influence for males. These findings demonstrate that social relationships are important moderators of genetic influences on young adult alcohol use. Mechanisms of social control that are important in limiting genetic liability during adolescence extend into young adulthood. In addition, although some relationships limit genetic liability equally, others, such as extensive social networks, may operate differently across sex.

Perceived social support from parents and teachers' influence on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

kofi.mereku

1Emmanuel Adu-Tutu Bofah works at Department of Mathematics and ICT Education, University of. University ... Studies have shown that students' social support such as parental and teacher support predict their academic .... mediation model (TM) and associated competing models tested in the present study are presented.

Comparative Influence of Self-Efficacy, Social Support and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

However, different psychosocial constructs are found in separate settings to ... 509 participants aged 35-80 years from randomly selected health facilities in ... Physical activity level, self-efficacy, social support and perceived barriers of the ... using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale, ...

Social support, posttraumatic cognitions, and PTSD: The influence of family, friends, and a close other in an interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma group.

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Woodward, Matthew J; Eddinger, Jasmine; Henschel, Aisling V; Dodson, Thomas S; Tran, Han N; Beck, J Gayle

2015-10-01

Research has suggested that social support can shape posttraumatic cognitions and PTSD. However, research has yet to compare the influence of separate domains of support on posttraumatic cognitions. Multiple-group path analysis was used to examine a model in a sample of 170 victims of intimate partner violence and 208 motor vehicle accident victims in which support from friends, family, and a close other were each predicted to influence posttraumatic cognitions, which were in turn predicted to influence PTSD. Analyses revealed that support from family and friends were each negatively correlated with posttraumatic cognitions, which in turn were positively associated with PTSD. Social support from a close other was not associated with posttraumatic cognitions. No significant differences in the model were found between trauma groups. Findings identify which relationships are likely to influence posttraumatic cognitions and are discussed with regard to interpersonal processes in the development and maintenance of PTSD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Networks, Interpersonal Social Support, and Health Outcomes: A Health Communication Perspective

OpenAIRE

Wright, Kevin

2016-01-01

This manuscript discusses the development, impact, and several major research findings of studies in the area of social network support and health outcomes. The review focuses largely on the development of online social support networks and the ways in which they may interact with face-to-face support networks to influence physical and psychological health outcomes. The manuscript discusses this area, and it presents a research agenda for future work in this area from an Associate Editor’s pe...

Managers' social support: Facilitators and hindrances for seeking support at work.

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Lundqvist, Daniel; Fogelberg Eriksson, Anna; Ekberg, Kerstin

2018-01-01

Previous research has shown that social support is important for health and performance at work, but there is a lack of research regarding managers' social support at work, and if it needs to be improvedOBJECTIVE:To investigate managers' perception of work-related social support, and facilitators and hindrances that influence their seeking of social support at work. Semi-structured interviews with sixty-two managers in two Swedish organizations. Work-related support, which strengthened their managerial image of being competent, was sought from sources within the workplace. Sensitive and personal support, where there was a risk of jeopardizing their image of being competent, was sought from sources outside the workplace. Access to arenas for support (location of the workplace, meetings, and vocational courses) and the managerial role could facilitate their support-seeking, but could also act as hindrances. Because attending different arenas for support were demanding, they refrained from seeking support if the demands were perceived as too high. Different supportive sources are distinguished based on what supportive function they have and in which arenas they are found, in order to preserve the confidence of the closest organization and to maintain the image of being a competent and performing manager.

Work-related health complaints in surgical residents and the influence of social support and job-related autonomy.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boerjan, M.; Bluyssen, S.J.; Bleichrodt, R.P.; Weel-Baumgarten, E.M. van; Goor, H. van

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the influence of job-related autonomy and social support provided by consultants and colleagues on the stress-related health complaints of surgical residents in the Netherlands. METHODS: All (n = 400) Dutch residents in training in

Social support and age influence distress outcomes differentially across urban, regional and remote Australia: an exploratory study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allen Joanne

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The variation of determinants of mental health with remoteness has rarely been directly examined. The current research aims to examine whether the association of psychosocial factors with psychological distress outcomes varies with increasing remoteness. Methods Participants were persons aged 55 and over from two community cohorts sampling from across rural and urban New South Wales (N = 4219; mean age = 69.00 years; 46.1% male. Measures of social support from these studies were calibrated to facilitate comparison across the sample. Remoteness was assessed using a continuous measure, the Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia. The association between demographic characteristics, social support, remoteness, and their interactions with remoteness in the prediction of high psychological distress (cut-off > 21 on the Kessler 10 were examined using logistic regression. Results Not being in a married or defacto relationship (OR 0.69; 99% CI 0.51-0.94, lower education (OR 0.52; 99% CI 0.38-0.71 and decreased social support (OR 0.36; 99% CI 0.31-0.42 significantly predicted psychological distress. There was a significant interaction of age and remoteness (OR 0.84; 99% CI 0.67-1.00, indicating that as remoteness increases, older persons are less likely to be highly distressed, as well as a significant interaction of social support and remoteness (OR 1.22; 99% CI 1.04-1.44, indicating that as remoteness decreases, persons with low levels of social support are more likely to be highly distressed. Conclusions Remoteness may moderate the influence of social support and age on psychological distress outcomes.

Cytokine variations and mood disorders: influence of social stressors and social support

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Marie-Claude eAudet

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Stressful events have been implicated in the evolution of mood disorders. In addition to brain neurotransmitters and growth factors, the view has been offered that these disorders might be provoked by the activation of the inflammatory immune system as well as by de novo changes of inflammatory cytokines within the brain. The present review describes the impact of social stressors in animals and in humans on behavioral changes reminiscent of depressive states as well as on cytokine functioning. Social stressors increase pro-inflammatory cytokines in circulation as well as in brain regions that have been associated with depression, varying with the animal’s social status and/or behavioral methods used to contend with social challenges. Likewise, in humans, social stressors that favor the development of depression are accompanied by elevated circulating cytokine levels and conversely, conditions that limit the cytokine elevations correlated with symptoms attenuation or reversal. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the potentially powerful effects of social support, social identity, and connectedness in maintaining well-being and in diminishing symptoms of depression.

Influence of personality on objective and subjective social support among patients with major depressive disorder: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Leskelä, Ulla; Melartin, Tarja; Rytsälä, Heikki; Jylhä, Pekka; Sokero, Petteri; Lestelä-Mielonen, Paula; Isometsä, Erkki

2009-10-01

Personality and social support (SS) influence risk for depression and modify its outcome through multiple pathways. The impact of personality dimensions neuroticism and extraversion on SS among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) has been little studied. In the Vantaa Depression Study, we assessed neuroticism and extraversion with the Eysenck Personality Inventory, objective SS with the Interview Measure of Social Relationships, and subjective SS with the Perceived Social Support Scale-Revised at baseline, at 6 and 18 months among 193 major depressive disorder patients diagnosed according to the fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DMS-IV). At all time-points, low neuroticism and high extraversion associated significantly with between-subject differences in levels of objective and subjective SS. Lower neuroticism (beta = 0.213, p = 0.003) and higher extraversion (beta = 0.159, p = 0.038) predicted greater within-subject change of subjective, but not objective SS. Thus, neuroticism and extraversion associated with the size of objective and subjective SS and predicted change of subjective SS. Modification of subjective SS, particularly, may indirectly influence future vulnerability to depression.

Social Support and Emocional Stability in Adolescence

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Zuzana Mičková

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The issue of anticipation social support is actual topic because of detection important factors for positive development of personality. Emotional bonds are getting stronger with perception of social support. Subjective feeling of positive emotions and relationships is manifest with higher range of social and mental functioning, emotional - willing stability of personality. Emotional basement of personality is emotional stability, which represent relationship with the anticipated social support. The lack of social support make a negative influence on personality development and personality traits. Positive emotional relationsthips with parents are important for healthy growth of personality (Filadelfiová, 2001; Arrive, 2004; Vágnerová, 2000; Langmeier & Křejčířová, 2006; Grun, 2011; Kraus & Poláčková, 2001; Matulník, 2002; Matějček & Dytrych, 2002. The meaning of social support and partner's love is confirmed with research. The meaning of social support in adolescence is replaced from parents to life partner. Strong emotional relationship motivates, integrates and regulates (Vágnerová, 2000. Absence of positive and permanent emotional relationship hold the positive soul steadiness. The signs of soul unsteadiness are destruction of self-esteem and self-image which manifest unstable emotionality. Subjective survival of emotional and social disharmony influence mental problems - neurotic disorders, problems with adaptation, emotional and social problems (Kondáš, 2002. The goal of research was find out relationship of social support regarding with emotional-willing stability and adolescence relationships in their family. We were interested in level of social support and level of emotional- willing stability and perception of quality family relationships regarding with gender and actual partnership. The research sample contained with N= 120 respondents (men = 33, women = 87 in age 19 - 24 years old, M = 23, 97. The next criterium of

Social Welfare and the Psychology of Food Sharing: Short-Term Hunger Increases Support for Social Welfare

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Michael Bang; Aarøe, Lene; Jensen, Niels Holm

2014-01-01

Do politically irrelevant events influence important policy opinions? Previous research on social welfare attitudes has emphasized the role of political factors such as economic self-interest and ideology. Here, we demonstrate that attitudes to social welfare are also influenced by short-term flu......—we consistently find that hungry individuals act in a greedier manner but describe themselves as more cooperative and express greater support for social welfare.......Do politically irrelevant events influence important policy opinions? Previous research on social welfare attitudes has emphasized the role of political factors such as economic self-interest and ideology. Here, we demonstrate that attitudes to social welfare are also influenced by short......-term fluctuations in hunger. Using theories in evolutionary psychology, we predict that hungry individuals will be greedier and take more resources from others while also attempting to induce others to share by signaling cooperative intentions and expressing support for sharing, including evolutionarily novel forms...

Social Factors Influencing Child Health in Ghana.

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Emmanuel Quansah

Full Text Available Social factors have profound effects on health. Children are especially vulnerable to social influences, particularly in their early years. Adverse social exposures in childhood can lead to chronic disorders later in life. Here, we sought to identify and evaluate the impact of social factors on child health in Ghana. As Ghana is unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals' target of reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, we deemed it necessary to identify social determinants that might have contributed to the non-realisation of this goal.ScienceDirect, PubMed, MEDLINE via EBSCO and Google Scholar were searched for published articles reporting on the influence of social factors on child health in Ghana. After screening the 98 articles identified, 34 of them that met our inclusion criteria were selected for qualitative review.Major social factors influencing child health in the country include maternal education, rural-urban disparities (place of residence, family income (wealth/poverty and high dependency (multiparousity. These factors are associated with child mortality, nutritional status of children, completion of immunisation programmes, health-seeking behaviour and hygiene practices.Several social factors influence child health outcomes in Ghana. Developing more effective responses to these social determinants would require sustainable efforts from all stakeholders including the Government, healthcare providers and families. We recommend the development of interventions that would support families through direct social support initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty and inequality, and indirect approaches targeted at eliminating the dependence of poor health outcomes on social factors. Importantly, the expansion of quality free education interventions to improve would-be-mother's health knowledge is emphasised.

Social networks, social support mechanisms, and quality of life after breast cancer diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroenke, Candyce H; Kwan, Marilyn L; Neugut, Alfred I; Ergas, Isaac J; Wright, Jaime D; Caan, Bette J; Hershman, Dawn; Kushi, Lawrence H

2013-06-01

We examined mechanisms through which social relationships influence quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors. This study included 3,139 women from the Pathways Study who were diagnosed with breast cancer from 2006 to 2011 and provided data on social networks (the presence of a spouse or intimate partner, religious/social ties, volunteering, and numbers of close friends and relatives), social support (tangible support, emotional/informational support, affection, positive social interaction), and QOL, measured by the FACT-B, approximately 2 months post diagnosis. We used logistic models to evaluate associations between social network size, social support, and lower versus higher than median QOL scores. We further stratified by stage at diagnosis and treatment. In multivariate-adjusted analyses, women who were characterized as socially isolated had significantly lower FACT-B (OR = 2.18, 95 % CI: 1.72-2.77), physical well-being (WB) (OR = 1.61, 95 % CI: 1.27-2.03), functional WB (OR = 2.08, 95 % CI: 1.65-2.63), social WB (OR = 3.46, 95 % CI: 2.73-4.39), and emotional WB (OR = 1.67, 95 % CI: 1.33-2.11) scores and higher breast cancer symptoms (OR = 1.48, 95 % CI: 1.18-1.87) compared with socially integrated women. Each social network member independently predicted higher QOL. Simultaneous adjustment for social networks and social support partially attenuated associations between social networks and QOL. The strongest mediator and type of social support that was most predictive of QOL outcomes was "positive social interaction." However, each type of support was important depending on outcome, stage, and treatment status. Larger social networks and greater social support were related to higher QOL after a diagnosis of breast cancer. Effective social support interventions need to evolve beyond social-emotional interventions and need to account for disease severity and treatment status.

Poor perceived social support in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients and their partners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Susanne S.; Spinder, Helle; Erdman, Ruud A M

2009-01-01

Social support is a known buffer of psychological distress and has also been shown to influence adverse medical outcomes.......Social support is a known buffer of psychological distress and has also been shown to influence adverse medical outcomes....

Mental Health Among Adolescents Exposed to a Tornado: The Influence of Social Support and Its Interactions With Sociodemographic Characteristics and Disaster Exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Lisa A; Felton, Julia W; Adams, Zachary W; Welsh, Kyleen; Miller, Stephanie; Ruggiero, Kenneth J

2015-06-01

Approximately 25% of youths experience a natural disaster and many experience disaster-related distress, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This study contributes to the literature by examining PTSD and depressive symptoms among 2,000 adolescents (50.9% female, 70.5% White) assessed after exposure to tornadoes in 2011. The authors hypothesized that greater tornado exposure, female sex, and younger age would be associated with distress, and that social support would interact with these associations. Analyses showed that PTSD symptoms were associated with lower levels of social support (β = -.28, p tornado exposure (β = .14, p tornado exposure, sex, and social support (β = -.06, p = .017). For boys, the influence of tornado exposure on PTSD symptoms increased as social support decreased. Regardless of level of tornado exposure, low social support was related to PTSD symptoms for girls; depressive symptom results were similar. These findings were generally consistent with the literature and provide guidance for intervention development focused on strengthening social support at the individual, family, and community levels. © 2015 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Personality predicts perceived availability of social support and satisfaction with social support in women with early stage breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Den Oudsten, Brenda L; Van Heck, Guus L; Van der Steeg, Alida F W; Roukema, Jan A; De Vries, Jolanda

2010-04-01

This study examines the relationships between personality, on the one hand, and perceived availability of social support (PASS) and satisfaction with received social support (SRSS), on the other hand, in women with early stage breast cancer (BC). In addition, this study examined whether a stressful event (i.e., diagnosis) is associated with quality of life (QOL), when controlling for PASS and SRSS. Women were assessed on PASS and SRSS (World Health Organization QOL assessment instrument-100) before diagnosis (time 1) and 1 (time 2), 3 (time 3), 6 (time 4), 12 (time 5), and 24 months (time 6) after surgical treatment. Personality (neuroticism extraversion openness five-factor inventory and state trait anxiety inventory-trait scale) and fatigue (fatigue assessment scale) were assessed at time 1. Agreeableness and fatigue predicted PASS and SRSS at time 5 and time 6. Trait anxiety had a negative effect on SRSS (ss = -0.22, p personality factors substantially influence the way women with early stage BC perceive social support. Knowledge about these underlying mechanisms of social support is useful for the development of tailor-made interventions. Professionals should be aware of the importance of social support. They should check whether patients have sufficient significant others in their social environment and be sensitive to potential discrepancies patients might experience between availability and adequacy of social support.

Excessive use of Facebook: The influence of self-monitoring and Facebook usage on social support

OpenAIRE

Vikanda Pornsakulvanich

2018-01-01

This study examined the influence of self-monitoring and the amount of Facebook use on Facebook addiction, and the associations among self-monitoring, Facebook addiction, Facebook usage, and social support. A cross-sectional design was used to collect the data from 257 college students who have used Facebook. The findings indicated that high self-monitors were more likely to be addicted to Facebook than were low self-monitors. In addition, the number of friends and Facebook activities were th...

Influence of Social Support on Treatment of Type II Diabetes in Yazd

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A Zare Shahabadi

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Social support can be defined as the interactive process through which emotional and instrumental support is obtained. Social support has been found to be a relevant factor in diabetes self-management. Diabetes refers to complex chronic metabolic conditions that are characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose if untreated. Diabetes is one of the biggest health care problems facing Yazd with regards to prevalence, cost, and the onus it places on patients and its high morbidity rates. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among social factors on the control and treatment of type II diabetes. Methods: The population under study included 4990 diabetes type II patients referring to Yazd Diabetes Research Center and a sample of 256 cases was selected by simple random sampling method through statistical society. This study was based on survey method and the instrument for collecting data was a questionnaire. Results: About 65.4% of the patients were women and 35.6 were men. The mean age of patients was 56 years. Significant correlations were found between perceived social support (r= 0.193, p= 0.001, positive reinforcing behaviors (r= 0.455, p= 0.000, and adherence to self-care activities. Misguided support behaviors did not show a significant correlation with adherence to self-care activities. A total of 25% of variance in self-care behavior can be explained by positive reinforcing behaviors and misguided support behaviors. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that by increasing the positive reinforcing behaviors and perceived social support and decreasing the misguided support behaviors, the diabetic patients can adhere better to self-care activities.

Social Skills, Social Support and Well-Being in Adolescents of Different Family Configurations

OpenAIRE

Vanessa Barbosa Romera Leme; Zilda Aparecida Perreira Del Prette; Susana Coimbra

2015-01-01

There is no consensus in the literature regarding the influence of family configuration on the psychological well-being of adolescents. Based on the perception of adolescents, this study evaluates the influence of family configuration, social skills and social support appraisals as potential predictors of adolescent psychological well-being. The participants were 454 adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years from nuclear, separated and remarried families. The adolescents were students in the f...

Influence of the Source of Social Support and Size of Social Network on All-Cause Mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Becofsky, Katie M; Shook, Robin P; Sui, Xuemei; Wilcox, Sara; Lavie, Carl J; Blair, Steven N

2015-07-01

To examine associations between relative, friend, and partner support, as well as size and source of weekly social network, and mortality risk in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. In a mail-back survey completed between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 1990, adult participants in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (N=12,709) answered questions on whether they received social support from relatives, friends, and spouse/partner (yes or no for each) and on the number of friends and relatives they had contact with at least once per week. Participants were followed until December 31, 2003, or until the date of death. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses evaluated the strength of the associations, controlling for covariates. Participants (3220 [25%] women) averaged 53.0 ± 11.3 years of age at baseline. During a median follow-up of 13.5 years, 1139 deaths occurred. Receiving social support from relatives reduced mortality risk by 19% (hazard ratio [HR], 0.81; 95% CI, 0.68-0.95). Receiving spousal/partner support also reduced mortality risk by 19% (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66-0.99). Receiving social support from friends was not associated with mortality risk (HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.75-1.09); however, participants reporting social contact with 6 or 7 friends on a weekly basis had a 24% lower mortality risk than did those in contact with 0 or 1 friend (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.58-0.98). Contact with 2 to 5 or 8 or more friends was not associated with mortality risk, nor was the number of weekly contacts with relatives. Receiving social support from one's spouse/partner and relatives and maintaining weekly social interaction with 6 to 7 friends reduced mortality risk. Such data may inform interventions to improve long-term survival. Copyright © 2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lonely people are no longer lonely on social networking sites: the mediating role of self-disclosure and social support.

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Lee, Kyung-Tag; Noh, Mi-Jin; Koo, Dong-Mo

2013-06-01

Most previous studies assert the negative effect of loneliness on social life and an individual's well-being when individuals use the Internet. To expand this previous research tradition, the current study proposes a model to test whether loneliness has a direct or indirect effect on well-being when mediated by self-disclosure and social support. The results show that loneliness has a direct negative impact on well-being but a positive effect on self-disclosure. While self-disclosure positively influences social support, self-disclosure has no impact on well-being, and social support positively influences well-being. The results also show a full mediation effect of social support in the self-disclosure to well-being link. The results imply that even if lonely people's well-being is poor, their well-being can be enhanced through the use of SNSs, including self-presentation and social support from their friends.

The Influence of Social Networks and Social Support on Health Among Older Koreans at High Risk of Depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Soondool; Jeon, Haesang; Song, Ahyoung

Despite compelling evidence showing that social networks and social support are associated with depression, relatively little research is available on this topic for older Koreans at high risk of depression. This article aimed to examine the relationship among different types of social networks (family vs. friends), social support (instrumental vs. emotional), and perceived general health among older Koreans at high risk of depression. We would then test for possible differences in pathways between two age groups (60-74 years vs. 75 years and older). Using data from the 2008 Survey of Elderly Life and Welfare Need, age 60-74 years (n = 2,815) and age 75 years and older (n = 1,784) were analyzed separately. Path analyses were used to examine the relationships among social network, support, and health among Korean older adults at high risk of depression. Findings highlighted the complex associations among social networks, social support, and perceived general health within old age. Moreover, this study called attention to the negative association between instrumental support from family networks and perceived general health among older Koreans aged 60-74 years at high risk of depression. The work discussed in this article would help inform the design of much needed and effective social intervention programs for the growing number of Korean older adults with depression.

Understanding consumer health information-seeking behavior from the perspective of the risk perception attitude framework and social support in mobile social media websites.

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Deng, Zhaohua; Liu, Shan

2017-09-01

This study integrates the risk perception attitude framework and social support to examine factors influencing consumers' intentions to seek health information in mobile social media websites. We develop a research model consisting of four social support dimensions, perceived health risk, health self-efficacy, and health information-seeking intention. A survey is conducted among patients with non-serious conditions. A two-step approach of structural equation modeling is used to test the research model. Among the four dimensions of social support, tangible support and appraisal support significantly influence perceived risk, whereas emotional support and esteem support significantly influence health self-efficacy. Perceived health risk and health self-efficacy significantly influence the health information-seeking behavior intention of consumers. Specifically, health self-efficacy significantly moderates the relationship between perceived risk and behavior intention. This study highlights the integrated effects of social capital and risk perception attitude framework on health information-seeking intention. It examines relationships among perceived health risk, health self-efficacy, and behavior intention in the mobile social media context. The findings help understand effects of social capital factors on perceived health risk and health self-efficacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Do Social Support, Self-Efficacy and Resilience Influence the Experience of Stress in Ghanaian Orphans? An Exploratory Study

Science.gov (United States)

Salifu Yendork, Joana; Somhlaba, Nceba Z.

2015-01-01

Much of the literature suggests that the availability of certain protective factors can help to buffer the adverse effects of negative life events such as parental loss and the negative experiences surrounding placement in orphanages. Following on from this perspective, the present study explores the influence of perceived social support,…

Social networks, social support mechanisms, and quality of life after breast cancer diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Kroenke, Candyce H; Kwan, Marilyn L.; Neugut, Alfred I.; Ergas, Isaac J.; Wright, Jaime D.; Caan, Bette J.; Hershman, Dawn; Kushi, Lawrence H.

2013-01-01

Purpose We examined mechanisms through which social relationships influence quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors. Methods This study included 3,139 women from the Pathways Study who were diagnosed with breast cancer from 2006-2011 and provided data on social networks (presence of spouse or intimate partner, religious/social ties, volunteering, and numbers of close friends and relatives), social support (tangible, emotional/informational, affection, positive social interaction), and quality of life (QOL), measured by the FACT-B, approximately two months post-diagnosis. We used logistic models to evaluate associations between social network size, social support, and lower vs. higher than median QOL scores. We further stratified by stage at diagnosis and treatment. Results In multivariate-adjusted analyses, women who were characterized as socially isolated had significantly lower FACT-B (OR=2.18, 95%CI:1.72-2.77), physical well-being (WB) (OR=1.61, 95%CI:1.27-2.03), functional WB (OR=2.08, 95%CI:1.65-2.63), social WB (OR=3.46, 95%CI:2.73-4.39), and emotional WB (OR=1.67, 95%CI:1.33-2.11) scores and higher breast cancer symptoms (OR=1.48, 95%CI:1.18-1.87), compared with socially integrated women. Each social network member independently predicted higher QOL. Simultaneous adjustment for social networks and social support partially attenuated associations between social networks and QOL. The strongest mediator and type of social support that was most predictive of QOL outcomes was “positive social interaction”. However, each type of support was important depending on outcome, stage, and treatment status. Conclusions Larger social networks and greater social support were related to higher QOL after a diagnosis of breast cancer. Effective social support interventions need to evolve beyond social-emotional interventions and need to account for disease severity and treatment status. PMID:23657404

Influence of hope, social support, and self-esteem in early stage dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cotter, Valerie T; Gonzalez, Elizabeth W; Fisher, Kathleen; Richards, Kathy C

2018-02-01

Background People in the early stages of dementia adjust to the illness through stages of awareness, coping, and evaluation. Studies have found that hope, social support, and self-esteem facilitate coping, adjustment, and adaptation in chronic illness. Objective The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the relationships between hope, social support, and self-esteem in individuals with early stage dementia. Methods Data were obtained from 53 individuals with early stage dementia. The scores on the Herth Hope Index, Social Support Questionnaire Short-Form, and the State Self-Esteem Scale were analyzed using linear regression. Results Hope was moderately associated with self-esteem ( r = .49, p self-esteem and was a key component in predicting self-esteem. No significant relationship was found between social support and self-esteem. Conclusion Findings suggest that hope may be an important factor to help individuals manage potential threats to self-esteem in the experience of early stage dementia. Strategies to inspire hope and then enhance self-esteem are promising for individuals living with early stage dementia.

Pet ownership and older women: the relationships among loneliness, pet attachment support, human social support, and depressed mood.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause-Parello, Cheryl A

2012-01-01

Pets can play a positive role in the both the physical and psychological health of older adults. This cross sectional study investigated the relationships among loneliness, pet attachment support, human social support, and depressed mood in a convenience sample of 159 pet-owning older women residing in the community. Participants completed loneliness, pet attachment support, human social support, and depressed mood scales. The results supported significant relationships between loneliness, pet attachment support, human social support, and depressed mood. No relationship was found between human social support and depressed mood. Pet attachment support, but not human social support, influenced the relationship between loneliness and depressed mood indicating the importance of pet attachment as a greater form of support in this sample. Clinical and social implications for nurses working with the geriatric population were identified and discussed. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Athlete social support, negative social interactions and psychological health across a competitive sport season.

Science.gov (United States)

DeFreese, J D; Smith, Alan L

2014-12-01

Social support and negative social interactions have implications for athlete psychological health, with potential to influence the links of stress-related experiences with burnout and well-being over time. Using a longitudinal design, perceived social support and negative social interactions were examined as potential moderators of the temporal stress-burnout and burnout-well-being relationships. American collegiate athletes (N = 465) completed reliable and valid online assessments of study variables at four time points during the competitive season. After controlling for dispositional and conceptually important variables, social support and negative social interactions did not moderate the stress-burnout or burnout-well-being relationships, respectively, but did simultaneously contribute to burnout and well-being across the competitive season. The results showcase the importance of sport-related social perceptions to athlete psychological outcomes over time and inform development of socially driven interventions to improve the psychological health of competitive athletes.

Mental Health Among Adolescents Exposed to a Tornado: The Influence of Social Support and its Interactions with Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Disaster Exposure

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Lisa A.; Felton, Julia W.; Adams, Zachary W.; Welsh, Kyleen; Miller, Stephanie; Ruggiero, Kenneth J.

2015-01-01

Approximately 25% of youths experience a natural disaster and many experience disaster-related distress, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. This study contributes to the literature by examining PTSD and depressive symptoms among 2,000 adolescents (50.9% female, 70.5% White) assessed after exposure to tornadoes in 2011. The authors hypothesized that greater tornado exposure, female sex, and younger age would be associated with distress, and that social support would interact with these associations. Analyses showed that PTSD symptoms were predicted by lower levels of social support (β = −.28, p tornado exposure (β = .14, ptornado exposure, sex, and social support (β = −.06, p = .017). For boys, the influence of tornado exposure on PTSD symptoms increased as social support decreased. Regardless of level of tornado exposure, low social support was related to PTSD symptoms for girls; depressive symptom results were similar. These findings are generally consistent with the literature and provide guidance for intervention development focused on strengthening social support at the individual, family, and community levels. PMID:26031997

Resilience amid Academic Stress: The Moderating Impact of Social Support among Social Work Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott E. Wilks

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between academic stress and perceived resilience among social work students, and to identify social support as a protective factor of resilience on this relationship. A conceptual model of moderation was used to test the role of social support as protective. Methods: The sample consisted of 314 social work students (BSW=144; MSW=170 from three accredited schools/programs in the southern United States. Voluntary survey data were collected on demographics and constructs of academic stress, family support, friend support, and resilience. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to show the composite impact of demographic and model factors on the resilience outcome. Moderation was tested using a traditional regression series as guidelines of moderation with continuous variables. Path analyses illustrated main effects and moderation in the study’s conceptual model. Results: The sample reported moderate levels of academic stress and social support, and a fairly high level of resilience. Academic stress negatively related to social support and resilience. Social support positively influenced resilience. Academic stress accounted for the most variation in resilience scores. Friend support significantly moderated the negative relationship between academic stress and resilience. Conclusion: The current study demonstrated the likelihood that friend support plays a protective role with resilience amid an environment of academic stress. Implications for social work faculty and internship agency practitioners are discussed.

Influence of Neighborhood-level Factors on Social Support in Early-stage Breast Cancer Patients and Controls

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Tess; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Pérez, Maria; Struthers, Jim; Sefko, Julianne A.; Lian, Min; Schootman, Mario; Jeffe, Donna B.

2016-01-01

Rationale Low social support has been linked to negative health outcomes in breast cancer patients. Objective We examined associations between perceived social support, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, and neighborhood-level social support in early-stage breast cancer patients and controls. Methods This two-year longitudinal study in the United States included information collected from telephone interviews and clinical records of 541 early-stage patients and 542 controls recruited from 2003 to 2007. Social support was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SS). Residential addresses were geocoded and used to develop measures including neighborhood social support (based on MOS-SS scores from nearby controls) and neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation (a composite index of census tract characteristics). Latent trajectory models were used to determine effects of neighborhood conditions on the stable (intercept) and changing (slope) aspects of social support. Results In a model with only neighborhood variables, greater socioeconomic deprivation was associated with patients’ lower stable social support (standardized estimate = −0.12, p = .027); neighborhood-level social support was associated with social support change (standardized estimate = 0.17, p = .046). After adding individual-level covariates, there were no direct neighborhood effects on social support. In patients, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with support indirectly through marriage, insurance status, negative affect, and general health. In controls, neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with support indirectly through marriage (p social support differed in patients and controls. Psychosocial and neighborhood interventions may help patients with low social support, particularly patients without partnered relationships in deprived areas. PMID:27017091

Social inequalities in adolescent depression: the role of parental social support and optimism.

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Piko, Bettina F; Luszczynska, Aleksandra; Fitzpatrick, Kevin M

2013-08-01

Interpersonal theory suggests relationships between socio-economic status (SES) and adolescent psychopathology mediated by negative parenting. This study examines the role of perceived parental social support and optimism in understanding adolescents' depression and self-rated health among a sample of Hungarian youth. Using a self-administered questionnaire, data (N = 881) were collected from high-school students (14-20 years old) in Szeged, Hungary (a regional centre in the southeastern region, near to the Serbian border, with a population of 170,000 inhabitants). To analyse the overall structure of the relationship between objective/subjective SES, parental support, optimism and health outcomes (depression, self-perceived health), structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed. Findings suggest the following: (1) SES variables generate social inequalities in adolescent depression through parental social support, particularly maternal support; and (2) parents provide youths with different levels of social support that in turn may strengthen or weaken optimism during the socialization process. In addressing depression prevention and treatment, we may want to take into account socio-economic differences in social networks and levels of optimism, which may influence youths' psychosocial adjustment and development of psychopathology.

WORKPLACE SOCIAL SUPPORT AND WORK–FAMILY CONFLICT: A META-ANALYSIS CLARIFYING THE INFLUENCE OF GENERAL AND WORK–FAMILY-SPECIFIC SUPERVISOR AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT

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KOSSEK, ELLEN ERNST; PICHLER, SHAUN; BODNER, TODD; HAMMER, LESLIE B.

2011-01-01

This article uses meta-analysis to develop a model integrating research on relationships between employee perceptions of general and work–family-specific supervisor and organizational support and work–family conflict. Drawing on 115 samples from 85 studies comprising 72,507 employees, we compared the relative influence of 4 types of workplace social support to work–family conflict: perceived organizational support (POS); supervisor support; perceived organizational work–family support, also known as family-supportive organizational perceptions (FSOP); and supervisor work–family support. Results show work–family-specific constructs of supervisor support and organization support are more strongly related to work–family conflict than general supervisor support and organization support, respectively. We then test a mediation model assessing the effects of all measures at once and show positive perceptions of general and work–family-specific supervisor indirectly relate to work–family conflict via organizational work–family support. These results demonstrate that work–family-specific support plays a central role in individuals’ work–family conflict experiences. PMID:21691415

WORKPLACE SOCIAL SUPPORT AND WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT: A META-ANALYSIS CLARIFYING THE INFLUENCE OF GENERAL AND WORK-FAMILY-SPECIFIC SUPERVISOR AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT.

Science.gov (United States)

Kossek, Ellen Ernst; Pichler, Shaun; Bodner, Todd; Hammer, Leslie B

2011-01-01

This article uses meta-analysis to develop a model integrating research on relationships between employee perceptions of general and work-family-specific supervisor and organizational support and work-family conflict. Drawing on 115 samples from 85 studies comprising 72,507 employees, we compared the relative influence of 4 types of workplace social support to work-family conflict: perceived organizational support (POS); supervisor support; perceived organizational work-family support, also known as family-supportive organizational perceptions (FSOP); and supervisor work-family support. Results show work-family-specific constructs of supervisor support and organization support are more strongly related to work-family conflict than general supervisor support and organization support, respectively. We then test a mediation model assessing the effects of all measures at once and show positive perceptions of general and work-family-specific supervisor indirectly relate to work-family conflict via organizational work-family support. These results demonstrate that work-family-specific support plays a central role in individuals' work-family conflict experiences.

Do Pre-Existing Diabetes Social Support or Depressive Symptoms Influence the Effectiveness of a Diabetes Management Intervention?

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Rosland, Ann-Marie; Kieffer, Edith; Spencer, Michael; Sinco, Brandy; Palmisano, Gloria; Valerio, Melissa; Nicklett, Emily; Heisler, Michele

2015-01-01

Objective Examine influences of diabetes-specific social support (D-SS) and depressive symptoms on glycemic control over time, among adults randomized to a diabetes self-management education and support (DSME/S) intervention or usual care. Methods Data were from 108 African-American and Latino participants in a six-month intervention trial. Multivariable linear regression models assessed associations between baseline D-SS from family and friends and depressive symptoms with changes in HbA1c. We then examined whether baseline D-SS or depression moderated intervention-associated effects on HbA1c. Results Higher baseline D-SS was associated with larger improvements in HbA1c (adjusted ΔHbA1c -0.39% for each +1-point D-SS, p=0.02), independent of intervention-associated HbA1c decreases. Baseline depressive symptoms had no significant association with subsequent HbA1c change. Neither D-SS nor depression moderated intervention-associated effects on HbA1c. Conclusions and Practice Implications Diabetes self-management education and support programs have potential to improve glycemic control for participants starting with varying levels of social support and depressive symptoms. Participants starting with more support for diabetes management from family and friends improved HbA1c significantly more over six months than those with less support, independent of additional significant DSME/S intervention-associated HbA1c improvements. Social support from family and friends may improve glycemic control in ways additive to DSME/S. PMID:26234800

Social influence and obesity.

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Hammond, Ross A

2010-10-01

To review a selection of research published in the last 12 months on the role of social influence in the obesity epidemic. Recent papers add evidence to previous work linking social network structures and obesity. Social norms, both eating norms and body image norms, are identified as one major source of social influence through networks. Social capital and social stress are additional types of social influence. There is increasing evidence that social influence and social network structures are significant factors in obesity. Deeper understanding of the mechanisms of action and dynamics of social influence, and its link with other factors involved in the obesity epidemic, is an important goal for further research.

Acculturation Strategies, Social Support, and Cross-Cultural Adaptation: A Mediation Analysis

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Ng, Ting Kin; Tsang, Kwok Kuen; Lian, Yi

2013-01-01

Previous acculturation research has established the influences of acculturation strategies and social support on cross-cultural adaptation. The present study attempted to elaborate these direct associations by proposing that social support and the use of the integration and marginalization strategies might affect psychological adaptation…

Quantifying the effects of social influence.

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Mavrodiev, Pavlin; Tessone, Claudio J; Schweitzer, Frank

2013-01-01

How do humans respond to indirect social influence when making decisions? We analysed an experiment where subjects had to guess the answer to factual questions, having only aggregated information about the answers of others. While the response of humans to aggregated information is a widely observed phenomenon, it has not been investigated quantitatively, in a controlled setting. We found that the adjustment of individual guesses depends linearly on the distance to the mean of all guesses. This is a remarkable, and yet surprisingly simple regularity. It holds across all questions analysed, even though the correct answers differ by several orders of magnitude. Our finding supports the assumption that individual diversity does not affect the response to indirect social influence. We argue that the nature of the response crucially changes with the level of information aggregation. This insight contributes to the empirical foundation of models for collective decisions under social influence.

How social networks influence female students' choices to major in engineering

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Weinland, Kathryn Ann

Scope and Method of Study: This study examined how social influence plays a part in female students' choices of college major, specifically engineering instead of science, technology, and math. Social influence may show itself through peers, family members, and teachers and may encompass resources under the umbrella of social capital. The purpose of this study was to examine how female students' social networks, through the lens of social capital, influence her major choice of whether or not to study engineering. The variables of peer influence, parental influence, teacher/counselor influence, perception of engineering, and academic background were addressed in a 52 question, Likert scale survey. This survey has been modified from an instrument previously used by Reyer (2007) at Bradley University. Data collection was completed using the Dillman (2009) tailored design model. Responses were grouped into four main scales of the dependent variables of social influence, encouragement, perceptions of engineering and career motivation. A factor analysis was completed on the four factors as a whole, and individual questions were not be analyzed. Findings and Conclusions: This study addressed the differences in social network support for female freshmen majoring in engineering versus female freshmen majoring in science, technology, or math. Social network support, when working together from all angles of peers, teachers, parents, and teachers/counselors, transforms itself into a new force that is more powerful than the summation of the individual parts. Math and science preparation also contributed to female freshmen choosing to major in engineering instead of choosing to major in science, technology, or math. The STEM pipeline is still weak and ways in which to reinforce it should be examined. Social network support is crucial for female freshmen who are majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Social support over Facebook as predictor of life satisfaction among Malaysian university students

OpenAIRE

SHOK HONG OOI

2017-01-01

Many young people interact and thus receive and communicate social support over the online world, particularly through Facebook. This paper focuses on how Malaysian university students perceived social support over Facebook. More specifically, this study focuses on how perceived social support influence university students’ life satisfaction. Participants were 800 university students from southern of Malaysia (178 male and 622 female). The finding showed that social support is related to univ...

Private support and social securityPrivate support and social security

OpenAIRE

Frans van Dijk

1998-01-01

The issue is addressed whether assistance to persons in need can be left to the `family' and the `community'. In that case people depend on their social networks. The support a person receives through a given network of social ties is examined. However, ties are diverse and subject to change. By means of a model of the dynamics of social ties, the conditions for adequate private support are analyzed. The sustainability of private support over time is examined by incorporating the impact on so...

Social support moderates caregiver life satisfaction following traumatic brain injury.

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Ergh, Tanya C; Hanks, Robin A; Rapport, Lisa J; Coleman, Renee D

2003-12-01

Social support is an important determinant of adjustment following traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained by a family member. The present study examined the extent to which social support moderates the influence of characteristics of the person with injury on caregiver subjective well-being. Sixty pairs of individuals who had sustained a moderate to severe TBI and their caregivers (N=120) participated. Years postinjury ranged from 0.3 to 9.9 ( M=4.8, SD=2.6). Cognitive, functional, and neurobehavioral functioning of participants with TBI were assessed using neuropsychological tests and rating scales. Caregiver life satisfaction and perceived social support were assessed using self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that time since injury was unrelated to life satisfaction. Neurobehavioral disturbances showed an inverse relation with life satisfaction. Social support emerged as an important moderator of life satisfaction. Only among caregivers with low social support was cognitive dysfunction adversely related to life satisfaction. Similarly, a trend suggested that patient unawareness of deficit was associated with caregiver life dissatisfaction only among caregivers with low social support. In contrast, these characteristics were unrelated to life satisfaction among caregivers with adequate social support.

Social Anxiety and Social Support in Romantic Relationships.

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Porter, Eliora; Chambless, Dianne L

2017-05-01

Little is known about the quality of socially anxious individuals' romantic relationships. In the present study, we examine associations between social anxiety and social support in such relationships. In Study 1, we collected self-report data on social anxiety symptoms and received, provided, and perceived social support from 343 undergraduates and their romantic partners. One year later couples were contacted to determine whether they were still in this relationship. Results indicated that men's social anxiety at Time 1 predicted higher rates of breakup at Time 2. Men's and women's perceived support, as well as men's provided support, were also significantly predictive of breakup. Social anxiety did not interact with any of the support variables to predict breakup. In Study 2, a subset of undergraduate couples with a partner high (n=27) or low (n=27) in social anxiety completed two 10-minute, lab-based, video-recorded social support tasks. Both partners rated their received or provided social support following the interaction, and trained observers also coded for support behaviors. Results showed that socially anxious individuals received less support from their partners during the interaction according to participant but not observer report. High and lower social anxiety couples did not differ in terms of the target's provision of support. Taken together, results suggest that social anxiety is associated with difficulties even in the context of established romantic relationships. Clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Social Support, Perceived Stress, and Markers of Heart Failure Severity

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2012-08-01

contends that social relationships influence health through the prevention or lessening of responses to stress. Cohen and Wills (1985) describe that...Sheffield, D., Jaumdally, R., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2010). Anger rumination , social support, and cardiac symptoms in patients undergoing angiography

Influencers :The Role of Social Influence in Marketing

OpenAIRE

Du Plessis, Christilene

2017-01-01

markdownabstractSocial influence is the corner stone of consumer psychology. In fact, in the last decade of the 19th century the study of consumer psychology emerged from an interest in advertising and its influence on people. Traditionally research on social influence has focused on understanding how people respond to influence attempts and how social influence emerges. This dissertation challenges common methodological conventions used to study social influence in consumer behavior and, mor...

The influence of social support on psychological distress in Canadian adults with bipolar disorder.

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Warren, Christie D; Fowler, Ken; Speed, David; Walsh, Anna

2018-05-08

Individuals with bipolar I disorder (BD-I) and bipolar II disorder (BD-II) are at higher risk for experiencing high levels of psychological distress and low levels of social support. The primary objectives of this study were to examine perceived social support and psychological distress among Canadian adults with self-reported BD-I or BD-II as diagnosed by a health professional and explore the relationship between types of social support and psychological distress within this sample. Using a cross-sectional, national datafile, 563 Canadian male and female adults (20-64 years) who reported being diagnosed with BD-I or BD-II were investigated using the Social Provisions Scale (SPS), and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). It was observed that while the BD-I or BD-II sample had significantly lower SPS scores and significantly higher K10 scores than the overall Canadian sample, age and support in the form of reassurance of worth and social integration were associated with decreased psychological distress. Further, a diagnosis of BD-I and BD-II was found to moderate the effect of social support on psychological distress. Despite the limitations, which include self-reported diagnosis of BD-I and BD-II and potential exclusion of those who are not diagnosed but have BD-I or BD-II, these findings suggest that reassurance of worth and social integration may act as protective factors for psychological distress among individuals with BD-I or BD-II.

The dynamic relationship between social support and HIV-related stigma in rural Uganda.

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Takada, Sae; Weiser, Sheri D; Kumbakumba, Elias; Muzoora, Conrad; Martin, Jeffrey N; Hunt, Peter W; Haberer, Jessica E; Kawuma, Annet; Bangsberg, David R; Tsai, Alexander C

2014-08-01

Cross-sectional studies show that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stigma is negatively correlated with social support. The purpose of this study is to examine the bidirectional relationship between social support and HIV stigma. We collected quarterly data from a cohort of 422 people living with HIV in Uganda, followed for a median of 2.1 years. We used multilevel regression to model the contemporaneous and 3-month-lagged associations between social support and both enacted and internalized stigma. Lagged enacted stigma was negatively correlated with emotional and instrumental social support, and lagged instrumental social support was negatively correlated with enacted stigma. Internalized stigma and emotional social support had reciprocal lagged associations. Interventions to reduce enacted stigma may strengthen social support for people living with HIV. Improved social support may in turn have a protective influence against future enacted and internalized stigma.

Source-specific social support and circulating inflammatory markers among white-collar employees.

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Nakata, Akinori; Irie, Masahiro; Takahashi, Masaya

2014-06-01

Despite known beneficial effects of social support on cardiovascular health, the pathway through which sources of support (supervisor, coworkers, family/friends) influence inflammatory markers is not completely understood. We investigated the independent and moderating associations between social support and inflammatory markers. A total of 137 male white-collar employees underwent a blood draw for measurement of high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), monocyte and leukocyte counts, and completed a questionnaire on social support. Multivariable linear regression analyses controlling for covariates revealed that supervisor support was inversely associated with IL-6 (β = -0.24, p markers. Social support from the immediate supervisor may be a potential mechanism through which social support exerts beneficial effects on inflammatory markers in working men.

Children's disaster reactions: the influence of family and social factors.

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Pfefferbaum, Betty; Jacobs, Anne K; Houston, J Brian; Griffin, Natalie

2015-07-01

This review examines family (demographics, parent reactions and interactions, and parenting style) and social (remote effects, disaster media coverage, exposure to secondary adversities, and social support) factors that influence children's disaster reactions. Lower family socioeconomic status, high parental stress, poor parental coping, contact with media coverage, and exposure to secondary adversities have been associated with adverse outcomes. Social support may provide protection to children in the post-disaster environment though more research is needed to clarify the effects of certain forms of social support. The interaction of the factors described in this review with culture needs further exploration.

Influence of Perceived Organizational Support and Discretionary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Influence of Perceived Organizational Support and Discretionary Treatment on Work Attitude of Industrial Workers. AI Alarape, FM Akinlabi. Abstract. No Abstract Available African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Vol.5(1) 2000: 23-36. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL ...

Myocardial infarction: gender differences in coping and social support.

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Kristofferzon, Marja-Leena; Löfmark, Rurik; Carlsson, Marianne

2003-11-01

The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge about gender differences in perceptions of coping and social support among patients who have experienced myocardial infarction. Women with coronary heart disease have physical, social and medical disadvantages compared with their male counterparts, which can influence their perception of recovery after cardiac events. No review has been found which focuses on gender differences in coping and social support in myocardial infarction patients. A computerized search was conducted using the keywords 'myocardial infarction', 'coping', 'gender differences' and 'social support'. Forty-one articles, published between 1990 and October 2002, were scrutinized. Two studies report that women used more coping strategies than men. Several qualitative studies found that women used a variety of coping strategies. Women minimized the impact of the disease, tended to delay in seeking treatment and did not want to bother others with their health problems. Household activities were important to them and aided their recovery. Men were more likely to involve their spouses in their recovery, and resuming work and keeping physically fit were important to them. Women tended to report that they had less social support up to 1 year after a myocardial infarction compared with men. They received less information about the disease and rehabilitation and experienced lack of belief in their heart problems from caregivers. Further, they received less assistance with household duties from informal caregivers. Men tended to report more support from their spouses than did women. Traditional gender-role patterns may influence the recovery of patients who have experienced myocardial infarction. Caregivers may need to be more sensitive to gender-specific needs with regard to risk profiles, social roles, and the patient's own role identity. For many women, especially older ones, household duties and family responsibilities may be an opportunity and a

Perceptions around teacher's social support with student achievement motivation

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Maria Oktasari

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Several indications that indicate student in low achievement motivation, among others: (1 lack of enthusiasm to follow the lesson, (2 less attention to the teacher, (3 the students have not targeted yet, (4 students tend to ignore the task, (5 (6 students are less harmonious with teachers, (7 students are lazy to learn, and (8 some students feel scared with the teacher. Students 'perceptions of teacher's social support are factors that allegedly influence students' achievement motivation. This study aims to determine the relationship of students' perceptions of the social support of teachers with achievement motivation. The method used throughout this research is quantitative with regression technique. Samples numbered to 206 students of SMA Negeri 1 V Koto Timur Padang Pariaman, and selected by proportional random sampling. The instrument used is the student's perception scale of teacher's social support and achievement motivation. The research findings indicate that there is a significant correlation between around teacher's social support with student achievement motivation.

Perceived stress and resilience in Alzheimer's disease caregivers: testing moderation and mediation models of social support.

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Wilks, Scott E; Croom, Beth

2008-05-01

The study examined whether social support functioned as a protective, resilience factor among Alzheimer's disease (AD) caregivers. Moderation and mediation models were used to test social support amid stress and resilience. A cross-sectional analysis of self-reported data was conducted. Measures of demographics, perceived stress, family support, friend support, overall social support, and resilience were administered to caregiver attendees (N=229) of two AD caregiver conferences. Hierarchical regression analysis showed the compounded impact of predictors on resilience. Odds ratios generated probability of high resilience given high stress and social supports. Social support moderation and mediation were tested via distinct series of regression equations. Path analyses illustrated effects on the models for significant moderation and/or mediation. Stress negatively influenced and accounted for most variation in resilience. Social support positively influenced resilience, and caregivers with high family support had the highest probability of elevated resilience. Moderation was observed among all support factors. No social support fulfilled the complete mediation criteria. Evidence of social support as a protective, moderating factor yields implications for health care practitioners who deliver services to assist AD caregivers, particularly the promotion of identification and utilization of supportive familial and peer relations.

Social Influences on Paranormal Belief: Popular versus Scientific Support

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Ridolfo, Heather; Baxter, Amy; Lucas, Jeffrey W.

2010-01-01

Paranormal claims enjoy relatively widespread popular support despite by definition being rejected by the scientific community. We propose that belief in paranormal claims is influenced by how popular those claims are as well as by dominant scientific views on the claims. We additionally propose that individuals will be most likely to be…

The Dynamic Relationship Between Social Support and HIV-Related Stigma in Rural Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Weiser, Sheri D.; Kumbakumba, Elias; Muzoora, Conrad; Martin, Jeffrey N.; Hunt, Peter W.; Haberer, Jessica E.; Kawuma, Annet; Bangsberg, David R.; Tsai, Alexander C.

2014-01-01

Background Cross-sectional studies show that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stigma is negatively correlated with social support. Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the bidirectional relationship between social support and HIV stigma. Methods We collected quarterly data from a cohort of 422 people living with HIV in Uganda, followed for a median of 2.1 years. We used multilevel regression to model the contemporaneous and 3-month-lagged associations between social support and both enacted and internalized stigma. Results Lagged enacted stigma was negatively correlated with emotional and instrumental social support, and lagged instrumental social support was negatively correlated with enacted stigma. Internalized stigma and emotional social support had reciprocal lagged associations. Conclusions Interventions to reduce enacted stigma may strengthen social support for people living with HIV. Improved social support may in turn have a protective influence against future enacted and internalized stigma. PMID:24500077

DOES FAMILY SOCIAL SUPPORT AFFECT STARTUP BUSINESS ACTIVITIES?

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Nurlaily F.

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In recent years, StartUp has shown a considerable progress in Indonesia. Although most of the StartUps are newly established companies in phase to find the right markets, the StartUps are expected to contribute to the economy and solve local problems. In Indonesia most of the StartUps are still in the idea stage. Therefore, they have no profit, loss, or even failure. It causes the StartUps to be difficult in gaining trust from investors. To overcome these problems, support from various parties is necessary for the development of StartUp activities. One of them is a support from family (Family Social Support. Previous studies have shown that family support contributes to the success of an entrepreneur. However, there has been no research on the relationship between family support with StartUp activities, especially in developing countries like Indonesia. This study examined the influence of family social support in the form of financial capital support, social capital, human capital, physical capital, and family cohesiveness on StartUp activities in Indonesia by using Poisson regression analysis. The results showed that family cohesiveness had a significant effect on the increase of StartUp activities.

The Use of Social Media Supporting Studying

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Sebastian Kot

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to identify the degree to which social media influence or support the learning process among students. The research was complex, involving three international panels, comprising students from Poland, China and Romania. Although intercultural differences between the three countries are evident, the attitudes and perceptions of the usefulness of social media in learning activities tend to be homogeneous, revealing not just the extensive use of this worldwide phenomenon amongst young people, but also its significance. Social media have impacted greatly on the way people relate, both positively and negatively. This research focuses on the analysis of the use of social networking in the process of training and self-training in youth education.

The influence of personality traits and social support on male nursing student life stress: a cross-sectional research design.

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Lou, Jiunn-Horng; Chen, Sheng-Hwang; Yu, Hsing-Yi; Li, Ren-Hau; Yang, Cheng-I; Eng, Cheng-Joo

2010-06-01

Understanding how male nursing students alleviate life stress during their academic career is conducive to their development as successful nursing professionals. This study was designed to understand the personality traits, social support, and life stresses of male nursing students. The respective influences of personality traits and social support on life stress were also explored. The study used a cross-sectional research design. A college in central Taiwan was targeted as the site for data collection. A total of 158 questionnaires were dispatched, with 145 valid copies returned (valid response rate = 91.7%). Structured questionnaires were designed to collect data on participant demographics, personality traits, social support, and life stress. Statistical methods such as descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis were applied to data analysis. Major findings of this study revealed that (a) in general, the personality traits, social support, and life stress of male nursing students scored in the medium to high range. Participants reported encountering more stress from learning and life goals than from interpersonal stress. (b) Male nursing student demographic variables (e.g., parent [father and mother considered separately] education level) and the personality traits of conscientiousness and family support, respectively, were found to impact significantly on participant life stress perceptions. And (c) the only significant predictors of life stress were support from family and education level of participant fathers and mothers, accounting for about 23.7% of variability. It is suggested that nursing students in each year of their academic career should be exposed to courses geared to reduce the life stress perceptions (especially in the areas of learning and career development) of male nursing students. Increased family support is an effective way to decrease male nursing student life stress. This study could be a

Perceived support from a caregiver's social ties predicts subsequent care-recipient health

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Dannielle E. Kelley

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Most social support research has examined support from an individual patient perspective and does not model the broader social context of support felt by caregivers. Understanding how social support networks may complement healthcare services is critical, considering the aging population, as social support networks may be a valuable resource to offset some of the demands placed on the healthcare system. We sought to identify how caregivers' perceived organizational and interpersonal support from their social support network influences care-recipient health.We created a dyadic dataset of care-recipient and caregivers from the first two rounds of the National Health and Aging Trends survey (2011, 2012 and the first round of the associated National Study of Caregivers survey (2011. Using structural equation modeling, we explored how caregivers' perceived social support is associated with caregiver confidence to provide care, and is associated with care-recipient health outcomes at two time points. All data were analyzed in 2016.Social engagement with members from caregivers' social support networks was positively associated with caregiver confidence, and social engagement and confidence were positively associated with care-recipient health at time 1. Social engagement positively predicted patient health at time 2 controlling for time 1. Conversely, use of organizational support negatively predicted care-recipient health at time 2.Care-recipients experience better health outcomes when caregivers are able to be more engaged with members of their social support network. Keywords: Informal caregiving, Social support, Social support network, Patient-caregiver dyads

Online Social Support for Young People: Does It Recapitulate In-person Social Support; Can It Help?

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Cole, David A; Nick, Elizabeth A; Zelkowitz, Rachel L; Roeder, Kathryn M; Spinelli, Tawny

2017-03-01

As social media websites have grown in popularity, public concern about online victimization has grown as well; however, much less attention has focused on the possible beneficial effects of online social networks. If theory and research about in-person social networks pertain, then online social relationships may represent an important modern source of or vehicle for support. In a study of 231 undergraduates, three major findings emerged: (1) for people with weaker in-person social support, social media sites provide a source of social support that is less redundant of the social support they receive in person; (2) in ways that were not redundant of each other, both online and in-person social support were associated with lower levels of depression-related thoughts and feelings, and (3) the beneficial effects of online social support (like in-person social support) offset some of the adverse effects of peer victimization. The study suggests that augmenting social relations via strategic use of social media can enhance young people's social support systems in beneficial ways.

The impact of social influence on adolescent intention to smoke: combining types and referents of influence.

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Vitória, Paulo D; Salgueiro, M Fátima; Silva, Sílvia A; De Vries, H

2009-11-01

Theory and research suggest that the intention to smoke is the main determinant of smoking initiation and emphasizes the role of cognitive and social factors on the prediction of the intention to smoke. However, extended models such as the I-Change and results from published studies reveal inconsistencies regarding the impact of social influence on the intention to smoke. Possible explanations for this may be the definition and measurement of the constructs that have been used. The current study was designed with two main goals: (i) to test a measurement model for social influence, combining different types of social influence (subjective norms, perceived behaviour, and direct pressure) with various referents of influence (parents, siblings, peers, and teachers); (ii) to investigate the impact of social influence on adolescent intention to smoke, controlling for smoking behaviour. LISREL was used to test these models. The sample includes 3,064 Portuguese adolescents, with a mean age of 13.5 years, at the beginning of the seventh school grade. The hypothesized measurement model of social influence was supported by results and explained 29% of the variance of the intention to smoke. A more extended model, including attitude and self-efficacy, explained 55% of the variance of the intention to smoke. Perceived behaviour of peers, parental norms, and perceived behaviour of parents were the social influence factors with impact on adolescent intention to smoke. Results suggest that different referents exert their influence through distinct types of social influence and recommend further work on the definition and measurement of social influence.

THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN OLDER PERSONS: AN EXAMINATION OF INTERACTION PROCESSES IN AUSTRALIA.

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Sharpley, Christopher; Hussain, Rafat; Wark, Stuart; Mcevoy, Mark; Attia, John

2015-12-01

Social support is proposed as a coping mechanism against anxiety and depression amongst older persons, but few data have examined how this occurs. This study assessed the contributions of two sub-components of social support as mediators against psychological distress-broadly defined as anxiety and depression. 1,560 men and 1,758 women from the Hunter Community Study (Australia) completed the Duke Social Support Scale and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The Duke Social Support Scale examined the amount of social interaction and satisfaction with social interactions. Significant mediating effects of social support were found in the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale items measuring depression but not anxiety. Satisfaction with social support was a significant predictor of Kessler Psychological Distress Scale total score and Sadness items, but the amount of social support was not a predictor of stress. Social support may assist with symptoms of depression, i.e., specific sadness/depressed mood, but not necessarily with anxiety. Implications for policy and service delivery were discussed.

Unmitigated agency, social support, and psychological adjustment in men with cancer.

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Hoyt, Michael A; Stanton, Annette L

2011-04-01

Unmitigated agency (UA), a gender-linked characteristic, has been associated with poorer cancer adjustment. Support from one's social network typically predicts adjustment but may be poorly matched to UA. The influence of UA on the utility of social support on adjustment over time is examined. Men with cancer (N=55) were assessed initially and 6 months later on three indicators of adjustment. Multilevel modeling analyses varied by adjustment indicator. UA was associated with increased cancer-related psychosocial symptoms but not depressive symptoms or cancer-related thought intrusion. Social support predicted fewer depressive symptoms and less cancer-related thought intrusion. However, a cross-level interaction revealed that the utility of social support on cancer-related thought intrusion was weaker for men with greater levels of UA. Men with cancer likely respond differently to changes in social support depending on their endorsement of UA. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Personality © 2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relations between plasma oxytocin and cortisol: The stress buffering role of social support

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Robyn J. McQuaid

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Stress responses in humans can be attenuated by exogenous oxytocin administration, and these stress-buffering properties may be moderated by social factors. Yet, the influence of acute stressors on circulating endogenous oxytocin levels have been inconsistent, and limited information is available concerning the influence of social support in moderating this relationship. In the current investigation, undergraduate women (N = 67 were assessed in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST with either social support available from a close female friend or no social support being available. An additional set of women served as controls. The TSST elicited marked elevations of state anxiety and negative emotions, which were largely attenuated among women who received social support. Furthermore, baseline oxytocin levels were inversely related to women's general feelings of distrust, as well as basal plasma cortisol levels. Despite these associations, oxytocin levels were unaffected by the TSST, and this was the case irrespective of oral contraceptive use or estrogen levels. In contrast, plasma cortisol elevations were elicited by the psychosocial stressor, but only in women using oral contraceptives, an effect that was prevented when social support was available. Taken together, these data provisionally suggest that changes in plasma oxytocin might not accompany the stress attenuating effects of social support on cortisol levels. Moreover, as plasma oxytocin might not reliably reflect brain oxytocin levels, the linkage between oxytocin and prosocial behaviors remains tenuous.

Cancer Survivors' Social Context in the Return to Work Process: Narrative Accounts of Social Support and Social Comparison Information.

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Armaou, M; Schumacher, L; Grunfeld, E A

2017-10-04

Purpose Returning to work is a process that is intertwined with the social aspects of one's life, which can influence the way in which that person manages their return to work and also determines the support available to them. This study aimed to explore cancer patients' perceptions of the role of their social context in relation to returning to work following treatment. Methods Twenty-three patients who had received a diagnosis of either urological, breast, gynaecological, or bowel cancer participated in semi-structured interviews examining general perceptions of cancer, work values and perceptions of the potential impact of their cancer diagnosis and treatment on work. Interviews were analysed using the iterative process of Framework Analysis. Results Two superordinate themes emerged as influential in the return to work process: Social support as a facilitator of return to work (e.g. co-workers' support and support outside of the workplace) and Social comparison as an appraisal of readiness to return to work (e.g. comparisons with other cancer patients, colleagues, and employees in other organisations or professions). Conclusions Two functions of the social context of returning to work after cancer were apparent in the participants' narrative: the importance of social support as a facilitator of returning to work and the utilisation of social comparison information in order to appraise one's readiness to return to work. The role of social context in returning to work has largely been absent from the research literature to date. The findings of this study suggest that social support and social comparison mechanisms may have a significant impact on an individual's successful return to the workplace.

Factors Influencing of Social Conflict

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Suwandi Sumartias

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Social conflicts that occur in several areas in Indonesia lately, one of them is caused by the weakness of law certainty. This is feared to threaten the integration of the Republic of Indonesia. This study aims to determine the factors that affect social conflict in Manis Lor village in Kuningan district. The method used the explanatory quantitative methods, the statistical test Path Analysis. The study population was a formal and informal community leaders (village chief, clergy, and youth, and the people who involved in a conflict in Manis Lor village Kuningan regency. The result shows a There is no significant influence between social identity factors with social conflict anarchist. b There is significant influence between socio-economic factors with social conflict anarchists. c There is no significant influence between the credibility factor anarchist leaders with social conflict. d There is no significant influence between the motive factor with anarchist social conflict. e There is significant influence between personality factors/beliefs with anarchist social conflict. f There is significant influence of behavioral factors anarchist communication with social conflict.

Social support, stressors, and frailty among older Mexican American adults.

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Peek, M Kristen; Howrey, Bret T; Ternent, Rafael Samper; Ray, Laura A; Ottenbacher, Kenneth J

2012-11-01

There is little research on the effects of stressors and social support on frailty. Older Mexican Americans, in particular, are at higher risk of medical conditions, such as diabetes, that could contribute to frailty. Given that the Mexican American population is rapidly growing in the United States, it is important to determine whether there are modifiable social factors related to frailty in this older group. To address the influence of social support and stressors on frailty among older Mexican Americans, we utilized five waves of the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (Hispanic EPESE) to examine the impact of stressors and social support on frailty over a 12-year period. Using a modified version of the Fried and Walston Frailty Index, we estimated the effects of social support and stressors on frailty over time using trajectory modeling (SAS 9.2, PROC TRAJ). We first grouped respondents according to one of three trajectories: low, progressive moderate, and progressive high frailty. Second, we found that the effects of stressors and social support on frailty varied by trajectory and by type of stressor. Health-related stressors and financial strain were related to increases in frailty over time, whereas social support was related to less-steep increases in frailty. Frailty has been hypothesized to reflect age-related physiological vulnerability to stressors, and the analyses presented indicate partial support for this hypothesis in an older sample of Mexican Americans. Future research needs to incorporate measures of stressors and social support in examining those who become frail, especially in minority populations.

Perceived support from a caregiver's social ties predicts subsequent care-recipient health.

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Kelley, Dannielle E; Lewis, Megan A; Southwell, Brian G

2017-12-01

Most social support research has examined support from an individual patient perspective and does not model the broader social context of support felt by caregivers. Understanding how social support networks may complement healthcare services is critical, considering the aging population, as social support networks may be a valuable resource to offset some of the demands placed on the healthcare system. We sought to identify how caregivers' perceived organizational and interpersonal support from their social support network influences care-recipient health. We created a dyadic dataset of care-recipient and caregivers from the first two rounds of the National Health and Aging Trends survey (2011, 2012) and the first round of the associated National Study of Caregivers survey (2011). Using structural equation modeling, we explored how caregivers' perceived social support is associated with caregiver confidence to provide care, and is associated with care-recipient health outcomes at two time points. All data were analyzed in 2016. Social engagement with members from caregivers' social support networks was positively associated with caregiver confidence, and social engagement and confidence were positively associated with care-recipient health at time 1. Social engagement positively predicted patient health at time 2 controlling for time 1. Conversely, use of organizational support negatively predicted care-recipient health at time 2. Care-recipients experience better health outcomes when caregivers are able to be more engaged with members of their social support network.

The relation between social support, anxiety and distress symptoms and maternal fetal attachment.

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Hopkins, Joyce; Miller, Jennifer L; Butler, Kristina; Gibson, Lynda; Hedrick, Laura; Boyle, Deborah Anne

2018-05-04

The aims of this study were to: (1) examine the relation between social support, trait anxiety, symptoms of maternal distress (including stress, depression and anxiety) and maternal-fetal attachment; and (2) to determine if social support buffers the relation between trait anxiety, symptoms of distress and maternal-fetal attachment. Ninety-four pregnant women completed five self-report questions. Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the influence of trait anxiety, symptoms of distress, and social support on two factors of maternal-fetal attachment, quality and intensity/frequency. In the first model with the dependent measure as the maternal-fetal attachment quality score, trait anxiety (β = -.24, p social support (β = .30, p social support (β = .32, p social support is high, the relation between anxiety and maternal-fetal attachment intensity/frequency is attenuated. This study demonstrates that prenatal attachment is related to trait anxiety and social support. These findings suggest that interventions to decrease anxiety and increase social support could enhance maternal-fetal attachment.

Functions of social support and self-verification in association with loneliness, depression, and stress.

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Wright, Kevin B; King, Shawn; Rosenberg, Jenny

2014-01-01

This study investigated the influence of social support and self-verification on loneliness, depression, and stress among 477 college students. The authors propose and test a theoretical model using structural equation modeling. The results indicated empirical support for the model, with self-verification mediating the relation between social support and health outcomes. The results have implications for social support and self-verification research, which are discussed along with directions for future research and limitations of the study.

Integrating social networks and human social motives to achieve social influence at scale

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Contractor, Noshir S.; DeChurch, Leslie A.

2014-01-01

The innovations of science often point to ideas and behaviors that must spread and take root in communities to have impact. Ideas, practices, and behaviors need to go from accepted truths on the part of a few scientists to commonplace beliefs and norms in the minds of the many. Moving from scientific discoveries to public good requires social influence. We introduce a structured influence process (SIP) framework to explain how social networks (i.e., the structure of social influence) and human social motives (i.e., the process of social influence wherein one person’s attitudes and behaviors affect another’s) are used collectively to enact social influence within a community. The SIP framework advances the science of scientific communication by positing social influence events that consider both the “who” and the “how” of social influence. This framework synthesizes core ideas from two bodies of research on social influence. The first is network research on social influence structures, which identifies who are the opinion leaders and who among their network of peers shapes their attitudes and behaviors. The second is research on social influence processes in psychology, which explores how human social motives such as the need for accuracy or the need for affiliation stimulate behavior change. We illustrate the practical implications of the SIP framework by applying it to the case of reducing neonatal mortality in India. PMID:25225373

Integrating social networks and human social motives to achieve social influence at scale.

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Contractor, Noshir S; DeChurch, Leslie A

2014-09-16

The innovations of science often point to ideas and behaviors that must spread and take root in communities to have impact. Ideas, practices, and behaviors need to go from accepted truths on the part of a few scientists to commonplace beliefs and norms in the minds of the many. Moving from scientific discoveries to public good requires social influence. We introduce a structured influence process (SIP) framework to explain how social networks (i.e., the structure of social influence) and human social motives (i.e., the process of social influence wherein one person's attitudes and behaviors affect another's) are used collectively to enact social influence within a community. The SIP framework advances the science of scientific communication by positing social influence events that consider both the "who" and the "how" of social influence. This framework synthesizes core ideas from two bodies of research on social influence. The first is network research on social influence structures, which identifies who are the opinion leaders and who among their network of peers shapes their attitudes and behaviors. The second is research on social influence processes in psychology, which explores how human social motives such as the need for accuracy or the need for affiliation stimulate behavior change. We illustrate the practical implications of the SIP framework by applying it to the case of reducing neonatal mortality in India.

Maternal social support, quality of birth experience, and post-partum depression in primiparous women.

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Tani, Franca; Castagna, Valeria

2017-03-01

Social relationships provide individuals with a general sense of self-worth, psychological wellbeing, as well as allowing them access to resources during stressful periods and transitions in life. Pregnancy is a time of significant life change for every woman. The aim of this study was to verify the influence of social support perceived by mothers during pregnancy on the quality of their birth experience and post-partum depression. A longitudinal study at three different times was carried out on 179 nulliparous pregnant women. Women completed a Maternal Social Support Questionnaire during the third trimester of their pregnancy. Then, on the first day after childbirth, clinical birth indices were collected. Finally, a month after childbirth, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was administered. Post-partum depression was influenced negatively by maternal perceived social support and positively by negative clinical birth indices. In addition to these direct effects, analyses revealed a significant effect of maternal perceived social support on post-partum depression, mediated by the clinical indices considered. Social support perceived by mothers during pregnancy plays a significant role as a protection factor against post-partum depression, both directly and indirectly, reducing the negative clinical aspects of the birth experience.

Modeling posttraumatic growth among cancer patients: The roles of social support, appraisals, and adaptive coping.

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Cao, Weidan; Qi, Xiaona; Cai, Deborah A; Han, Xuanye

2018-01-01

The purpose of the study was to build a model to explain the relationships between social support, uncontrollability appraisal, adaptive coping, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among cancer patients in China. The participants who were cancer patients in a cancer hospital in China filled out a survey. The final sample size was 201. Structural equation modeling was used to build a model explaining PTG. Structural equation modeling results indicated that higher levels of social support predicted higher levels of adaptive coping, higher levels of uncontrollability appraisal predicted lower levels of adaptive coping, and higher levels of adaptive coping predicted higher levels of PTG. Moreover, adaptive coping was a mediator between social support and growth, as well as a mediator between uncontrollability and growth. The direct effects of social support and uncontrollability on PTG were insignificant. The model demonstrated the relationships between social support, uncontrollability appraisal, adaptive coping, and PTG. It could be concluded that uncontrollability appraisal was a required but not sufficient condition for PTG. Neither social support nor uncontrollability appraisal had direct influence on PTG. However, social support and uncontrollability might indirectly influence PTG, through adaptive coping. It implies that both internal factors (eg, cognitive appraisal and coping) and external factors (eg, social support) are required in order for growth to happen. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analyzing determinants influencing an individual׳s intention to use social commerce website

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Prerna Lal

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The evolution of social media has changed the landscape of online commerce for both organizations as well as customers. Introduction of social commerce websites has bought shift in consumers׳ buying decision, i.e. from individual to social shopping. This study aims to identify factors that influence an individual׳s decision to use social commerce websites in an Indian Context. A conceptual model was developed based on extensive literature review. Wherein total six factors that influence an individual׳s intention to use social commerce were identified and were divided into three broad categories: social factors (informational support and community commitment, trust (towards members and community and website quality (ease of use and service quality. Research model was empirically examined using structural equation modeling. The findings of this study demonstrated positive relationship between all six factors and an individual׳s intention to use social commerce website. Additionally, study identified informational support as the most significant factor that influences an individual׳s intention to use social commerce website followed by trust towards members, service equality, trust towards community, ease of navigation, and community commitment.

Physical activity in adolescents: analysis of social influence of parents and friends

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Luanna Alexandra Cheng

2014-01-01

Conclusions: Parents and friends have a social influence on adolescents’ level of physical activity through the mechanism of behavior modeling or through social support, mediated by self‐efficacy.

Bringing patients' social context into the examination room: an investigation of the discussion of social influence during contraceptive counseling.

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Levy, Kira; Minnis, Alexandra M; Lahiff, Maureen; Schmittdiel, Julie; Dehlendorf, Christine

2015-01-01

Although social networks are an increasingly recognized influence on contraceptive use, little is known about if and how social influences are discussed during women's contraceptive counseling visits. We performed a mixed-methods analysis of audio recordings of contraceptive counseling visits. We examined predictors of discussion of social influence arising in a contraceptive counseling visit and analyzed the content and process of social influence discussions. Social influences were mentioned in 42% of the 342 visits included in the sample, with these discussions most commonly initiated by patients. Younger patients were more likely to have social influence mentioned than older patients. The content of social influence focused on side effects and adverse events, with the sources of influence being predominantly patients' friends and the media, with little input from partners. Providers were more likely to engage around the content of the social influence than the social influence itself. The frequency with which social influence was mentioned in these visits supports the importance of women's social context on their contraceptive decision making. However, the fact that patients initiated the discussion in the majority of cases suggests that providers may not recognize the relevance of these influences or may not be comfortable engaging with them. Increasing providers' ability to elicit and engage patients about their social context with regard to contraception could enhance providers' ability to understand women's contraceptive preferences and provide appropriate counseling to address their specific concerns or questions. Copyright © 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social media influencer marketing

OpenAIRE

Isosuo, Heli

2016-01-01

The marketing field is changing simultaneously with the digital world. Social media is getting more and more important to marketers, and there is a need to stand out in the social media noise. Social media influencer marketing could be a good alternative to other types of marketing. A need from the consignor and the interest of the author were the motivations for conducting the study. Sääskilahti Consulting has a social media influencer network Somevaikuttajat, which is offering social media ...

Social support, oxytocin, and PTSD

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Olff, Miranda; Koch, Saskia B. J.; Nawijn, Laura; Frijling, Jessie L.; van Zuiden, Mirjam; Veltman, Dick J.

2014-01-01

A lack of social support and recognition by the environment is one of the most consistent risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and PTSD patients will recover faster with proper social support. The oxytocin system has been proposed to underlie beneficial effects of social support as

Influencia del apoyo social en el control de las personas con diabetes Influence of the social support in the control of the diabetes

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José María Ponce González

2009-12-01

and shock absorber of the stress that supposes a disease. The adverse situations that generate stress in the individual and accompany by a vital change, reach the category of stressful life events being an obstacle after the fulfilment of the therapeutic regime. Objective: To determine if the social support that perceive the diabetics influence in the metabolic control. Methodology: Multicentric cross-sectional descriptive study of the scope of the Primary Care, in 246 diabetics type 2, where they will be moderate the metabolic control (number of HbA1c, and perception of the social support, by questionnaire MOS. For the analysis of the data, it determined averages, standard deviations and percentage by means of SPSS and to study the relation of variables Test of Chi-square, Test t-Student, and multivariant logistic regression. Results: The 88.6 % of the studied subjects perceived good social support. The comparison of averages of HbA1c with Perception of Social Support did not show association. Nevertheless in a first cut with the first studied patients it was appraised statistically significant differences of 1 point in the average number of HbA1c with an IC 95% (0.2 - 1.75 p=0.01 and after putting under multivariant logistic regression to the perception of social support obtained a model that significant association of HbA1c represents (p=0.02 and OR=2.3 and IMC (p= 0.04 and OR= 1.15. Discussion: Questionnaire MOS requires an enhancing climate so that the answers of the patient are trustworthy and this climate it can create the time of professional relation.

Ideological conditionings of the social protest criminalization and the support to democracy in a Lima sample

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Jan Rottenbacher de Rojas

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The influence of right-wing political conservatism on support for democracy and the criminalization of social protest is analyzed in a sample of university students from the city of Lima (N = 201. As indicators of the right-wing political conservatism, measures of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA, social dominance orientation (SDO and right-wing political orientation were used. Two path diagrams were proposed: the second diagram showed a proper degree of fit and proposes a positive covariance between RWA, SDO and right-wing political orientation. The diagram also suggests that RWA, SDO and right-wing political orientation exert a direct influence on the criminalization of social protest, while SDO and RWA exert an indirect influence on support for democracy. Finally, support for democracy present an inverse correlation with the criminalization of social protest.

Influence of Social Support and Self-Efficacy on Resilience of Early Career Registered Nurses.

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Wang, Lin; Tao, Hong; Bowers, Barbara J; Brown, Roger; Zhang, Yaqing

2018-05-01

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among social support, self-efficacy, and resilience in early career registered nurses. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 747 early career registered nurses. Data collection was performed between August and November 2015. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Among the three factors of social support, only the impact of coworker support on nurse resilience is fully mediated by self-efficacy; friend support had a significant positive direct effect on self-efficacy and an indirect effect on nurse resilience. This would suggest the importance of administrators/managers understanding how to promote coworker support, increase self-efficacy, foster a positive work climate, and develop effective mentorship programs to improve early career registered nurses resilience and mitigate factors leading to turnover.

Offline Social Relationships and Online Cancer Communication: Effects of Social and Family Support on Online Social Network Building.

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Namkoong, Kang; Shah, Dhavan V; Gustafson, David H

2017-11-01

This study investigates how social support and family relationship perceptions influence breast cancer patients' online communication networks in a computer-mediated social support (CMSS) group. To examine social interactions in the CMSS group, we identified two types of online social networks: open and targeted communication networks. The open communication network reflects group communication behaviors (i.e., one-to-many or "broadcast" communication) in which the intended audience is not specified; in contrast, the targeted communication network reflects interpersonal discourses (i.e., one-to-one or directed communication) in which the audience for the message is specified. The communication networks were constructed by tracking CMSS group usage data of 237 breast cancer patients who participated in one of two National Cancer Institute-funded randomized clinical trials. Eligible subjects were within 2 months of a diagnosis of primary breast cancer or recurrence at the time of recruitment. Findings reveal that breast cancer patients who perceived less availability of offline social support had a larger social network size in the open communication network. In contrast, those who perceived less family cohesion had a larger targeted communication network in the CMSS group, meaning they were inclined to use the CMSS group for developing interpersonal relationships.

Influence of Social Support on Health-Related Quality of Life in New-Generation Migrant Workers in Eastern China.

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Xing, Haiyan; Yu, Wei; Chen, Sanmei; Zhang, Dengke; Tan, Rongmei

2013-08-01

The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) has generally been used for patients, few studies in migrants who move from rural to urban within one country. Many studies asserted that social isolation presents a risk to individual health. Poor social networks are associated with worse QOL. This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and social support in new-generation migrant workers and compared it with urban workers. Nine hundred thirty new-generation migrant workers and 939 urban controls completed the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) by stratified sampling in 2011. Spearman's correlation was performed to clarify the relationship between social support and HRQOL in migrants. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to identify the variables that were associated with HRQOL. The general health, psychological health, and environmental scores of QOL in new-generation migrant workers were lower than in urban workers. New-generation migrants had poorer social support compared with urban controls with regard to general support, objective support, and support utilization. A positive correlation was found between social support and HRQOL. Workers with a higher level of education achieved better psychological, environmental, and general scores than workers with a primary education. Physical, social, environmental, and general health was also closely connected with the age factor. Physical health scores were higher in males than in females. These data suggest that new-generation migrant workers have significant impairment in HRQOL and receive less social support. HRQOL may be affected by social support, education, age, and gender.

Heterogeneity in Social Dilemmas: The Case of Social Support

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vogt, S.B.

2007-01-01

“Heterogeneous Social Dilemmas: The Case of Social Support” studies the level of social support between heterogeneous actors. We consider heterogeneity with respect to several individual properties: the likelihood of needing support, the costs of providing support, and the benefits from receiving

Social Influence for Security

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Florin Iftode

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this work marks the reveling of scientific premises intended to structure the issue of social influence for security. The approach has as aim the identification of those elements that define and characterize the social influence in order to manage conflict, from the perspective of public communication. The proposed approach establishes some synthetic, clear boundaries through the method of research and analysis of the concept of security, social influence, revealing the specifics of public communication in conflict management.

THE MEASUREMENT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT IN THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH ON INCAPACITATING DISEASES AND SOCIAL SUPPORT - THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL SUPPORT QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TRANSACTIONS (SSQT)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

SUURMEIJER, TPBM; DOEGLAS, DM; BRIANCON, S; KRIJNEN, WP; KROL, B; SANDERMAN, R; MOUM, T; BJELLE, A; VANDENHEUVEL, WJA

Social support is supposed to have a beneficial effect on the health and wellbeing of people. It is a central concept in the 'EUropean Research on Incapacitating DIseaes and Social Support' (EURIDISS). In general, two main distinctions concerning social support are made in the literature, providing

The measurement of social support in the European Research on incapaciting diseases and social support : the development of the social support questionnaire for transactions (SSQT)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suurmeijer, T P B M; Doeglas, D M; Briançon, S; Krijnen, W; Krol, B.; Sanderman, R.; Moum, T; Bjelle, A; van den Heuvel, W.J.A.

1995-01-01

Social support is supposed to have a beneficial effect on the health and wellbeing of people. It is a central concept in the "European Research on Incapacitating Diseases and Social Support" (EURIDISS). In general, two main distinctions concerning social support are made in the literature, providing

Private support and social security.

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Van Dijk, F

1998-01-01

"The issue is addressed whether assistance to persons in need can be left to the ¿family' and the ¿community'. In that case people depend on their social networks. The support a person receives through a given network of social ties is examined. However, ties are diverse and subject to change. By means of a model of the dynamics of social ties, the conditions for adequate private support are analyzed. The sustainability of private support over time is examined by incorporating the impact on social ties of lending and receiving support. It is shown that support is only an effective alternative in a limited number of situations." excerpt

Post-quit stress mediates the relation between social support and smoking cessation among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults.

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Bandiera, Frank C; Atem, Folefac; Ma, Ping; Businelle, Michael S; Kendzor, Darla E

2016-06-01

Social support interventions have demonstrated limited effectiveness for preventing smoking relapse. The stress-buffering hypothesis may be a useful framework by which to understand social support in smoking cessation interventions. The current study evaluated the interrelations among social support, stress, and smoking cessation in both moderation and mediation models. Participants (N=139) were enrolled in a smoking cessation study at the safety-net hospital in Dallas, Texas. During the week prior to a scheduled quit attempt, general social support was measured using the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) questionnaire and smoking-specific social support was measured via repeated smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments (EMA). Post-quit stress was repeatedly assessed via smartphone. Logistic regression analyses evaluated potential interaction effects of pre-quit social support and post-quit stress on the likelihood of achieving biochemically-verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence at 4 weeks post-quit. Mediation models were evaluated to determine if post-quit stress mediated the association between pre-quit social support and smoking cessation. Participants were predominantly Black (63.3%) and female (57.6%); and 55% reported an annual household income of social support did not significantly interact with post-quit stress to influence smoking cessation. However, post-quit stress did mediate associations between social support variables and smoking cessation. Findings indicated that social support impacts smoking cessation through its influence on post-quit stress among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults participating in cessation treatment. Increasing social support for the specific purpose of reducing stress during a quit attempt may improve smoking cessation rates in disadvantaged populations. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Beliefs, barriers, social support, and environmental influences related to diabetes risk behaviours among women with a history of gestational diabetes.

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Razee, Husna; van der Ploeg, Hidde P; Blignault, Ilse; Smith, Ben J; Bauman, Adrian E; McLean, Mark; Wah Cheung, N

2010-08-01

Women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes; this risk is higher in non-Caucasian women. This study explored the beliefs, attitudes, social support, environmental influences and other factors related to diabetes risk behaviours among Arabic, Cantonese/Mandarin, and English speaking women with recent GDM. Women living in the Sydney metropolitan area (Australia) who had GDM 6-36 months previously were included. In-depth semi-structured telephone interviews on women's experiences and perceptions of GDM and the lifestyle risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes were conducted in the language participants spoke at home (n=20 Arabic, 20 Cantonese/Mandarin, 17 English). Data were analysed for underlying themes using NVivo software. Mental distress, role perceptions, social support and cultural expectations were major issues related to women's struggles to find the right balance between the large proportion of household and child care responsibilities and leading a healthy lifestyle. Women's ability to follow a healthy lifestyle is embedded in their psychological wellbeing and the social and cultural context of their lives. The study highlights the need for a holistic approach that ensures personal support and access to services as well as lifestyle specific programs.

Influenced but unaware: social influence on alcohol drinking among social acquaintances.

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Dallas, Rebecca; Field, Matt; Jones, Andrew; Christiansen, Paul; Rose, Abi; Robinson, Eric

2014-05-01

Drinking partners may be influenced by each other's alcohol consumption. However, these effects have only been shown in artificially created social pairings and typically among same-sex young adults. Here, we test whether similarly strong influence effects occur among "real" pairs of social acquaintances (friends and partners) and whether people are aware of this influence on their alcohol consumption. Forty-six pairs of social acquaintances aged between 19 and 60 years old participated in a between-subjects experiment, in a semi-naturalistic bar laboratory setting. One member of each pair (the confederate) was randomly selected and asked to consume only alcoholic (alcohol condition) or soft drinks (nonalcohol condition), while the pair completed a game together in a bar setting. The other participant (naïve) was unaware of these drinking instructions. Postconsumption, we measured the extent to which naïve participants believed that their partner had influenced their own drinking behavior. A large effect of condition on alcohol consumption was observed, χ² (2) = 15.8, p < 0.001, Cramer's V = 0.59, whereby the number of alcoholic drinks selected by naïve participants in the alcohol confederate condition was significantly greater than in the nonalcohol confederate condition. The majority of naïve participants (81%) also tended to be unaware that their partner had influenced their alcohol consumption. Social acquaintances are influenced by each other's alcohol consumption and may not be aware of this influence on their behavior. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Influencers :The Role of Social Influence in Marketing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C. Du Plessis (Christilene)

2017-01-01

markdownabstractSocial influence is the corner stone of consumer psychology. In fact, in the last decade of the 19th century the study of consumer psychology emerged from an interest in advertising and its influence on people. Traditionally research on social influence has focused on understanding

Reliability of a Novel Social Activity Questionnaire: Perceived Social Support and Verbal Interaction in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuelsdorff, Megan L; Koscik, Rebecca L; Okonkwo, Ozioma C; Peppard, Paul E; Hermann, Bruce P; Sager, Mark A; Johnson, Sterling C; Engelman, Corinne D

2018-02-01

Social activity is associated with healthy aging and preserved cognition. Such activity includes a confluence of social support and verbal interaction, each influencing cognition through rarely parsed, mechanistically distinct pathways. We created a novel verbal interaction measure for the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP) and assessed reliability of resultant data, a first step toward mechanism-driven examination of social activity as a modifiable predictor of cognitive health. Two WRAP subsamples completed a test-retest study to determine 8-week stability ( n = 107) and 2-year stability ( n = 136) of verbal interaction, and 2-year stability of perceived social support. Reliability was determined using quadratic-weighted kappa, percent agreement, or correlation coefficients. Reliability was fair to almost perfect. The association between social support and interaction quantity decreased with age. Social activity data demonstrate moderate to excellent temporal stability. Moreover, in older individuals, social support and verbal interaction represent two distinct dimensions of social activity.

Blood pressure and social support observations from Mamre, South Africa, during social and political transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, A; Hoffman, M; Lombard, C; Steyn, K; Levitt, N; Katzenellenbogen, J

1999-10-01

Social support, by moderating cardiovascular reactivity, has been demonstrated to attenuate the effects of stress on blood pressure in American communities. This is the first report to examine the relationship between social support and blood pressure in a South African context, during a period of infrastructure modernisation and political change. A total of 1240 residents (542 men, 698 women) of mixed ethnic origin, older than 14 years and stratified by age and sex, participated in a survey to determine risk factors for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. Social support was assessed by a questionnaire developed in consultation with the community. It was defined by interactions that may threaten family harmony (score 1) and by networking between relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbours (score 2). Mean blood pressure of the sample was 130/79 mm Hg (s.d. 25/14 mm Hg). Hypertension prevalence was 26.9%. Only 36% of women compared to 57.3% of men (P social support networks were similarly perceived by both sexes. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure correlated weakly with score 1 (r = 0.096, P networking between relatives, friends or neighbours, significantly influences blood pressure in this community. Measures of social support thought to moderate blood pressure may have limited cross-cultural application. Attitudinal changes during socio-political transition may impact on the generalisability of instruments for measurement.

Association of Social Support and Medication Adherence in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Linni; Wu, Shaomin; Zhao, Shuliang; Zhou, Huixuan; Zhang, Shengfa; Gao, Min; Qu, Zhiyong; Zhang, Weijun; Tian, Donghua

2017-12-06

The prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing in China. When diabetes is uncontrolled, it generates dire consequences for health and well-being. Numerous studies have shown that health outcomes were associated with social support and medication adherence. Previous study confirmed that social support was associated with medication adherence in patients with heart failure, HIV diseases, and first-episode psychosis. However, the relationship between social support and medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is remains unclear. This study aims to examine whether social support is associated with medication adherence in patients with T2DM. This study was conducted in the First Affiliated Hospital of the General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). In Beijing, a systematic random sample of 412 patients with T2DM over 18 years was recruited at baseline, and demographic characteristics, clinical data and their assessment of social support were collected from medical records and self-reported questionnaires. 330 of these patients completed a self-report measure of medication adherence at the sixth month after baseline data collection. Regression analysis showed that social support presented a positive effect on medication adherence, additionally, support utilization and the subscale of social support exhibited a significantly strong influence on medication adherence in patients with T2DM. Although medication adherence was influenced by multiple factors, this finding confirmed that social support must be recognized as a core element in interventions aimed at improving in the management of patients with T2DM.

Effects of culture and age on the perceived exchange of social support resources.

Science.gov (United States)

VonDras, Dean D; Pouliot, Gregory S; Malcore, Sylvia A; Iwahashi, Shigetoshi

2008-01-01

This research explores the perceived exchange of social support resources of young, midlife, and older adults in the United States and Japan, and how perceptions of exchange may moderate attributions of control, difficulty, and success in attaining important life-goals. A survey was administered to participants in the United States and Japan who ranged in age from 17 to 70 years. Results suggested culture and age to influence the designation of important life-goals, and to interactively moderate the perceived exchange of social support resources in the interpersonal contexts of family and business associates and co-workers. Furthermore, relationships between the perceived exchange of social support and perceptions of control and success in achieving life-goals indicated different intracultural effects. Overall, these findings suggest nuances in the perceived exchange of social support and social cognitions that reflect the cultural orientations of young, midlife and older adults in the United States and Japan. A culturally grounded model of social support is proposed and discussed.

[Social support after traumatism].

Science.gov (United States)

Maercker, A; Heim, E; Hecker, T; Thoma, M V

2017-01-01

The classical concept of social support has recently become of relevance again, particularly in the context of traumatized patient groups, which include refugees and migrants. This article summarizes the evidence from social support research, e. g. different types of positive effects as well as context, gender and cultural aspects. These aspects are highlighted by means of studies stemming from applied healthcare research and thus describe a wide range of health effects, e.g. increased well-being and reduced depressive symptoms, improved functional abilities, better immune status and longevity. Two new trauma-specific differentiations of the social support concept are introduced: societal acknowledgement as a trauma survivor and disclosure of traumatic experiences. Against this background several implications for working with refugees arise: promotion of self-efficacy and posttraumatic maturation as well as the treatment of mental disorders show considerable benefits from focusing on social support. Finally, possibilities emerging from digital communication media are discussed, which are particularly relevant in this context.

"Implementation and Social Influence"

OpenAIRE

Hitoshi Matsushima

2008-01-01

This paper incorporates social psychology into implementation theory. Real individuals care not only about their material benefits but also about their social influence in terms of obedience and conformity. Using a continuous time horizon, we demonstrate a method of manipulating the decision-making process, according to which, an uninformed principal utilizes her/his power of social influence to incentivize multiple informed agents to make honest announcements. Following this method, we show ...

Identifying the social capital influencing diabetes control in Japan

OpenAIRE

Yamada, Yohei; Suematsu, Mina; Takahashi, Noriyuki; Okazaki, Kentaro; Yasui, Hiroki; Hida, Takeshi; Uemura, Kazumasa; Murotani, Kenta; Kuzuya, Masafumi

2018-01-01

The number of patients with diabetes is increasing in Japan. Recently, Social capital (SC) has received increasing attention as a factor influencing health conditions. In the US, the relation between SC and diabetes control has been reported, but little attention has been paid to this connection in Japan. Three SC questionnaires, entitled “trust in people in a community,” “social support,” and “social relationships,” were constructed. The subjects were adult patients with type 2 diabetes. Inf...

Religiosity and social welfare: competing influences of cultural conservatism and prosocial value orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Malka, Ariel; Soto, Christopher J; Cohen, Adam B; Miller, Dale T

2011-08-01

This research examines the hypothesis that religiosity has two competing psychological influences on the social welfare attitudes of contemporary Americans. On the one hand, religiosity promotes a culturally based conservative identity, which in turn promotes opposition to federal social welfare provision. On the other hand, religiosity promotes a prosocial value orientation, which in turn promotes support of federal social welfare provision. Across two national samples (Ns = 1,513 and 320) and one sample of business employees (N = 710), reliable support for this competing pathways model was obtained. We argue that research testing influences of nonpolitical individual differences on political preferences should consider the possibility of competing influences that are rooted in a combination of personality processes and contextual-discursive surroundings. © 2011 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Roles of Social Support and Health Literacy in Self-Management Among Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu-Chi; Chang, Li-Chun; Liu, Chieh-Yu; Ho, Ya-Fang; Weng, Shuo-Chun; Tsai, Tzu-I

2018-05-01

To investigate the relationships among social support, health literacy, and self-management, and the factors influencing self-management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Cross-sectional study. A random sample of 410 patients was recruited from nephrology clinics. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and chart reviews from January 2013 to February 2014. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to determine the predictive factors of self-management behaviors and ∆R 2 to determine each variable's explanatory power. Health literacy and social support were positively correlated with self-management behaviors. Furthermore, social support, health literacy, and marital status were significant predictors of self-management behaviors. Social support had a relatively greater explanatory power for self-management behaviors than did health literacy. Particularly, healthcare provider support had the greatest influence on patients' self-management behaviors. Health literacy and social support play independent positive roles in self-management behaviors of patients with CKD, with social support having a particularly dominant role. Further research using a systems approach to improving self-management behaviors is necessary to clarify the role of social support. Health literacy and social support are independently and positively related to self-management. Social support, which is a system-level factor, is a relatively stronger and crucial predictor than is health literacy. Nurses have to refine self-management programs to focus on families and adopt a systems approach to help CKD patients improve their self-management behaviors. © 2018 Sigma Theta Tau International.

[Influence of social support and personality traits on psychological characteristic of patients with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia].

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Jie; Zhao, Ping; Chen, Li-Jun; Qin, Hui-Qing; Shi, Wang-Hong; Guo, Wei; Zhen, Ying

2012-03-01

To explore the effects of social support and personality traits on psychological characteristic of patients with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia and improve the level of diagnosis and treatment. From August 2009 to April 2010, 231 patients (obtained 217 effective responses) with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia were recruited. Among the patients, there were 123 males and 94 females, with an average age of (38.00 +/- 5.67) years (ranged from 15 to 66 years). Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Cattell Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were used to test social support and psychological characteristic and compared the difference of psychological, personality traits and norm, then analyzed the effect of social support and personality traits on psychological characteristic. Two hundred and seventeen (93.9%) patients completed the questionnaire. Compared with normal 16PF scores, there were significant differences in factor scores of intelligence, stability, excitability, perseverance,social boldness, vigilance, sophistication, experimental, independence and tonicity (P characteristic between patients with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia and norms. Improving social support level and optimizing personality traits can improve psychological profile of these patients.

Social Support and Motivation to Transfer as Predictors of Training Transfer: Testing Full and Partial Mediation Using Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Reinhold, Sarah; Gegenfurtner, Andreas; Lewalter, Doris

2018-01-01

Social support and motivation to transfer are important components in conceptual models on transfer of training. Previous research indicates that both support and motivation influence transfer. To date, however, it is not yet clear if social support influences transfer of training directly, or if this influence is mediated by motivation to…

Social support, stress and the aging brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Stephanie M; Cheng, Yen-Pi; Fingerman, Karen L; Schnyer, David M

2016-07-01

Social support benefits health and well-being in older individuals, however the mechanism remains poorly understood. One proposal, the stress-buffering hypothesis states social support 'buffers' the effects of stress on health. Alternatively, the main effect hypothesis suggests social support independently promotes health. We examined the combined association of social support and stress on the aging brain. Forty healthy older adults completed stress questionnaires, a social network interview and structural MRI to investigate the amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex circuitry, which is implicated in social and emotional processing and negatively affected by stress. Social support was positively correlated with right medial prefrontal cortical thickness while amygdala volume was negatively associated with social support and positively related to stress. We examined whether the association between social support and amygdala volume varied across stress level. Stress and social support uniquely contribute to amygdala volume, which is consistent with the health benefits of social support being independent of stress. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Influence of Social Cognitive and Gender Variables on Technological Academic Interest among Spanish High-School Students: Testing Social Cognitive Career Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez, Carmen; Inda, Mercedes; Fernández, Carmen Mª

2016-01-01

This study tested social cognitive career theory (SCCT) in the technological domain with 2,359 high-school students in Asturias (Spain). Path analyses were run to determine the influence of gender on the SCCT model and to explain the influence of personal (emotional state, gender-role attitudes), contextual (perceived social supports and…

Social identity influences stress appraisals and cardiovascular reactions to acute stress exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, Stephen; Meaney, Sarah; Muldoon, Orla T

2014-09-01

This study tested a recent theoretical development in stress research to see whether group membership influenced cardiovascular reactions following exposure to acute stress. Participants (N = 104) were exposed to a message in which a maths test was described as stressful or challenging by an ingroup member (a student) or outgroup member (a stress disorder sufferer). Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure(DBP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored throughout a standard reactivity study. As expected, a significant interaction was found; relative to those who were told that the task was challenging, ingroup members reported more stress and had higher DBP and HR reactivity when told by an ingroup member that the maths task was stressful; task information did not have the same effect for outgroup members. These results indicate that informational support is not constant but varies as a function of group membership. Finally, this recent development in stress research may prove useful for those interested in investigating the interactions between social, psychological and physiological processes underlying health disparities. What is already known on this subject? Stress is a common risk factor for hypertension and coronary heart disease. Social support has been found to reduce cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress. The influence of social support on stress varies as a consequence of social identity. What does this study add? The social group that one belongs to influences how one appraises and responds to stress. Social identity provides a useful framework for understanding how social processes are associated with health disparities. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

[Role of the social support network which influences age of death and physical function of elderly people: study of trends in and outside of Japan and future problems].

Science.gov (United States)

Kishi, Reiko; Horikawa, Naoko

2004-02-01

Concerning associations between the social support network and physical health of the elderly, longitudinal studies have been conducted using various measurement indexes. The studies indicated that the support network influences on physical function and life expectancy. In this study we compared research papers from Japan and elsewhere that appeared after 1980, from the viewpoint of 1) social support effects, and 2) social network effects, to examine potential problems in the future. The main knowledge obtained was that the receipt of emotional support, wide network size, and participation in social activities reduced the risk of early death and decrease in physical function of elderly people. Sex differences were indicated, and in many cases, the effects were more remarkable in men than women. In addition the positive influence of receiving help from a support network, a major subject of conventional research, the effects of offering help to others and negative findings were also examined. It has been indicated that participation in volunteer groups and offer of support to other people can prevent decrease in physical function or early death. As negative effects, improper instrumental support rather disturbs the mental and physical independence of elderly people. As future issues, it is necessary to focus on both positive/negative and receipt/offer effects of support network, and to clarify how to provide example which best match the life of elderly people by comparing sexes and regions. It is also important to actually apply the knowledge gained from observational studies to prevent the elderly from becoming a condition requiring care, and to develop intervention studies which can increase the social contacts of elderly people at the same time as conducting health education and medical treatment.

Social support for diabetes illness management: supporting adolescents and caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Idalski Carcone, April; Ellis, Deborah A; Weisz, Arlene; Naar-King, Sylvie

2011-10-01

The aim of this research study was to examine the relationship between 4 sources of social support (support for the adolescent from family, support for the adolescent from friends, support for the caregiver from another adult, and support to the family from the health care provider) and adolescents' diabetes outcomes (illness management behavior and health status) using a diverse sample of urban adolescents. One hundred forty-one adolescents with insulin-managed diabetes and their primary caregivers completed questionnaires assessing social support and illness management behavior. Glucose meters were downloaded and hemoglobin A1c assays were obtained. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model social support informed by social ecological theory. The results of the structural equation modeling indicated that support for the caregiver from another adult was directly and positively related to support for the adolescent from family and indirectly related to better illness management. Support for the adolescent from family was directly related to better diabetes management and, through better management, to better diabetes health. Support to the family from the health care provider was not related to support for the adolescent and support to the adolescent from friends was not related to illness management, as hypothesized. This study identifies a novel target for social support intervention to improve adolescents' illness management behavior-the caregivers of adolescents with diabetes. By enhancing the social support caregivers receive from other adults in their lives, caregivers' ability to support their adolescent children with diabetes might also be improved which, in turn, improves adolescents' illness outcomes.

[Spanish adaptation of a perceived Social Support Scale in sportspeople].

Science.gov (United States)

Pedrosa, Ignacio; García-Cueto, Eduardo; Suárez-Álvarez, Javier; Pérez Sánchez, Blanca

2012-01-01

Social support is a variable that has a great influence in the sport context. In fact, this variable not only affects the athlete's performance but it has also shown to be related to psychological disorders such as Burnout Syndrome. The aim of this paper was to illustrate the Spanish adaptation of a social support scale in the sport context. The normative group who took part in the final version of the research was composed of 397 athletes aged between 13 and 64 years old (mean= 19.23 and standard deviation= 6.67). The scale shows: adequate factorial and construct validity, acceptable fit indexes (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin= 0.785, Root Mean Square Residual= 0.078; Kelly's criterion= 0.075), a negative correlation with the dimensions of burnout and no relationship with respect to self-esteem. In addition, it also shows high reliability (a= 0.88). Furthermore, statistically significant differences have been found in relation to genders - where women require greater social support. In contrast, males tend to display a lower level of social support with team players and international athletes. Moreover, differential item functioning (DIF) was carried out to explore sex bias, however, none of the items exhibit DIF problems.

Social Influence in Online Health Discussions: An Evaluation of Online Graduate Student Support Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Maloney, Erin Kay

2010-01-01

This paper reports on the results of a field experimental design assessing online support groups testing hypotheses derived from the social identification model of deindividuation effects (SIDE; Lea & Spears, 1992) and social information processing theory (SIP; Walther, 1992). Specifically, it is predicted that individuals in an online support…

Peer social support training in UK prisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Warren; Lovely, Rachel

2017-10-11

To undertake a service evaluation to assess the effect of peer social support training using two separate learning programmes, which were designed to assist prisoners to support older prisoners and prisoners with disabilities. The service evaluation used an action research approach to support planning, delivery and data collection. Eleven interviews with nine prisoners who had undertaken the peer social support training programmes and two members of prison staff (one nurse manager and one prison officer) were recorded and transcribed by the researchers. This data was coded and thematically analysed to evaluate the findings. Recommendations were made regarding the format and content of the training. The training was well received by the peer social support worker trainees and had several positive outcomes, including increased peer social support, improved relationships between peer social support workers and older prisoners and prisoners with disabilities, increased self-esteem, measured as 'social capital', among peer social support workers, and effective teamworking. The peer social support training programmes were considered to be a positive intervention and were effective in supporting peer social support roles. Recommendations for future training of prisoner peer support workers include involving existing peer social support workers in training and recruitment, and enhancing the role of peer social support workers in prisons by providing them with job descriptions. ©2012 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Influence of work-family-school role conflicts and social support on psychological wellbeing among registered nurses pursuing advanced degree.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Lijuan; Song, Rhayun

2016-08-01

The purpose of the study was to determine how work-family-school role conflict and social support influence psychological well-being among registered nurses pursuing an advanced degree. A cross-sectional, correlational study design was used. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 320 registered nurses pursuing an advanced nursing degree at 13 hospitals in Korea, from June to October 2011. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with the AMOS program. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate the measurement model prior to the testing of study hypotheses before and after controlling for extraneous variables. The fit parameters of the modified model (χ(2)/df=2.01, GFI=0.91, AGFI=0.89, CFI=0.92, SRMR=0.068, and RMSEA=0.065) indicated its suitability as the research model. This model explained 45% of the variance in work-related psychological well-being and 52% of the variance in general psychological well-being. Both social support and work-family-school role conflict exerted significant effects on work-related psychological well-being and general psychological well-being. The findings of the present study imply that work-family-school role conflict influences the psychological well-being of registered nurses pursuing an advanced degree. It is necessary for nursing administrators to develop strategies to help registered nurses to manage their multiple roles and improve both their work-related psychological well-being and their general psychological well-being. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Support and Social Conflict as Predictors of Prenatal Depression

Science.gov (United States)

Westdahl, Claire; Milan, Stephanie; Magriples, Urania; Kershaw, Trace S.; Rising, Sharon Schindler; Ickovics, Jeannette R.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE To estimate how social support and social conflict relate to prenatal depressive symptoms and to generate a brief clinical tool to identify women at increased psychosocial risk. METHODS This is a prospective study following 1,047 pregnant women receiving care at two university-affiliated clinics from early pregnancy through 1 year postpartum. Structured interviews were conducted in the second trimester of pregnancy. Hierarchical and logistic regressions were used to examine potential direct and interactive effects of social support and conflict on prenatal depressive symptoms measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. RESULTS Thirty-three percent of the sample reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms predicted from sociodemographic factors, social support, and social conflict. Social support and conflict had independent effects on depressive symptoms although social conflict was a stronger predictor. There was a “dose–response,” with each increase in interpersonal risk factor resulting in consequent risk for probable depression based on symptom reports (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Scale greater than or equal to 16). A composite of one social support and three conflict items were identified to be used by clinicians to identify interpersonal risk factors for depression in pregnancy. Seventy-six percent of women with a composite score of three or more high-risk responses reported depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION Increased assessment of social support and social conflict by clinicians during pregnancy can identify women who could benefit from group or individual interventions to enhance supportive and reduce negative social interactions. PMID:17601908

"I did a lot of Googling": A qualitative study of exclusive breastfeeding support through social media.

Science.gov (United States)

Alianmoghaddam, Narges; Phibbs, Suzanne; Benn, Cheryl

2018-06-16

Little qualitative research has been done to explore the quality of breastfeeding support through social media in New Zealand. This article aims to explore the influence of social media on exclusive breastfeeding practice. A qualitative study involving face-to-face postpartum interviews with 30 mothers who were recruited from the lower North Island of New Zealand. Each participant was followed via short monthly audio-recorded telephone interviews until giving up exclusive breastfeeding or until six months after the birth. The theories "strength of weak ties" and "landscapes of care" are applied to the thematic analysis of the interview material to illuminate the influence of social media on breastfeeding practices. Qualitative analysis of the interview material identified four themes: 1) Mothers need reliable online infant feeding information; 2) Smartphone apps can be a good option for promoting breastfeeding; 3) Information is accessed through weak ties among breastfeeding mothers on Facebook, and 4) the utility of geographically distant infant feeding support via Skype. Most participants sourced post-partum information and advice to support breastfeeding through the Internet, while those with geographically distant family members accessed emotional and practical breastfeeding support via Skype. Breastfeeding advocates should use social media to promote and support exclusive breast-feeding practice. The influence of social media on breastfeeding points to the relational nature of breastfeeding which is embedded in 'real' world and virtual social networks as well as the cultural, geographic and social contexts of a mother's life. Copyright © 2018 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do stress and support matter for caring? The role of perceived stress and social support on expressed emotion of carers of persons with first episode psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadath, Anvar; Muralidhar, D; Varambally, Shivarama; Gangadhar, B N; Jose, Justin P

2017-02-01

Caring for a person with first episode psychosis (FEP) is a challenging and distressing task for the carers. The carers' stress in the early stage of psychosis can increase their expressed emotion (EE) while social support is hypothesized to decrease EE. However, the influence of stress and social support on carers' EE is not well understood in FEP. To examine how the stress and social support shape expressed emotion in the carers of FEP. Seventy one carers of the patients with non-affective FEP were recruited from the inpatient psychiatry ward of a tertiary mental health care center in South India. The family questionnaire, perceived stress scale and multidimensional scale of perceived social support were used to measure their EE, stress and social support respectively. Carers experienced high level of perceived stress, EE and poor social support. Perceived stress significantly increased EE (β=0.834; psocial support did not significantly influence EE (β=-0.065; p>0.05). Perceived stress predicted 76 percent of the variance on EE (Adjusted R 2 =0.761). The results emphasize high level of stress and EE in carers of patients with FEP that implies the need for appropriate psychosocial interventions to manage their stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social-Support, Self-Esteem and Depression as Determinants of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examined the influence of social support, self-esteem and depression on the quality of life among sickle cell patients in Benin City. A total of 52 sickle cell patients made up of 29 males and 23 females participated in the study. Questionnaire was used in collecting data. The questionnaire consisted of the ...

Social Support and Social Networks in COPD: A Scoping Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Barton, Christopher; Effing, Tanya W; Cafarella, Paul

2015-01-01

A scoping review was conducted to determine the size and nature of the evidence describing associations between social support and networks on health, management and clinical outcomes amongst patients with COPD. Searches of PubMed, PsychInfo and CINAHL were undertaken for the period 1966-December 2013. A descriptive synthesis of the main findings was undertaken to demonstrate where there is current evidence for associations between social support, networks and health outcomes, and where further research is needed. The search yielded 318 papers of which 287 were excluded after applying selection criteria. Two areas emerged in which there was consistent evidence of benefit of social support; namely mental health and self-efficacy. There was inconsistent evidence for a relationship between perceived social support and quality of life, physical functioning and self-rated health. Hospital readmission was not associated with level of perceived social support. Only a small number of studies (3 articles) have reported on the social network of individuals with COPD. There remains a need to identify the factors that promote and enable social support. In particular, there is a need to further understand the characteristics of social networks within the broader social structural conditions in which COPD patients live and manage their illness.

SOCIAL SUPPORT AND STRESS - THE ROLE OF SOCIAL-COMPARISON AND SOCIAL-EXCHANGE PROCESSES

NARCIS (Netherlands)

BUUNK, BP; HOORENS, [No Value

1992-01-01

This paper first presents four different conceptualizations of social support: social integration, satisfying relationships, perceived helpfulness and enacted support. Then, classic and contemporary social comparison theory and social exchange theory are analysed as they are two theoretical

Social implications of children's smartphone addiction: The role of support networks and social engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ihm, Jennifer

2018-06-05

Background and aims Most studies have regarded smartphone addiction as a condition stemming from individuals' psychological issues, so research has rarely examined it in relation to a lack of social resources and its social impacts. However, this study reinterprets smartphone addiction as a social problem stemming from a lack of offline social networks and resulting in a decline of social engagement. Methods This study drew on a survey of 2,000 children in Korea consisting of 991 males and 1,009 females with an average age of 12 years old. Using the STATA 14 structural equation modeling program, this study examined the relationships between children's lack of social networks, smartphone addiction, and social engagement. Results Social network variables, such as formal organizational membership, quality of relationship with parents, size of the peer group, and peer support, decrease smartphone addiction. Simply having good relationships and reciprocal feelings with peers do not have any influence on the smartphone addiction. The more the children become addicted to smartphones, the less they participate in social engagement. Discussion and conclusions This study provides a new understanding of smartphone addiction by focusing on its social aspects, augmenting prior studies that have addressed psychological factors. Findings suggest that children's lack of social networks may inhibit comfortable social interactions and feelings of support in the offline environment, which can heighten their desire to escape to smartphones. These children, unlike non-addicts, may not take advantage of the media to enrich their social lives and increase their level of social engagement.

Social support and bipolar disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Mendonça Studart

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Background Bipolar disorder is a chronic condition that affects the functioning of its carriers in many different ways, even when treated properly. Therefore, it’s also important to identify the psychosocial aspects that could contribute to an improvement of this population’s quality of life.Objective Carry out a literature review on the role of social support in cases of bipolar disorder.Method A research on the following online databases PubMed, Lilacs and SciELO was conducted by using the keywords “social support” or “social networks” and “mood disorders” or “bipolar disorder” or “affective disorder,” with no defined timeline.Results Only 13 studies concerning the topic of social support and BD were found in the search for related articles. Generally speaking, the results show low rates of social support for BD patients.Discussion Despite the growing interest in the overall functioning of patients with bipolar disorder, studies on social support are still rare. Besides, the existing studies on the subject use different methodologies, making it difficult to establish data comparisons.

Social influence on risk perception during adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Knoll, Lisa J; Magis-Weinberg, Lucía; Speekenbrink, Maarten; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2015-05-01

Adolescence is a period of life in which peer relationships become increasingly important. Adolescents have a greater likelihood of taking risks when they are with peers rather than alone. In this study, we investigated the development of social influence on risk perception from late childhood through adulthood. Five hundred and sixty-three participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations and were then informed about the ratings of a social-influence group (teenagers or adults) before rating each situation again. All age groups showed a significant social-influence effect, changing their risk ratings in the direction of the provided ratings; this social-influence effect decreased with age. Most age groups adjusted their ratings more to conform to the ratings of the adult social-influence group than to the ratings of the teenager social-influence group. Only young adolescents were more strongly influenced by the teenager social-influence group than they were by the adult social-influence group, which suggests that to early adolescents, the opinions of other teenagers about risk matter more than the opinions of adults. © The Author(s) 2015.

Your Health Buddies Matter: Preferential Selection and Social Influence on Weight Management in an Online Health Social Network.

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Meng, Jingbo

2016-12-01

A growing number of online social networks are designed with the intention to promote health by providing virtual space wherein individuals can seek and share information and support with similar others. Research has shown that real-world social networks have a significant influence on one's health behavior and outcomes. However, there is a dearth of studies on how individuals form social networks in virtual space and whether such online social networks exert any impact on individuals' health outcomes. Built on the Multi-Theoretical Multilevel (MTML) framework and drawing from literature on social influence, this study examined the mechanisms underlying the formation of an online health social network and empirically tested social influence on individual health outcomes through the network. Situated in a weight management social networking site, the study tracked a health buddy network of 709 users and their weight management activities and outcomes for 4 months. Actor-based modeling was used to test the joint dynamics of preferential selection and social influence among health buddies. The results showed that baseline, inbreeding, and health status homophily significantly predicted preferential selection of health buddies in the weight management social networking site, whereas self-interest in seeking experiential health information did not. The study also found peer influence of online health buddy networks on individual weight outcomes, such that an individual's odds of losing weight increased if, on average, the individual's health buddies were losing weight.

ESTIMATING FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF REGIONAL PROGRAMS OF SOCIAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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Iryna Kokhan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The given article presents the analysis of the experience of the financial support of the regional programs of social economic development and the areas of usage of internal and external resources of the area. Dynamic and balanced development of regions is one of the most important issues for further establishment of marketing relations and social transformations in Ukraine. The Aim lies in the evaluation of financial support of the approved regional programs and launching the amount of their financing. The assessment of social economic situation in Ivano-Frankivsk region in terms of nationwide tendencies allows asserting that economic growth depends on the amounts and sources provided by the state. To determine close connection between  the amount of financing  for the programs  and  gross domestic product, the coefficient of correlation was calculated according to Pierson. It was proved that the amount of financing regional programs of social economic development influences the growth rate of gross domestic product. During research period the activation of regional authority institutions is being surveyed regarding the adoption and financing target regional programs. It was determined that the dynamic activity of the regional community and its territorial units on realization in terms of defined strategic priorities for programs of social economic development will facilitate disproportion reduction and differences in the development of territory units in the region, as well as positively influences the growth of gross domestic product providing steady increase of social welfare. Keywords: social economic regional development, ecology programs, social programs, gross regional domestic product, Pierson’s correlation coefficient. JEL: R 58

Familial social support predicts a reduced cortisol response to stress in sexual minority young adults.

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Burton, C L; Bonanno, G A; Hatzenbuehler, M L

2014-09-01

Social support has been repeatedly associated with mental and physical health outcomes, with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity posited as a potential mechanism. The influence of social bonds appears particularly important in the face of stigma-related stress; however, there is a dearth of research examining social support and HPA axis response among members of a stigmatized group. To address this gap in the literature, we tested in a sample of 70 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults whether family support or peer support differentially predict cortisol reactivity in response to a laboratory stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test. While greater levels of family support were associated with reduced cortisol reactivity, neither peer support nor overall support satisfaction was associated with cortisol response. These findings suggest that the association between social support and neuroendocrine functioning differs according to the source of support among members of one stigmatized group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Support Networks and HIV/STI Risk Behaviors Among Latino Immigrants in a New Receiving Environment.

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Althoff, Meghan D; Theall, Katherine; Schmidt, Norine; Hembling, John; Gebrekristos, Hirut T; Thompson, Michelle M; Muth, Stephen Q; Friedman, Samuel R; Kissinger, Patricia

2017-12-01

The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe the quantity and quality of social support networks of Latino immigrants living in a new receiving environment, and (2) determine the role such networks play in their HIV/STI risk behaviors, including substance use. Double incentivized convenience sampling was used to collect egocentric social support network data on 144 Latino immigrants. Latent class analysis was used for data reduction and to identify items best suited to measure quality and quantity of social support. Moderate and high quantity and quality of social support were protective of HIV/STI sexual risk behavior compared to low quantity and quality of support, after adjustment for gender, years in New Orleans and residing with family. Neither measure of social support was associated with binge drinking. The findings suggest that increased quantity and quality of social support decrease HIV/STI sexual risk behaviors but do not influence binge drinking. Interventions that improve the quantity and quality of social support are needed for Latino immigrants.

Modern Social Support Structures: Online Social Networks and their Implications for Social Workers

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Kala Chakradhar

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Mapping and assessing social networks and the quality of their social support is a valuable intervention strategy for social workers. These networks have now spread onto the digital realm in the form of Online Social Networks (OSNs. This study investigated the nature of social support provided by such networks to their users in a rural mid-South University (USA and explored parallels with the current understanding of social support in conventional social networks. A web-based survey administered to college students revealed that users of these online networks were predominantly undergraduate first year students, female, single, unemployed and from a variety of academic disciplines. The examination of the components of OSNs appears to mirror those of offline networks. They also seem to complement the effects of each other while contributing to an individual's support system. The paper concludes with critical implications of such online social networking for University students and social workers in practice and education.

Parents, peer groups, and other socializing influences.

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Vandell, D L

2000-11-01

Three propositions that are central to J. R. Harris's group socialization theory (1995, 1998) are considered in this review. These propositions are as follows: (a) Parental behaviors have no long-term effects on children's psychological characteristics, (b) peer groups are the primary environmental influence on psychological functioning, and (c) dyadic relationships are situation-specific and do not generalize. The evidence that J. R. Harris has outlined in support of each of these propositions is reviewed, as is additional empirical research not considered by J. R. Harris. Serious limitations to each proposition are identified. The available evidence is more consistent with a model of multiple socialization agents. An expanded research agenda that permits a more definitive test of J. R. Harris's propositions and social relationship theory is proposed.

A Systematic Review of the Processes Underlying the Main and the Buffering Effect of Social Support on the Experience of Pain.

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Che, Xianwei; Cash, Robin; Ng, Sin Ki; Fitzgerald, Paul; Fitzgibbon, Bernadette M

2018-04-24

This review aimed to explore the processes that underlie the main and the buffering effect of social support on decreased pain experience. The systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. Online databases of PubMed and PsycINFO were searched for peer-reviewed articles using keywords (("social support", OR "interpersonal", OR "social presence", OR "spouse", OR "couple", OR "marriage") AND "pain"). Articles were included if they examined the cognitive or behavioural processes linking social support to any aspects of reduced pain experience. The database search identified 38 studies, of which 33 were cognitive-behavioural studies and 5 were neurobiological. Cognitive-behavioural studies generated a total of 57 findings of the analgesic influence of social support. This effect was further categorized as social support decreasing the adverse influence of pain-related stress (28/44 findings), reappraising pain-related stress (7/9 findings), and facilitating coping attempts (2/4 findings). Of the 5 neurobiological studies, the influence of social support on pain reduction was associated with reduced neural and physiological stress systems in response to painful stimuli. This review presents evidence that the stress-buffering effect is more often able to account for the relationship between social support and pain experience. Moreover, findings suggest the critical significance of stress appraisal and attenuated stress systems in linking social support to aspects of reduced pain experience. Findings implicate the role of integrating perceived support and intimacy in support-oriented interventional trials for chronic pain.

How do relationships support parenting? Effects of attachment style and social support on parenting behavior in an at-risk population.

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Green, Beth L; Furrer, Carrie; McAllister, Carol

2007-09-01

The importance of supportive relationships for new parents has been the focus of both research and parenting interventions. Attachment style, typically viewed as a relatively stable trait reflecting one's comfort in social relationships, as well as social support, or one's perception of the social context, have both been found to be important for fostering engaged, involved parenting. Less is known, however, about how these variables work together to influence parenting behavior, especially in families at higher risk for negative child outcomes. Data were collected from 152 urban, predominantly African American, low-income parents when their children were 14 and 36 months of age. Results suggest that parents with more social support show greater increases in the frequency of positive parent-child activities over time, but that this effect is mediated by mothers' attachment style, specifically, their level of anxious/ambivalent attachment. Mothers with more social support tended to be less anxious/ambivalent about close relationships, and this in turn led to increases over time in the frequency of parent-child interactions. Mothers' tendency to avoid close relationships, however, while correlated with social support, was unrelated to changes in parenting behavior. Implications of these findings for program development, parenting, and the malleability of attachment style based on social context are discussed.

Perceived Stress as a Mediator Between Social Support and Posttraumatic Growth Among Chinese American Breast Cancer Survivors.

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Yeung, Nelson C Y; Lu, Qian

Studies have shown that social support is positively associated with posttraumatic growth (PTG) among white cancer survivors. Whether the same relationship holds among Asian American cancer survivors and through what mechanism social support may influence PTG is unclear. This study examined the association between social support and PTG among Chinese American breast cancer survivors and proposed perceived stress as a mediator. Chinese American breast cancer survivors (n = 118) were recruited from Southern California. Participants' social support, perceived stress, and PTG were measured in a questionnaire package. Social support was associated with lower perceived stress (r= -0.34, Pstress was negatively associated with PTG (r=-0.36, Psocial support to PTG via perceived stress (β = .07, Psocial support and PTG (β= .40, Pstress between social support and PTG. The positive association between social support and Chinese American breast cancer survivors' PTG was supported. Our findings also suggested that social support may facilitate PTG through reduction of perceived stress. Interventions that help to enhance Chinese American breast cancer survivors' social support may also facilitate their PTG.

Interaction patterns of nurturant support exchanged in online health social networking.

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Chuang, Katherine Y; Yang, Christopher C

2012-05-03

Expressing emotion in online support communities is an important aspect of enabling e-patients to connect with each other and expand their social resources. Indirectly it increases the amount of support for coping with health issues. Exploring the supportive interaction patterns in online health social networking would help us better understand how technology features impacts user behavior in this context. To build on previous research that identified different types of social support in online support communities by delving into patterns of supportive behavior across multiple computer-mediated communication formats. Each format combines different architectural elements, affecting the resulting social spaces. Our research question compared communication across different formats of text-based computer-mediated communication provided on the MedHelp.org health social networking environment. We identified messages with nurturant support (emotional, esteem, and network) across three different computer-mediated communication formats (forums, journals, and notes) of an online support community for alcoholism using content analysis. Our sample consisted of 493 forum messages, 423 journal messages, and 1180 notes. Nurturant support types occurred frequently among messages offering support (forum comments: 276/412 messages, 67.0%; journal posts: 65/88 messages, 74%; journal comments: 275/335 messages, 82.1%; and notes: 1002/1180 messages, 84.92%), but less often among messages requesting support. Of all the nurturing supports, emotional (ie, encouragement) appeared most frequently, with network and esteem support appearing in patterns of varying combinations. Members of the Alcoholism Community appeared to adapt some traditional face-to-face forms of support to their needs in becoming sober, such as provision of encouragement, understanding, and empathy to one another. The computer-mediated communication format may have the greatest influence on the supportive interactions

Ethnic differences in social support after initial receipt of an abnormal mammogram.

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Molina, Yamile; Hohl, Sarah D; Nguyen, Michelle; Hempstead, Bridgette H; Weatherby, Shauna Rae; Dunbar, Claire; Beresford, Shirley A A; Ceballos, Rachel M

2016-10-01

We examine access to and type of social support after initial receipt of an abnormal mammogram across non-Latina White (NLW), African American, and Latina women. This cross-sectional study used a mixed method design, with quantitative and qualitative measures. Women were recruited through 2 community advocates and 3 breast-health-related care organizations. With regard to access, African American women were less likely to access social support relative to NLW counterparts. Similar nonsignificant differences were found for Latinas. Women did not discuss results with family and friends to avoid burdening social networks and negative reactions. Networks' geographic constraints and medical mistrust influenced Latina and African American women's decisions to discuss results. With regard to type of social support, women reported emotional support across ethnicity. Latina and African American women reported more instrumental support, whereas NLW women reported more informational support in the context of their well-being. There are shared and culturally unique aspects of women's experiences with social support after initially receiving an abnormal mammogram. Latina and African American women may particularly benefit from informational support from health care professionals. Communitywide efforts to mitigate mistrust and encourage active communication about cancer may improve ethnic disparities in emotional well-being and diagnostic resolution during initial receipt of an abnormal mammogram. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Collaborative Multimedia Learning: Influence of a Social Regulatory Support on Learning Performance and on Collaboration

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Acuña, Santiago Roger; López-Aymes, Gabriela

2016-01-01

This paper analyzes the effects of a support aimed at favoring the social regulatory processes in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment, specifically in a comprehension task of a multimedia text about Psychology of Communication. This support, named RIDE (Saab, van Joolingen, & van Hout-Wolters, 2007; 2012), consists…

Exploring the role of co-worker social support on health care utilization and sickness absence

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Tamers, Sara L.; Beresford, Shirley A.A.; Thompson, Beti; Zheng, Yingye; Cheadle, Allen D.

2011-01-01

Objectives To explore the association of baseline co-worker social support with follow-up measures of health care use and sickness absence. Methods Data were obtained on 1,240 employees from 33 worksites, through Promoting Activity and Changes in Eating, a group randomized weight maintenance trial. Co-worker social support, health care utilization, and absenteeism were assessed via a self-reported questionnaire. Generalized Estimating Equations were employed using STATA version 10. Results Higher baseline co-worker social support was significantly associated with a greater number of doctors’ visits (p = 0.015). Co-worker social support was unrelated to number of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, or absenteeism. Conclusions The relationship between co-worker social support and health care utilization and absenteeism is complex and uncertain. Future studies should measure more specific outcomes, incorporate important mediating variables, and distill how social networks influence these outcomes. PMID:21685798

The management of social problems talk in a support group

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Andrezza Gomes Peretti

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The comprehension of the health-disease process from a multifactorial perspective has allowed important transformations in the healthcare practices. In this article, we discuss the use of the support group as a resource for mental health care, analyzing how conversations about social issues are managed in this context. Based on contributions from the social constructionist movement, we analyzed the transcripts of the conversations developed in meetings of a support group offered to patients of a mental health outpatient clinic. The analysis of the process of meaning making indicates that the discourse of the social influence on mental health is not legitimized, due to a predominant individualistic discourse, which psychologizes care and is centered on the emotional analysis of the problems of the quotidian. We argue that this mode of management brings limits to the construction of the group as a device for promoting autonomy and encouraging the social transformation processes.

Childhood Social Anxiety and Social Support-Seeking: Distinctive Links with Perceived Support from Teachers

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Leeves, Sylvia; Banerjee, Robin

2014-01-01

Social support-seeking is recognised as an important strategy used by children to cope with negative emotions. However, there are important gaps in our knowledge about children's perceptions of different sources of social support, and the associations that these perceptions have with individual differences in socio-emotional functioning. The…

Social networks, social support and psychiatric symptoms: social determinants and associations within a multicultural community population.

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Smyth, Natasha; Siriwardhana, Chesmal; Hotopf, Matthew; Hatch, Stephani L

2015-07-01

Little is known about how social networks and social support are distributed within diverse communities and how different types of each are associated with a range of psychiatric symptoms. This study aims to address such shortcomings by: (1) describing the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of social networks and social support in a multicultural population and (2) examining how each is associated with multiple mental health outcomes. Data is drawn from the South East London Community Health Study; a cross-sectional study of 1,698 adults conducted between 2008 and 2010. The findings demonstrate variation in social networks and social support by socio-demographic factors. Ethnic minority groups reported larger family networks but less perceived instrumental support. Older individuals and migrant groups reported lower levels of particular network and support types. Individuals from lower socioeconomic groups tended to report less social networks and support across the indicators measured. Perceived emotional and instrumental support, family and friend network size emerged as protective factors for common mental disorder, personality dysfunction and psychotic experiences. In contrast, both social networks and social support appear less relevant for hazardous alcohol use. The findings both confirm established knowledge that social networks and social support exert differential effects on mental health and furthermore suggest that the particular type of social support may be important. In contrast, different types of social network appear to impact upon poor mental health in a more uniform way. Future psychosocial strategies promoting mental health should consider which social groups are vulnerable to reduced social networks and poor social support and which diagnostic groups may benefit most.

Predicting and influencing voice therapy adherence using social-cognitive factors and mobile video.

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van Leer, Eva; Connor, Nadine P

2015-05-01

Patient adherence to voice therapy is an established challenge. The purpose of this study was (a) to examine whether adherence to treatment could be predicted from three social-cognitive factors measured at treatment onset: self-efficacy, goal commitment, and the therapeutic alliance, and (b) to test whether the provision of clinician, self-, and peer model mobile treatment videos on MP4 players would influence the same triad of social cognitive factors and the adherence behavior of patients. Forty adults with adducted hyperfunction with and without benign lesions were prospectively randomized to either 4 sessions of voice therapy enhanced by MP4 support or without MP4 support. Adherence between sessions was assessed through self-report. Social cognitive factors and voice outcomes were assessed at the beginning and end of therapy. Utility of MP4 support was assessed via interviews. Self-efficacy and the therapeutic alliance predicted a significant amount of adherence variance. MP4 support significantly increased generalization, self-efficacy for generalization, and the therapeutic alliance. An interaction effect demonstrated that MP4 support was particularly effective for patients who started therapy with poor self-efficacy for generalization. Adherence may be predicted and influenced via social-cognitive means. Mobile technology can extend therapy to extraclinical settings.

Students' Dependence on Smart Phones: The Influence of Social Needs, Social Influences and Convenience

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Suki, Norazah Mohd

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess whether social needs, social influences and convenience of smart phones affects students' dependence on them. This research also examines whether students' dependence on smart phones influences their purchase behaviour. This investigation is conducted among the students in a public university in the…

Effect of Gratitude on Benign and Malicious Envy: The Mediating Role of Social Support.

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Xiang, Yanhui; Chao, Xiaomei; Ye, Yanyan

2018-01-01

Gratitude has been investigated in various areas in psychology. The present research showed that gratitude had some positive effects on some aspects of our life, such as subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and social relationships. It can also help us relieve negative emotions. However, the existing literature has not studied the influence of gratitude on envy. The present study used structural equation modeling to test the mediating role of social support between gratitude and two types of envy (malicious and benign). We recruited 426 Chinese undergraduates to complete the Gratitude Questionnaire, Malicious and Benign Envy Scales, and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results showed that gratitude positively predicted benign envy and negatively predicted malicious envy. In addition, the indirect effect of gratitude on two types of envy via social support was significant. These results revealed the direct relationship between gratitude and malicious/benign envy, and the mediating effect of social support, which will contribute to find effective measures to inhibit malicious envy and promote benign envy from the perspective of cultivating gratitude and increasing individuals' social support.

Effect of Gratitude on Benign and Malicious Envy: The Mediating Role of Social Support

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Yanhui; Chao, Xiaomei; Ye, Yanyan

2018-01-01

Gratitude has been investigated in various areas in psychology. The present research showed that gratitude had some positive effects on some aspects of our life, such as subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and social relationships. It can also help us relieve negative emotions. However, the existing literature has not studied the influence of gratitude on envy. The present study used structural equation modeling to test the mediating role of social support between gratitude and two types of envy (malicious and benign). We recruited 426 Chinese undergraduates to complete the Gratitude Questionnaire, Malicious and Benign Envy Scales, and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results showed that gratitude positively predicted benign envy and negatively predicted malicious envy. In addition, the indirect effect of gratitude on two types of envy via social support was significant. These results revealed the direct relationship between gratitude and malicious/benign envy, and the mediating effect of social support, which will contribute to find effective measures to inhibit malicious envy and promote benign envy from the perspective of cultivating gratitude and increasing individuals' social support. PMID:29867595

Effect of Gratitude on Benign and Malicious Envy: The Mediating Role of Social Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanhui Xiang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Gratitude has been investigated in various areas in psychology. The present research showed that gratitude had some positive effects on some aspects of our life, such as subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and social relationships. It can also help us relieve negative emotions. However, the existing literature has not studied the influence of gratitude on envy. The present study used structural equation modeling to test the mediating role of social support between gratitude and two types of envy (malicious and benign. We recruited 426 Chinese undergraduates to complete the Gratitude Questionnaire, Malicious and Benign Envy Scales, and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results showed that gratitude positively predicted benign envy and negatively predicted malicious envy. In addition, the indirect effect of gratitude on two types of envy via social support was significant. These results revealed the direct relationship between gratitude and malicious/benign envy, and the mediating effect of social support, which will contribute to find effective measures to inhibit malicious envy and promote benign envy from the perspective of cultivating gratitude and increasing individuals' social support.

Social support, psychological vulnerability, and HIV risk among African American men who have sex with men.

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Saleh, Lena D; van den Berg, Jacob J; Chambers, Christopher S; Operario, Don

2016-05-01

Previous research has suggested a need to understand the social-psychological factors contributing to HIV risk among African American men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted individual in-depth interviews with 34 adult African American MSM to examine their personal experiences about: (i) sources of social support, (ii) psychological responses to the presence or absence of social support and (iii) influences of social support on sexual behaviours. The majority of participants described limited positive encouragement and lack of emotional support from family, as well as few meaningful personal relationships. Feelings of isolation and mistrust about personal relationships led many participants to avoid emotional intimacy and seek physical intimacy through sexual encounters. Findings highlight a need for multilevel interventions that enhance social support networks and address the social-psychological, emotional and interpersonal factors that contribute to HIV risk among African American MSM.

Social support and social network as intermediary social determinants of dental caries in adolescents.

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Fontanini, Humberto; Marshman, Zoe; Vettore, Mario

2015-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between intermediary social determinants, namely social support and social network with dental caries in adolescents. An adapted version of the WHO social determinants of health conceptual framework was used to organize structural and intermediary social determinants of dental caries into six blocks including perceived social support and number of social networks. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a representative sample of 542 students between 12 and 14 years of age in public schools located in the city of Dourados, Brazil in 2012. The outcome variables were caries experience (DMFT ≥ 1) and current dental caries (component D of DMFT ≥ 1) recorded by a calibrated dentist. Individual interviews were performed to collect data on perceived social support and numbers of social networks from family and friends and covariates. Multivariate Poisson regressions using hierarchical models were conducted. The prevalence of adolescents with caries experience and current dental caries was 55.2% and 32.1%, respectively. Adolescents with low numbers of social networks and low levels of social support from family (PR 1.47; 95% CI = 1.01-2.14) were more likely to have DMFT ≥ 1. Current dental caries was associated with low numbers of social networks and low levels of social support from family (PR 2.26; 95% CI = 1.15-4.44). Social support and social network were influential psychosocial factors to dental caries in adolescents. This finding requires confirmation in other countries but potentially has implications for programmes to promote oral health. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Longitudinal analysis of relationships between social support and general health in an Australian population cohort of young women.

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Holden, Libby; Lee, Christina; Hockey, Richard; Ware, Robert S; Dobson, Annette J

2015-02-01

The influence of social support on health and quality of life has been well documented. There is less evidence on whether health status affects social support, and little is known about longitudinal relationships between social support and health in early adulthood. This study investigates these associations using both concurrent and time-lagged measures at 5 time-points over 12 years during early adulthood. A population-based cohort of 9,758 young women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health was used. Women were aged 22-27 in 2000 and 35-39 in 2012. The General Health subscale of the SF-36 and the MOS Social Support Survey 6-item Scale were used, with scores standardised to a range of 0-100. Longitudinal tobit models were used, because both social support and general health data were left skewed, with marked ceiling effects. All models were adjusted for status of the outcome of interest at the immediately previous survey. With both concurrent and time-lagged measures, there was a statistically significant difference in mean general health scores across social support quintiles after adjusting for demographic and behavioural covariates: lower general health was associated with lower social support. In reverse, social support mean scores were also significantly different across general health quintiles in both concurrent and time-lagged fully adjusted models. Social support is significantly associated with both current and subsequent general health in early adulthood. The significance of the reverse associations indicates that the two mutually influence each other. This study highlights the importance of social support as a health-related quality of life issue.

Correlates of Social Support Among Latino Immigrants.

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Held, Mary L

2018-04-01

Latino immigrants encounter considerable stressors that pose risks to health and well-being during settlement in the USA. Social support serves as a protective factor that can help to buffer the negative effects of stress. Despite the importance of social support, we know little about how Latino immigrants differentially experience this protective factor. The current study analyzed data from 100 Latino immigrants residing in Tennessee. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed to examine variation in self-reported social support by immigrant characteristics and immigration-related factors. Females, immigrants who are not married/cohabitating, and those who reported experiencing a greater number of discrete stressors in the USA each reported lower levels of social support. Implications for practice include an increased emphasis on assessing levels of social support and designing services to strengthen support for the most vulnerable immigrants. Future research should consider a longitudinal analysis and specific types of social support.

Mediating influences of social support on stress at Three Mile Island.

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Fleming, R; Baum, A; Gisriel, M M; Gatchel, R J

1982-09-01

Symptom reporting, task performance, and urinary catecholamine excretion were studied in a group of people living near the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and in control populations. More than a year after the accident, living near the damaged reactor was associated with elevations in all indices of stress compared with control levels. Social support mediated these stress indices such that higher levels were associated with fewer psychological and behavioral symptoms of stress. Biochemical measures showed a different pattern of results.

Mediating influences of social support on stress at Three Mile Island

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleming, R.; Baum, A.; Gisriel, M.M.; Gatchel, R.J.

1982-01-01

Symptom reporting, task performance, and urinary catecholamine excretion were studied in a group of people living near the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and in control populations. More than a year after the accident, living near the damaged reactor was associated with elevations in all indices of stress compared with control levels. Social support mediated these stress indices such that higher levels were associated with fewer psychological and behavioral symptoms of stress. Biochemical measures showed a different pattern of results

A Mixed Methods Examination of the Influence of Dimensions of Support on Training Transfer

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Schindler, Laura A.; Burkholder, Gary J.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to explore how specific dimensions of supervisor support (mentoring, coaching, social support, and task support) influence the transfer of learned knowledge and skills to the job. Quantitative data were collected from employees (N = 48) who develop curriculum at an educational…

Online social support networks.

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Mehta, Neil; Atreja, Ashish

2015-04-01

Peer support groups have a long history and have been shown to improve health outcomes. With the increasing familiarity with online social networks like Facebook and ubiquitous access to the Internet, online social support networks are becoming popular. While studies have shown the benefit of these networks in providing emotional support or meeting informational needs, robust data on improving outcomes such as a decrease in health services utilization or reduction in adverse outcomes is lacking. These networks also pose unique challenges in the areas of patient privacy, funding models, quality of content, and research agendas. Addressing these concerns while creating patient-centred, patient-powered online support networks will help leverage these platforms to complement traditional healthcare delivery models in the current environment of value-based care.

The Social Support Inventory (SSI) : A brief scale to assess perceived adequacy of social support

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmerman, IGH; Emanuels-Zuurveen, ES; Emmelkamp, PMG

The development of a brief measure to assess satisfaction with obtained social support using Simultaneous Components Analysis (SCA) is described. In the first study the component structure of the Social Support Questionnaire (Van Sonderen, 1991) was determined in a sample of men (n = 401) and women

Analyzing Social Influence through Social Media: A Structured Literature Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snijders, R.; Helms, R.W.

2014-01-01

The emergence of social media enables billions of people to share their content and in doing so they influence others and are being influenced themselves. This virtual environment provides a new perspective for the current social influence theories. In this study, the state-of-the-art literature on

Relationship between social network, social support and health behaviour in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: cross-sectional studies

OpenAIRE

Hempler, Nana F.; Joensen, Lene E.; Willaing, Ingrid

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Psychosocial and behavioural aspects of diabetes may differ according to diabetes type. This study compared people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with respect to social relations (cohabitation status, contact with the social network and social support) and health behaviours (diet and physical activity). Furthermore, we examined whether potential differences in health behaviour between people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were influenced by education level and social rel...

Parental divorce and adolescent drunkenness: role of socioeconomic position, psychological well-being and social support.

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Tomcikova, Z; Madarasova Geckova, A; Orosova, O; van Dijk, J P; Reijneveld, S A

2009-01-01

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the association between parental divorce and adolescent drunkenness in the last 4 weeks and the contribution of socioeconomic position, family structure, social support from family and well-being to this association. We obtained data on 3,694 elementary school students from several cities in Slovakia (mean age 14.3, 49.0% males; response rate 93%). Respondents completed questionnaires on how often they had been drunk in the last 4 weeks, whether their parents were divorced, their socioeconomic position (education of parents, family affluence), the composition of the household (one or two parents/step-parents), social support from the family and their own well-being. Parental divorce was found to have an effect on adolescent drunkenness in the last 4 weeks, as well as high socioeconomic position, low social support from the family and high depression/anxiety. The effect of divorce on drunkenness decreased only slightly after adding social support into the model. Our findings indicate that parental divorce has a persistent influence on risk behavior independent of the influence of socioeconomic position and well-being. Parental divorce may increase the likelihood of drunkenness more than other factors such as low parental support and poor socioeconomic position. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Stigma and social support in substance abuse: Implications for mental health and well-being

OpenAIRE

Birtel, Michèle; Wood, Lisa; Kempa, Nancy J.

2017-01-01

Individuals with substance abuse may suffer from severe public and internalized stigma. Little is known about how social support can reduce stigma and improve mental health and well-being for them. This research examined how perceived stigma influences individuals in treatment for substance abuse, and whether internalized stigma and shame are mechanisms which link social support with better mental health and well-being. Sixty-four participants in treatment for substance abuse (alcohol, drugs)...

Burnout in Health Professionals According to Their Self-Esteem, Social Support and Empathy Profile

OpenAIRE

María del Mar Molero Jurado; María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes; José Jesús Gázquez Linares; José Jesús Gázquez Linares; Ana Belén Barragán Martín

2018-01-01

Introduction: Professionals in the healthcare field are in situations that could be a source of stress and sometimes develop burnout syndrome. Self-esteem, social support, and empathy are variables which intervene and influence the appearance of this syndrome.Objective: Identify healthcare professional profiles based on self-esteem, empathy and perceived social support, and analyze the extent to which these profiles show differences in developing burnout.Method: The sample was made up of 719 ...

Social support and leisure-time physical activity: longitudinal evidence from the Brazilian Pró-Saúde cohort study

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Werneck Guilherme L

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although social support has been observed to exert a beneficial influence on leisure-time physical activity (LTPA, multidimensional approaches examining social support and prospective evidence of its importance are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate how four dimensions of social support affect LTPA engagement, maintenance, type, and time spent by adults during a two-year follow-up. Methods This paper reports on a longitudinal study of 3,253 non-faculty public employees at a university in Rio de Janeiro (the Pró-Saúde study. LTPA was evaluated using a dichotomous question with a two-week reference period, and further questions concerning LTPA type (individual or group and time spent on the activity. Social support was measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS. To assess the association between social support and LTPA, two different statistical models were used: binary and multinomial logistic regression models for dichotomous and polytomous outcomes, respectively. Models were adjusted separately for those who began LTPA in the middle of the follow up (engagement group and for those who had maintained LTPA since the beginning of the follow up (maintenance group. Results After adjusting for confounders, statistically significant associations (p Conclusions All dimensions of social support influenced LTPA type or the time spent on the activity. However, our findings suggest that social support is more important in engagement than in maintenance. This finding is important, because it suggests that maintenance of LTPA must be associated with other factors beyond the individual's level of social support, such as a suitable environment and social/health policies directed towards the practice of LTPA.

The Influence of Social Media on Collaborative Learning in a Cohort Environment

OpenAIRE

Natasha James-Waldon; Debbi Bromley; Zandra Henry; Silas Wandera

2016-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the impact that social media has on the development of collaborative learning within a cohort environment in a doctoral program. The researchers surveyed doctoral students in an education program to determine how social media use has influenced the doctoral students. The study looked at the following areas: a) the ability of social media use to develop a collaborative learning environment, b) access to social media content which supports learning, and c) whe...

The power of social connection and support in improving health: lessons from social support interventions with childbearing women

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Small Rhonda

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background and objective Social support interventions have a somewhat chequered history. Despite evidence that social connection is associated with good health, efforts to implement interventions designed to increase social support have produced mixed results. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the relationship between social connectedness and good health, by examining social support interventions with mothers of young children and analysing how support was conceptualised, enacted and valued, in order to advance what we know about providing support to improve health. Context and approach First, we provide a brief recent history of social support interventions for mothers with young children and we critically examine what was intended by ‘social support’, who provided it and for which groups of mothers, how support was enacted and what was valued by women. Second, we examine the challenges and promise of lay social support approaches focused explicitly on companionship, and draw on experiences in two cluster randomised trials which aimed to improve the wellbeing of mothers. One trial involved a universal approach, providing befriending opportunities for all mothers in the first year after birth, and the other a targeted approach offering support from a ‘mentor mother’ to childbearing women experiencing intimate partner violence. Results Interventions providing social support to mothers have most often been directed to women seen as disadvantaged, or ‘at risk’. They have also most often been enacted by health professionals and have included strong elements of health education and/or information, almost always with a focus on improving parenting skills for better child health outcomes. Fewer have involved non-professional ‘supporters’, and only some have aimed explicitly to provide companionship or a listening ear, despite these aspects being what mothers receiving support have said they valued most. Our trial

Social Influences in Sequential Decision Making.

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Markus Schöbel

Full Text Available People often make decisions in a social environment. The present work examines social influence on people's decisions in a sequential decision-making situation. In the first experimental study, we implemented an information cascade paradigm, illustrating that people infer information from decisions of others and use this information to make their own decisions. We followed a cognitive modeling approach to elicit the weight people give to social as compared to private individual information. The proposed social influence model shows that participants overweight their own private information relative to social information, contrary to the normative Bayesian account. In our second study, we embedded the abstract decision problem of Study 1 in a medical decision-making problem. We examined whether in a medical situation people also take others' authority into account in addition to the information that their decisions convey. The social influence model illustrates that people weight social information differentially according to the authority of other decision makers. The influence of authority was strongest when an authority's decision contrasted with private information. Both studies illustrate how the social environment provides sources of information that people integrate differently for their decisions.

Social Influences in Sequential Decision Making

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Schöbel, Markus; Rieskamp, Jörg; Huber, Rafael

2016-01-01

People often make decisions in a social environment. The present work examines social influence on people’s decisions in a sequential decision-making situation. In the first experimental study, we implemented an information cascade paradigm, illustrating that people infer information from decisions of others and use this information to make their own decisions. We followed a cognitive modeling approach to elicit the weight people give to social as compared to private individual information. The proposed social influence model shows that participants overweight their own private information relative to social information, contrary to the normative Bayesian account. In our second study, we embedded the abstract decision problem of Study 1 in a medical decision-making problem. We examined whether in a medical situation people also take others’ authority into account in addition to the information that their decisions convey. The social influence model illustrates that people weight social information differentially according to the authority of other decision makers. The influence of authority was strongest when an authority's decision contrasted with private information. Both studies illustrate how the social environment provides sources of information that people integrate differently for their decisions. PMID:26784448

Social Influences in Sequential Decision Making.

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Schöbel, Markus; Rieskamp, Jörg; Huber, Rafael

2016-01-01

People often make decisions in a social environment. The present work examines social influence on people's decisions in a sequential decision-making situation. In the first experimental study, we implemented an information cascade paradigm, illustrating that people infer information from decisions of others and use this information to make their own decisions. We followed a cognitive modeling approach to elicit the weight people give to social as compared to private individual information. The proposed social influence model shows that participants overweight their own private information relative to social information, contrary to the normative Bayesian account. In our second study, we embedded the abstract decision problem of Study 1 in a medical decision-making problem. We examined whether in a medical situation people also take others' authority into account in addition to the information that their decisions convey. The social influence model illustrates that people weight social information differentially according to the authority of other decision makers. The influence of authority was strongest when an authority's decision contrasted with private information. Both studies illustrate how the social environment provides sources of information that people integrate differently for their decisions.

When perceptions defy reality: The relationships between depression and actual and perceived Facebook social support.

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Park, Jiyoung; Lee, David Seungjae; Shablack, Holly; Verduyn, Philippe; Deldin, Patricia; Ybarra, Oscar; Jonides, John; Kross, Ethan

2016-08-01

Although the relationship between depression and "offline" social support is well established, numerous questions surround the relationship between "online" social support and depression. We explored this issue by examining the social support dynamics that characterize the way individuals with varying levels of depression (Study 1) and SCID-diagnosed clinically depressed and non-depressed individuals (Study 2) interact with Facebook, the world's largest online social network. Using a novel methodology, we examined how disclosing positive or negative information on Facebook influences the amount of social support depressed individuals (a) actually receive (based on actual social support transactions recorded on Facebook walls) and (b) think they receive (based on subjective assessments) from their Facebook network. Contrary to prior research indicating that depression correlates with less actual social support from "offline" networks, across both studies depression was positively correlated with social support from Facebook networks when participants disclosed negative information (p=.02 in Study 1 and p=.06 in Study 2). Yet, depression was negatively correlated with how much social support participants thought they received from their Facebook networks (p=.005 in Study 1 and p=.001 in Study 2). The sample size was relatively small in Study 2, reflecting difficulties of recruiting individuals with Major Depressive Disorder. These results demonstrate that an asymmetry characterizes the relationship between depression and different types of Facebook social support and further identify perceptions of Facebook social support as a potential intervention target. (243 words; 250 max). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neural mechanisms of social influence in adolescence.

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Welborn, B Locke; Lieberman, Matthew D; Goldenberg, Diane; Fuligni, Andrew J; Galván, Adriana; Telzer, Eva H

2016-01-01

During the transformative period of adolescence, social influence plays a prominent role in shaping young people's emerging social identities, and can impact their propensity to engage in prosocial or risky behaviors. In this study, we examine the neural correlates of social influence from both parents and peers, two important sources of influence. Nineteen adolescents (age 16-18 years) completed a social influence task during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Social influence from both sources evoked activity in brain regions implicated in mentalizing (medial prefrontal cortex, left temporoparietal junction, right temporoparietal junction), reward (ventromedial prefrontal cortex), and self-control (right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex). These results suggest that mental state reasoning, social reward and self-control processes may help adolescents to evaluate others' perspectives and overcome the prepotent force of their own antecedent attitudes to shift their attitudes toward those of others. Findings suggest common neural networks involved in social influence from both parents and peers. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Social support and delays seeking care after HIV diagnosis, North Carolina, 2000-2006.

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McCoy, Sandra I; Strauss, Ronald P; MacDonald, Pia D M; Leone, Peter A; Eron, Joseph J; Miller, William C

2009-09-01

Many adults in the USA enter primary care late in the course of HIV infection, countering the clinical benefits of timely HIV services and missing opportunities for risk reduction. Our objective was to determine if perceived social support was associated with delay entering care after an HIV diagnosis. Two hundred and sixteen patients receiving primary care at a large, university-based HIV outpatient clinic in North Carolina were included in the study. Dimensions of functional social support (emotional/informational, tangible, affectionate, and positive social interaction) were quantified with a modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale and included in proportional hazards models to determine their effect on delays seeking care. The median delay between diagnosis and entry to primary care was 5.9 months. Levels of social support were high but only positive social interaction was moderately associated with delayed presentation in adjusted models. The effect of low perceived positive social interaction on the time to initiation of primary care differed by history of alcoholism (no history of alcoholism, hazard ratio (HR): 1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88, 2.34; history of alcoholism, HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.40, 1.28). Ensuring timely access to HIV care remains a challenge in the southeastern USA. Affectionate, tangible, and emotional/informational social support were not associated with the time from diagnosis to care. The presence of positive social interaction may be an important factor influencing care-seeking behavior after diagnosis.

Social support and social norms: do both contribute to predicting leisure-time exercise?

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Okun, Morris A; Ruehlman, Linda; Karoly, Paul; Lutz, Rafer; Fairholme, Chris; Schaub, Rachel

2003-01-01

To clarify the contribution of social support and social norms to exercise behavior. A sample of 363 college students completed a questionnaire that assessed social support and social negativity from friends, descriptive and injunctive social norms related to friends, perceived behavioral control, attitude, intention, and leisure-time exercise. Esteem social support was the strongest predictor of total and strenuous leisure-time exercise (P leisure-time exercise. Social support and social norms contribute independently to our understanding of variation in the frequency of strenuous leisure-time exercise.

Social integration of Latin-American immigrants in Spain: the influence of the community context.

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Fuente, Asur; Herrero, Juan

2012-11-01

The main goal of this study is to analyze the degree to which several community elements such as insecurity, discrimination and informal community support might have an influence on the social integration of Latin-American immigrants, a group at risk of social exclusion in Spain. Multivariate linear regression analyses results showed that informal community support is positively related to social integration whereas insecurity is negatively related. The statistical relationship between discrimination and social integration disappears once levels of informal community support are taken into account. A better understanding of the factors that either promote or inhibit the social integration progress of immigrant population is important to orientate public policies and intervention programs that contribute to the adaptation of this population to the host society.

How perceived social support relates to suicidal ideation: a Japanese social resident survey.

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Endo, Go; Tachikawa, Hirokazu; Fukuoka, Yoshiharu; Aiba, Miyuki; Nemoto, Kiyotaka; Shiratori, Yuki; Matsui, Yutaka; Doi, Nagafumi; Asada, Takashi

2014-05-01

The loss of social support is one of the major risk factors for suicide. However, there are few empirical studies that have examined how a person's suicide ideation relates to their social support. To examine the relationship between social support and suicidal ideation. Self-report questionnaires were sent to 2,200 randomly selected adults in Japan. The questionnaire inquired the participants about the severity of suicidal ideation, the details of current perceived social support and their degree of satisfaction with this social support. Social support and related indicators were compared among three groups of participants that varied in severity of suicidal ideation. People in the group that had suicide ideation during their lives reported receiving significantly less support from their family and had greater feelings of dissatisfaction with that support than those in the other groups. Furthermore, people who had suicide ideation during the month immediately preceding the survey reported providing less support to their family, relatives or friends, as well as receiving less support from family than other groups, and having stronger feelings of dissatisfaction with social support. Our study identified a strong relationship between the severity of suicidal ideation and perceived social support.

The social support and social network characteristics of smokers in methadone maintenance treatment.

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de Dios, Marcel Alejandro; Stanton, Cassandra A; Caviness, Celeste M; Niaura, Raymond; Stein, Michael

2013-01-01

Previous studies have shown social support and social network variables to be important factors in smoking cessation treatment. Tobacco use is highly prevalent among individuals in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). However, smoking cessation treatment outcomes in this vulnerable subpopulation have been poor and social support and social network variables may contribute. The current study examined the social support and social network characteristics of 151 MMT smokers involved in a randomized clinical trial of smoking cessation treatments. Participants were 50% women and 78% Caucasian. A high proportion (57%) of MMT smokers had spouses or partners who smoke and over two-thirds of households (68.5%) included at least one smoker. Our sample was characterized by relatively small social networks, but high levels of general social support and quitting support. The number of cigarettes per day was found to be positively associated with the number of smokers in the social network (r = .239, p social support and social networks of smokers in MMT.

Cultural influences on the use of social support by Chinese immigrants in Japan: "face" as a keyword.

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Matsudaira, Tomomi

2003-03-01

In this study, the author demonstrates that cultural differences between China and Japan contribute to the social support relationships in the early migration stages. Twenty-two Chinese immigrants in Japan underwent semistructured interviews, the data from which were analyzed qualitatively. The author identified three impression management strategies that related to concepts of shared "face," social debt and benevolence, and independence. All three reflect the Chinese concept of face. This social context enhanced immigrants' commitment to support relationships and to the use of available support from Japanese providers. The author discusses differences between face and self-esteem in terms of impression management strategies. The findings suggest that cultural conflict must be recognized if integration of cultural differences between the two countries is to be achieved.

The role of social support on HIV testing and treatment adherence: A qualitative study of HIV-infected refugees in southwestern Uganda.

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Rouhani, Shada A; O'Laughlin, Kelli N; Faustin, Zikama M; Tsai, Alexander C; Kasozi, Julius; Ware, Norma C

2017-08-01

Little is known about the factors that encourage or discourage refugees to test for HIV, or to access and adhere to HIV care. In non-refugee populations, social support has been shown to influence HIV testing and utilisation of services. The present study enrolled HIV-infected refugees on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in Uganda, who participated in qualitative interviews on HIV testing, treatment, and adherence. Interviews were analysed for themes about four types of social support: emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal support. A total of 61 interviews were analysed. Four roles for these types of social support were identified: (1) informational support encouraged refugees to test for HIV; (2) emotional support helped refugees cope with a diagnosis of HIV; (3) instrumental support facilitated adherence to ART and (4) after diagnosis, HIV-infected refugees provided informational and emotional support to encourage other refugees to test for HIV. These results suggest that social support influences HIV testing and treatment among refugees. Future interventions should capitalise on social support within a refugee settlement to facilitate testing and treatment.

Social Support and Neighborhood Stressors Among African American Youth: Networks and Relations to Self-Worth.

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McMahon, Susan D; Felix, Erika D; Nagarajan, Thara

2011-06-01

Although neighborhood stressors have a negative impact on youth, and social support can play a protective role, it is unclear what types and sources of social support may contribute to positive outcomes among at-risk youth. We examined the influences of neighborhood disadvantage and social support on global self-worth among low-income, urban African American youth, both concurrently and longitudinally. We examined social support from both a structural and functional perspective, and tested the main-effects and the stress-buffering models of social support. Participants included 82-130 youth, in 6th-8th grade, who completed self-report measures. Network support results suggest participants received emotional, tangible, and informational support most often from mothers and other female relatives, with friends, fathers, and teachers also playing important roles. Model testing accounted for neighborhood stressors and support from various sources, revealing support from close friends was associated with concurrent self-worth; whereas, parent support predicted self-worth longitudinally, above and beyond initial levels of self-worth. The findings provide evidence for the main-effects model of social support and not the stress-buffering model. Our findings illustrate the importance of extended family networks and the types of support that youth rely upon in African American impoverished communities, as well as how support contributes to global self-worth. Implications and suggestions for future research and intervention are discussed.

Changing Attitudes Through Social Influence: Does Social Distance Matter?

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Mahaffey, Amanda L; Bryan, Angela D

2016-01-01

To test the effects of social influence and social distance on attitudes, we assessed judgments of gay and lesbian targets in various contexts over three studies (n = 814, 51% female). We compared the impact of a derogatory message to a relatively favorable message ostensibly written by another participant. Participants were robustly moved by the feedback; social influence was a significant predictor in final evaluations of the target, as was social distance. Discrimination against gay men and lesbian women appears not to be a fixed behavior; seemingly anyone can be persuaded to discriminate or not to discriminate by mere peer suggestion.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess perceived social influence on health behaviors

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HOLT, CHERYL L.; CLARK, EDDIE M.; ROTH, DAVID L.; CROWTHER, MARTHA; KOHLER, CONNIE; FOUAD, MONA; FOUSHEE, RUSTY; LEE, PATRICIA A.; SOUTHWARD, PENNY L.

2012-01-01

Assessment of social influence on health behavior is often approached through a situational context. The current study adapted an existing, theory-based instrument from another content domain to assess Perceived Social Influence on Health Behavior (PSI-HB) among African Americans, using an individual difference approach. The adapted instrument was found to have high internal reliability (α = .81–.84) and acceptable testretest reliability (r = .68–.85). A measurement model revealed a three-factor structure and supported the theoretical underpinnings. Scores were predictive of health behaviors, particularly among women. Future research using the new instrument may have applied value assessing social influence in the context of health interventions. PMID:20522506

The role of social support in anxiety and depression among Parkinson's disease patients.

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Ghorbani Saeedian, Radka; Nagyova, Iveta; Krokavcova, Martina; Skorvanek, Matej; Rosenberger, Jaroslav; Gdovinova, Zuzana; Groothoff, Johan W; van Dijk, Jitse P

2014-01-01

To explore how social support is associated with anxiety and depression in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients controlling for gender, disease duration and disease severity. The sample consisted of 124 patients (52.4% male; mean age 68.1 ± 8.4 years; mean disease duration 6.3 ± 5.5 years). Anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, social support with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and disease severity with the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale. Data were analyzed using linear regression. Gender, disease duration, disease severity and social support explained 31% of the total variance in anxiety in younger PD patients but did not significantly contribute to the explanation of depression. In the older group, this model explained 41% of the variance in depression but did not significantly contribute to the explanation of anxiety. PD patients experience the positive influence of social support differently according to age. In the younger group, disease duration plays the primary role regarding anxiety. In the older group, poor social support especially from friends is associated with more depression after controlling for the relevant variables. Implications of Rehabilitation PD is a disease of older age with a neurodegenerative character and treatment should focus on increasing quality of life. Anxiety and depression are common co-morbidities in PD patients. The support network should also be screened regularly and involved in enhancing the quality of life.

The Online Social Support Scale: Measure development and validation.

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Nick, Elizabeth A; Cole, David A; Cho, Sun-Joo; Smith, Darcy K; Carter, T Grace; Zelkowitz, Rachel L

2018-05-21

A new measure, the Online Social Support Scale, was developed based on previous theory, research, and measurement of in-person social support. It includes four subscales: Esteem/Emotional Support, Social Companionship, Informational Support, and Instrumental Support. In college and community samples, factor analytic and item response theory results suggest that subtypes of in-person social support also pertain in the online world. Evidence of reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity provide excellent psychometric support for the measure. Construct validity accrues to the measure vis-à-vis support for three hypotheses: (a) Various broad types of Internet platforms for social interactions are differentially associated with online social support and online victimization; (b) similar to in-person social support, online social support offsets the adverse effect of negative life events on self-esteem and depression-related outcome; and (c) online social support counteracts the effects of online victimization in much the same way that in-person friends in one social niche counterbalance rejection in other social niches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

An imaging genetics approach to understanding social influence

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Emily eFalk

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Normative social influences shape nearly every aspect of our lives, yet the biological processes mediating the impact of these social influences on behavior remain incompletely understood. In this Hypothesis, we outline a theoretical framework and an integrative research approach to the study of social influences on the brain and genetic moderators of such effects. First, we review neuroimaging evidence linking social influence and conformity to the brain’s reward system. We next review neuroimaging evidence linking social punishment (exclusion to brain systems involved in the experience of pain, as well as evidence linking exclusion to conformity. We suggest that genetic variants that increase sensitivity to social cues may predispose individuals to be more sensitive to either social rewards or punishments (or potentially both, which in turn increases conformity and susceptibility to normative social influences more broadly. To this end, we review evidence for genetic moderators of neurochemical responses in the brain, and suggest ways in which genes and pharmacology may modulate sensitivity to social influences. We conclude by proposing an integrative imaging genetics approach to the study of brain mediators and genetic modulators of a variety of social influences on human attitudes, beliefs, and actions.

An imaging genetics approach to understanding social influence.

Science.gov (United States)

Falk, Emily B; Way, Baldwin M; Jasinska, Agnes J

2012-01-01

Normative social influences shape nearly every aspect of our lives, yet the biological processes mediating the impact of these social influences on behavior remain incompletely understood. In this Hypothesis, we outline a theoretical framework and an integrative research approach to the study of social influences on the brain and genetic moderators of such effects. First, we review neuroimaging evidence linking social influence and conformity to the brain's reward system. We next review neuroimaging evidence linking social punishment (exclusion) to brain systems involved in the experience of pain, as well as evidence linking exclusion to conformity. We suggest that genetic variants that increase sensitivity to social cues may predispose individuals to be more sensitive to either social rewards or punishments (or potentially both), which in turn increases conformity and susceptibility to normative social influences more broadly. To this end, we review evidence for genetic moderators of neurochemical responses in the brain, and suggest ways in which genes and pharmacology may modulate sensitivity to social influences. We conclude by proposing an integrative imaging genetics approach to the study of brain mediators and genetic modulators of a variety of social influences on human attitudes, beliefs, and actions.

Social networks and their influence on drinking behaviors: differences related to cognitive impairment in clients receiving alcoholism treatment.

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Buckman, Jennifer F; Bates, Marsha E; Cisler, Ron A

2007-09-01

Mechanisms of behavioral change that support positive addiction treatment outcomes in individuals with co-occurring alcohol-use disorders and cognitive impairment remain largely unknown. This article combines person- and variable-centered approaches to examine the interrelated influence of cognitive impairment and social support on stability of and changes in drinking behaviors of Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity) outpatients and aftercare clients (N = 1,726) during the first year after their entry into treatment. Latent class analysis identified homogeneous groups of clients based on the nature and extent of social support for abstinence or drinking at treatment entry. Cognitive impairment and drinking outcomes were compared across latent classes, and the interaction between impairment and social support on drinking outcomes was examined using mixture probit regression. Three independent social support classes (frequent positive, limited positive, and negative) were identified. In the outpatient sample, the frequent positive support class had greater cognitive impairment at treatment entry versus other classes, and extent of impairment significantly predicted improved drinking outcomes in this class. In the aftercare sample, the frequent positive and negative support classes had heightened impairment, yet cognitive impairment significantly predicted relatively poorer drinking outcomes in the negative support class only. Cognitive impairment may increase the influence of the social network on the drinking outcomes of persons receiving treatment for alcohol-use disorders, but more research is needed to understand client characteristics that determine whether this influence is more likely to be manifest as increased salience of helping agents or of hindering agents in the social network.

Stigma and social support in substance abuse: Implications for mental health and well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Birtel, Michèle D; Wood, Lisa; Kempa, Nancy J

2017-06-01

Individuals with substance abuse may suffer from severe public and internalized stigma. Little is known about how social support can reduce stigma and improve mental health and well-being for them. This research examined how perceived stigma influences individuals in treatment for substance abuse, and whether internalized stigma and shame are mechanisms which link social support with better mental health and well-being. Sixty-four participants in treatment for substance abuse (alcohol, drugs), aged between 18 and 64, completed an online survey measuring perceived stigma, internalized stigma, shame, perceived social support, and mental health and well-being (self-esteem, depression and anxiety, sleep). We found that perceived stigma was associated with lower self-esteem, higher depression and anxiety, and poorer sleep. Furthermore, perceived social support followed the opposite pattern, and was associated with higher self-esteem, lower depression and anxiety, and better sleep. The effects of perceived stigma and of perceived social support on our outcome measures were mediated by internalized stigma and by internalized shame. Helping individuals with substance abuse to utilize their social support may be fruitful for combatting the negative impact of internalized stigma and shame on mental health and well-being. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Social influence bias: a randomized experiment.

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Muchnik, Lev; Aral, Sinan; Taylor, Sean J

2013-08-09

Our society is increasingly relying on the digitized, aggregated opinions of others to make decisions. We therefore designed and analyzed a large-scale randomized experiment on a social news aggregation Web site to investigate whether knowledge of such aggregates distorts decision-making. Prior ratings created significant bias in individual rating behavior, and positive and negative social influences created asymmetric herding effects. Whereas negative social influence inspired users to correct manipulated ratings, positive social influence increased the likelihood of positive ratings by 32% and created accumulating positive herding that increased final ratings by 25% on average. This positive herding was topic-dependent and affected by whether individuals were viewing the opinions of friends or enemies. A mixture of changing opinion and greater turnout under both manipulations together with a natural tendency to up-vote on the site combined to create the herding effects. Such findings will help interpret collective judgment accurately and avoid social influence bias in collective intelligence in the future.

The Influence of Social Media on Collaborative Learning in a Cohort Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natasha James-Waldon

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper provides an overview of the impact that social media has on the development of collaborative learning within a cohort environment in a doctoral program. The researchers surveyed doctoral students in an education program to determine how social media use has influenced the doctoral students. The study looked at the following areas: a the ability of social media use to develop a collaborative learning environment, b access to social media content which supports learning, and c whether social media use has contributed to the enhancement of the doctoral students’ academic achievement and learning progress. As social media use and on-line learning become more prevalent in education, it is important to continue to understand the impact that social media has on improving students’ ability to achieve their academic goals. This study provides insight on how doctoral students used social media and how social media use has influenced academic development in their cohort environment. In addition, this paper provides a discerning view into the role social media plays when developing a collaborative learning environment in a cohort.

Age and Social Support Seeking: Understanding the Role of Perceived Social Costs to Others.

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Jiang, Li; Drolet, Aimee; Kim, Heejung S

2018-07-01

We examined age differences in the use of different types of social support and the reasons for these differences. We found that older adults (age 60+) seek explicit social support less compared with young adults (age 18-25), but there is no difference in implicit social support seeking. Concerns about the potential social costs of seeking explicit support mediate the age differences in explicit social support seeking. Whereas young adults view this strategy as conferring more benefits than costs, older adults have a more balanced view of the costs and benefits of explicit social support seeking. Older and young adults do not differ in perceptions of the relative costs versus benefits of implicit social support seeking. Finally, we found older adults benefit more from implicit (vs. explicit) social support emotionally than young adults, which further explains why age groups differ in their use of explicit versus implicit social support.

Factors influencing social self-disclosure among adolescents living with HIV in Eastern Africa

OpenAIRE

N?stlinger, Christiana; Bakeera-Kitaka, Sabrina; Buyze, Jozefien; Loos, Jasna; Buv?, Anne

2015-01-01

Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) face many psychosocial challenges, including HIV disclosure to others. Given the importance of socialization during the adolescent transition process, this study investigated the psychological and social factors influencing self-disclosure of own HIV status to peers. We examined social HIV self-disclosure to peers, and its relationship to perceived HIV-related stigma, self-efficacy to disclose, self-esteem, and social support among a sample of n = 582 ALHIV...

Canonical correlation analysis of professional stress,social support,and professional burnout among low-rank army officers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuan-yun LI

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Objective The present study investigates the influence of professional stress and social support on professional burnout among low-rank army officers.Methods The professional stress,social support,and professional burnout scales among low-rank army officers were used as test tools.Moreover,the officers of established units(battalion,company,and platoon were chosen as test subjects.Out of the 260 scales sent,226 effective scales were received.The descriptive statistic and canonical correlation analysis models were used to analyze the influence of each variable.Results The scores of low-rank army officers in the professional stress,social support,and professional burnout scales were more than average,except on two factors,namely,interpersonal support and de-individualization.The canonical analysis identified three groups of canonical correlation factors,of which two were up to a significant level(P < 0.001.After further eliminating the social support variable,the canonical correlation analysis of professional stress and burnout showed that the canonical correlation coefficients P corresponding to 1 and 2 were 0.62 and 0.36,respectively,and were up to a very significant level(P < 0.001.Conclusion The low-rank army officers experience higher professional stress and burnout levels,showing a lower sense of accomplishment,emotional exhaustion,and more serious depersonalization.However,social support can reduce the onset and seriousness of professional burnout among these officers by lessening pressure factors,such as career development,work features,salary conditions,and other personal factors.

The longitudinal relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder and perceived social support in survivors of traumatic injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Nickerson, A; Creamer, M; Forbes, D; McFarlane, A C; O'Donnell, M L; Silove, D; Steel, Z; Felmingham, K; Hadzi-Pavlovic, D; Bryant, R A

2017-01-01

Although perceived social support is thought to be a strong predictor of psychological outcomes following trauma exposure, the temporal relationship between perceived positive and negative social support and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has not been empirically established. This study investigated the temporal sequencing of perceived positive social support, perceived negative social support, and PTSD symptoms in the 6 years following trauma exposure among survivors of traumatic injury. Participants were 1132 trauma survivors initially assessed upon admission to one of four Level 1 trauma hospitals in Australia after experiencing a traumatic injury. Participants were followed up at 3 months, 12 months, 24 months, and 6 years after the traumatic event. Latent difference score analyses revealed that greater severity of PTSD symptoms predicted subsequent increases in perceived negative social support at each time-point. Greater severity of PTSD symptoms predicted subsequent decreases in perceived positive social support between 3 and 12 months. High levels of perceived positive or negative social support did not predict subsequent changes in PTSD symptoms at any time-point. Results highlight the impact of PTSD symptoms on subsequent perceived social support, regardless of the type of support provided. The finding that perceived social support does not influence subsequent PTSD symptoms is novel, and indicates that the relationship between PTSD and perceived social support may be unidirectional.

Effects of peer education, social support and self esteem on breast self examination performance and knowledge level.

Science.gov (United States)

Malak, Arzu Tuna; Bektash, Murat; Turgay, Ayshe San; Tuna, Asli; Genç, Rabia Ekti

2009-01-01

To estimate associations among peer education, social support and self-esteem and their influences on performance of breast self-examination (BSE). Seven volunteer peer educators were given the BSE training programme and in turn educated 65 women students in the university. BSE knowledge evaluation forms developed by Maurer were applied for evaluation. Other data were collected with questionnaires for the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and Scale of Perceived Social Support over three months. Knowledge level points of students and the BSE practice ratio were increased by peer support. There was a positive relationship between average BSE knowledge points and social support and self-esteem. The results showed positive relationships among BSE knowledge, social support and self-esteem, these affecting the BSE performance level.

Is the Relationship between Depression and C Reactive Protein Level Moderated by Social Support in Elderly?-Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP).

Science.gov (United States)

Hur, Nam Wook; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Waite, Linda; Youm, Yoosik

2018-01-01

To investigate the buffering effects of social support as an effects modifier in the association between depression and inflammation in the elderly. We analyzed the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) for questionnaire, clinical, and laboratory data of 530 older adults living in a rural community. Multivariate regression models were used to investigate the association between depressive symptoms and C-reactive protein level (CRP), a marker of inflammation, at varying levels of social support. Social support affected the association between depressive symptoms and CRP level in both sexes. However, the direction of effects modification was different for men and women. In men, a higher CRP level was significantly associated with depressive symptoms only among those with lower support from a spouse or family members. By contrast, in women, the association was significant only among subgroups with higher spousal or family support. Social support from neighbors or friends did not affect the depression-inflammation relationship in men but modestly affected the relationship in women. Our findings suggest that social support may have a buffering effect in the relationship between depression and inflammation in elderly Koreans. But the influence of social support may run in different directions for men and women.

Counterdependence at Work: Relationships with Social Support, Control Beliefs, and Self-Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Gianakos, Irene

2013-01-01

Although styles of self-reliance theoretically arise from early attachments, other research suggests the influence of attachment operates indirectly through internalized but modifiable beliefs about the self and others. The present study examined the relative contribution of parental attachment, social support perceptions, control beliefs, and…

Social Support and Social Anxiety in Use and Perceptions of Online Mental Health Resources: Exploring Social Compensation and Enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruppel, Erin K; McKinley, Christopher J

2015-08-01

This study used the frameworks of social compensation and social enhancement to examine how social anxiety and social support were related to college students' (N=443) use and perceptions of online mental health resources (Web sites and online support groups). Potential interactions between social support and social anxiety were also examined. Consistent with the social compensation hypothesis, perceived usefulness of Web sites was positively associated with social support. Perceived usefulness of online support groups was positively associated with social support when participants reported average or high, but not low, social anxiety. In contrast, previous use of Web sites was consistent with the social compensation hypothesis. Participants who reported less social support were more likely to have used a Web site for a mental or emotional problem. These findings suggest that college students' use and perceptions of online mental health resources vary as a function of social support and social anxiety, and that patterns suggestive of social compensation and social enhancement depend on whether perceptions or actual use of resources are examined. Combined with the significant interaction between social support and social anxiety on perceived usefulness of online support groups, these findings highlight the potential complexity of social compensation and enhancement phenomena.

Toward Predicting Social Support Needs in Online Health Social Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Min-Je; Kim, Sung-Hee; Lee, Sukwon; Kwon, Bum Chul; Yi, Ji Soo; Choo, Jaegul; Huh, Jina

2017-08-02

While online health social networks (OHSNs) serve as an effective platform for patients to fulfill their various social support needs, predicting the needs of users and providing tailored information remains a challenge. The objective of this study was to discriminate important features for identifying users' social support needs based on knowledge gathered from survey data. This study also provides guidelines for a technical framework, which can be used to predict users' social support needs based on raw data collected from OHSNs. We initially conducted a Web-based survey with 184 OHSN users. From this survey data, we extracted 34 features based on 5 categories: (1) demographics, (2) reading behavior, (3) posting behavior, (4) perceived roles in OHSNs, and (5) values sought in OHSNs. Features from the first 4 categories were used as variables for binary classification. For the prediction outcomes, we used features from the last category: the needs for emotional support, experience-based information, unconventional information, and medical facts. We compared 5 binary classifier algorithms: gradient boosting tree, random forest, decision tree, support vector machines, and logistic regression. We then calculated the scores of the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) to understand the comparative effectiveness of the used features. The best performance was AUC scores of 0.89 for predicting users seeking emotional support, 0.86 for experience-based information, 0.80 for unconventional information, and 0.83 for medical facts. With the gradient boosting tree as our best performing model, we analyzed the strength of individual features in predicting one's social support need. Among other discoveries, we found that users seeking emotional support tend to post more in OHSNs compared with others. We developed an initial framework for automatically predicting social support needs in OHSNs using survey data. Future work should involve nonsurvey

An Investigation of Referral- and Comparison-based Social Influence on Social Networking Sites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tussyadiah, Iis; Kausar, Devi; Soesilo, Primidya K. M.

between SNS engagement and both referral-based and comparison-based social influence for restaurant selection. Further, it was also identified that the relationships between SNS engagement and social influence are moderated by the different dimensions of consumers’ susceptibility to global influence......This study explored social influence resulting from two distinct social reference processes on social networking sites (SNS). A web-based survey was conducted among consumers in the USA and Indonesia using restaurant consumption as a research context. The study identified the positive relationships...

Social support and social interaction ties on internet addiction: integrating online and offline contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Edward Shih-Tse; Wang, Michael Chih-Hung

2013-11-01

This study explores the relationship between social support and social interaction ties on Internet addiction by integrating both online and offline social encounters. A total of 1,642 members of online social communities participated in this research, for which structural equation modeling was used for analysis. The findings show that social support is positively associated with social interaction ties in both online and offline contexts. In addition, online social support and online social interaction ties are positively associated with Internet addiction, whereas offline social support and social interaction ties on Internet addiction are negatively associated. This finding has important implications not only for understanding the cause of Internet addiction but also for understanding the diminishing Internet addiction due to social support and social interaction ties.

Social support and leisure-time physical activity: longitudinal evidence from the Brazilian Pró-Saúde cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Aldair J; Lopes, Claudia S; de Leon, Antônio C Ponce; Rostila, Mikael; Griep, Rosane H; Werneck, Guilherme L; Faerstein, Eduardo

2011-07-26

Although social support has been observed to exert a beneficial influence on leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), multidimensional approaches examining social support and prospective evidence of its importance are scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate how four dimensions of social support affect LTPA engagement, maintenance, type, and time spent by adults during a two-year follow-up. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of 3,253 non-faculty public employees at a university in Rio de Janeiro (the Pró-Saúde study). LTPA was evaluated using a dichotomous question with a two-week reference period, and further questions concerning LTPA type (individual or group) and time spent on the activity. Social support was measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS). To assess the association between social support and LTPA, two different statistical models were used: binary and multinomial logistic regression models for dichotomous and polytomous outcomes, respectively. Models were adjusted separately for those who began LTPA in the middle of the follow up (engagement group) and for those who had maintained LTPA since the beginning of the follow up (maintenance group). After adjusting for confounders, statistically significant associations (p time spent on LTPA (OR = 2.01; 95% CI 1.2-3.9). In the maintenance group, material support was associated with group LTPA (OR = 1.80; 95% CI; 1.1-3.1) and the positive social interaction dimension was associated with time spent on LTPA (OR = 1.65; 95% CI; 1.1-2.7). All dimensions of social support influenced LTPA type or the time spent on the activity. However, our findings suggest that social support is more important in engagement than in maintenance. This finding is important, because it suggests that maintenance of LTPA must be associated with other factors beyond the individual's level of social support, such as a suitable environment and social/health policies directed towards the

Drinking and Driving among Recent Latino Immigrants: The Impact of Neighborhoods and Social Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Sanchez

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Latinos are disproportionately impacted by drinking and driving arrests and alcohol-related fatal crashes. Why, and how, these disparities occur remains unclear. The neighborhood environments that recent Latino immigrants encounter in their host communities can potentially influence health behaviors over time, including the propensity to engage in drinking and driving. This cross-sectional study utilizes a sample of 467 documented and undocumented adult recent Latino immigrants in the United States to answer the following research questions: (a How do neighborhood-level factors, combined with social support, impact drinking and driving risk behaviors?; and (b Does acculturative stress moderate the effects of those associations? Results indicate neighborhood-level factors (informal social control and social capital have protective effects against drinking and driving risk behaviors via the mediating mechanism of social support. Acculturative stress moderated associations between neighborhood informal social control and social support, whereby the protective effects of informal social control on social support were not present for those immigrants with higher levels of acculturative stress. Our findings contribute to the limited knowledge of drinking and driving among Latino immigrants early in the immigration process and suggest that, in the process of developing prevention programs tailored to Latino immigrants, greater attention must be paid to neighborhood-level factors.

Drinking and Driving among Recent Latino Immigrants: The Impact of Neighborhoods and Social Support

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Mariana; Romano, Eduardo; Dawson, Christyl; Huang, Hui; Sneij, Alicia; Cyrus, Elena; Rojas, Patria; Cano, Miguel Ángel; Brook, Judith; De La Rosa, Mario

2016-01-01

Latinos are disproportionately impacted by drinking and driving arrests and alcohol-related fatal crashes. Why, and how, these disparities occur remains unclear. The neighborhood environments that recent Latino immigrants encounter in their host communities can potentially influence health behaviors over time, including the propensity to engage in drinking and driving. This cross-sectional study utilizes a sample of 467 documented and undocumented adult recent Latino immigrants in the United States to answer the following research questions: (a) How do neighborhood-level factors, combined with social support, impact drinking and driving risk behaviors?; and (b) Does acculturative stress moderate the effects of those associations? Results indicate neighborhood-level factors (informal social control and social capital) have protective effects against drinking and driving risk behaviors via the mediating mechanism of social support. Acculturative stress moderated associations between neighborhood informal social control and social support, whereby the protective effects of informal social control on social support were not present for those immigrants with higher levels of acculturative stress. Our findings contribute to the limited knowledge of drinking and driving among Latino immigrants early in the immigration process and suggest that, in the process of developing prevention programs tailored to Latino immigrants, greater attention must be paid to neighborhood-level factors. PMID:27801856

Social relations: network, support and relational strain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Due, P; Holstein, B; Lund, Rikke

1999-01-01

We introduce a conceptual framework with social relations as the main concept and the structure and the function of social relations as subconcepts. The structure of social relations covers aspects of formal relations and social network. The function of social relations covers social support......,011. The postal questionnaires were answered by a random sample in each of the age groups. The results show marked age and gender differences in both the structure and the function of social relations. The social network, measured as weekly contacts, weakens with age and so does instrumental support. Emotional...... support is unrelated to this decline in contact frequency and appears to be at the same level for younger and older individuals. Relational strain, measured as conflicts, declines with age for all kinds of social relations. The weakening of the social network with age does not seem to affect the level...

Mothering and anxiety: Social support and competence as mitigating factors for first-time mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chavis, Llena

2016-07-01

This study investigated anxiety as a phenomenon distinct from depression and evaluated several variables that influence anxiety in first-time mothers. This explored the relationship between maternal sense of competence (both of mothering and efficacy) and perceived social support (from family, friends, and significant others) and first-time mothers' postpartum anxiety, when depression, socioeconomic status (SES), and marital status were controlled for. The population studied were 86 first-time mothers made up of women with children 24 months or younger in two populations of Kentucky and Michigan. The constructs of maternal sense of competence and perceived social support were found to be significant in explaining first-time mothers' anxiety. The study concluded that a combined association of perceived social support and maternal sense of competence were associated with a 34% (change in R-squared = .339) decrease of a first-time mothers' anxiety. However, not all types of social support, or maternal competence appeared to be equally important with regards to maternal anxiety: social support from friends and family and maternal sense of competence in regard to productivity appeared to be most significant. Lastly, some recommendations for health practitioners who work with mothers are provided.

Conformity-based cooperation in online social networks: The effect of heterogeneous social influence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Bo; Wang, Jianwei; Zhang, Xuejun

2015-01-01

This paper extends the conformity model by introducing heterogeneous social influence into the analysis. We associate the influence of a player in the network with its degree centrality assuming that players of higher degree exhibit more social influence on its neighbors. The results show that the equilibrium level of cooperators can be dramatically enhanced if the conformity-driven players are preferentially influenced by neighbors of higher degree. We attribute this finding to two elementary mechanisms in the evolutionary process: (1) degree-based social influence facilitates the formation of strategic clusters around hubs; and (2) payoff-heterogeneity between cooperative clusters and defective clusters contributes to the promotion of cooperation. This research reveals the important role of heterogeneous social influence on the emergence of cooperation in social networks.

Parental Perceived Control and Social Support: Linkages to Change in Parenting Behaviors During Early Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lippold, Melissa A; Glatz, Terese; Fosco, Gregory M; Feinberg, Mark E

2018-06-01

Prior studies have found that parents' perceptions of control over their lives and their social support may both be important for parenting behaviors. Yet, few studies have examined their unique and interacting influence on parenting behaviors during early adolescence. This longitudinal study of rural parents in two-parent families (N = 636) investigated (a) whether perceived control and social support when their youth were in sixth grade were independently or interactively associated with changes in parenting behaviors (discipline, standard setting) and parent-child warmth and hostility 6 months later and (b) if these linkages differed by parent gender. We also investigated the interactive links between perceived control, social support, and parenting. Specifically, we tested if parents' perceived control moderated the linkages between social support and parenting and if these linkages differed by parent gender. Greater perceived control predicted more increases in parents' consistent discipline and standard setting, whereas greater social support predicted increases in parent-child warmth and decreases in parent-child hostility. Parental perceived control moderated the effect of social support on parental warmth: For mothers only, social support was significantly linked to parent-child warmth only when mothers had low (but not high) perceived self-control. The discussion focuses on reasons why perceived control and social support may have associations with different aspects of parenting and why these might differ for mothers and fathers. © 2017 Family Process Institute.

Cooperative networks overcoming defectors by social influence

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez Portillo, Ignacio

2014-01-01

We address the cooperation problem in structured populations by considering the prisoner’s dilemma game as a metaphor of the social interactions between individuals with imitation capacity. We present a new strategy update rule called democratic weighted update where the individual’s behavior is socially influenced by each one of their neighbors. In particular, the capacity of an individual to socially influence other ones is proportional to its accumulated payoff. When in a neighborhood there are cooperators and defectors, the focal player is contradictorily influenced by them and, therefore, the effective social influence is given by the difference of the accumulated payoff of each strategy in its neighborhood. First, by considering the growing process of the network and neglecting mutations, we show the evolution of highly cooperative systems. Then, we broadly show that the social influence allows to overcome the emergence of defectors into highly cooperative systems. In this way, we conclude that in a structured system formed by a growing process, the cooperation evolves if the individuals have an imitation capacity socially influenced by each one of their neighbors. Therefore, here we present a theoretical solution of the cooperation problem among genetically unrelated individuals.

Parental Adjustment to Disability, Stress Indicators and the Influence of Social Support

OpenAIRE

Felizardo, Sara; Ribeiro, Esperança; Amante, Maria João

2016-01-01

Research into families of children and young people with disability maintain that parents or caregivers seem to experience higher levels of global stress than parents of children without disabilities, thereby presenting a high risk of developing disorders in their health and quality of life. The aim of this study is to understand the differences in parental stress and social support among groups of parents whose children have different disabilities in the context of parental adjustment to dis...

Adolescent interpersonal relationships, social support and loneliness in high schools: Mediation effect and gender differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Baoshan; Gao, Qianyun; Fokkema, Marjolein; Alterman, Valeria; Liu, Qian

2015-09-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between the qualities of different types of relationships in school, social support and loneliness in adolescence. Using a sample (N=1674) of adolescent students randomly selected from middle schools, we found boys' loneliness was influenced by the qualities of opposite-sex, teacher-student and same-sex relationships, whereas girls' loneliness was only influenced by same-sex relationships. Additionally, social support mediated the association between same-sex relationships and teacher-student relationships, and loneliness. Further, the quality of same-sex relationships showed stronger association with boys' loneliness than girls'. Finally, the quality of same-sex relationships showed the strongest association with boys' loneliness comparing with opposite-sex relationships and teacher-student relationships. These findings are discussed to illuminate the possible mechanisms by which interpersonal relationships could influence loneliness. In future research, causal relationships and other influencing factors on loneliness should be examined. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Rurality and Parental Affect on Kindergarten Children's Social and Behavioral Functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Sheridan, Susan M.; Koziol, Natalie A.; Clarke, Brandy L.; Rispoli, Kristin M.; Coutts, Michael J.

2014-01-01

Research Findings: Children's early academic achievement is supported by positive social and behavioral skills, and difficulties with these skills frequently gives way to underachievement. Social and behavioral problems often arise as a product of parent-child interactional patterns and environmental influences. Few studies have examined the role…

Social influences and reproductive health of adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanković Biljana

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Reproductive health represents a state of complete physical, mental and social prosperity, and not just the absence of illness or weakness, and it refers to reproductive processes, functions and systems. Adolescents, young people from the age of ten to nineteen, are yet to achieve their reproductive function, thus their reproductive health and behavior are very significant both from the individual and social standpoint. Risky behavior, which represents the main cause of diseases that young people contract most often, in the field of sexuality often lead to unplanned pregnancies and abortions, as well as diseases from sexually transmitted infections. The extensiveness can be decreased by prevention. Reproductive health promotion, as well as general health promotion, understands a social surrounding that supports healthy behavior styles. Above all, the family, schoolmates, health and school systems, mass media, without neglecting the importance of economic, social and political security in society, political and legal solutions, as well as activities of nongovernmental, religious and other organizations. Their impact, in complex interaction, directly and indirectly influence youth behavior and determine the decisions they make regarding reproductive health.

An imaging genetics approach to understanding social influence

OpenAIRE

Emily eFalk; Emily eFalk; Baldwin eWay; Agnes eJasinska

2012-01-01

Normative social influences shape nearly every aspect of our lives, yet the biological processes mediating the impact of these social influences on behavior remain incompletely understood. In this Hypothesis, we outline a theoretical framework and an integrative research approach to the study of social influences on the brain and genetic moderators of such effects. First, we review neuroimaging evidence linking social influence and conformity to the brain’s reward system. We next review neur...

An imaging genetics approach to understanding social influence

OpenAIRE

Falk, Emily B.; Way, Baldwin M.; Jasinska, Agnes J.

2012-01-01

Normative social influences shape nearly every aspect of our lives, yet the biological processes mediating the impact of these social influences on behavior remain incompletely understood. In this Hypothesis, we outline a theoretical framework and an integrative research approach to the study of social influences on the brain and genetic moderators of such effects. First, we review neuroimaging evidence linking social influence and conformity to the brain's reward system. We next review neuro...

Maternal depression and parenting in early childhood: Contextual influence of marital quality and social support in two samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Taraban, Lindsay; Shaw, Daniel S; Leve, Leslie D; Wilson, Melvin N; Dishion, Thomas J; Natsuaki, Misaki N; Neiderhiser, Jenae M; Reiss, David

2017-03-01

Marital quality and social support satisfaction were tested as moderators of the association between maternal depressive symptoms and parenting during early childhood (18-36 months) among 2 large, divergent, longitudinal samples (n = 526; n = 570). Unexpectedly, in both samples the association between maternal depressive symptoms and reduced parenting quality was strongest in the context of high marital quality and high social support, and largely nonsignificant in the context of low marital quality and low social support. Possible explanations for these surprising findings are discussed. Results point to the importance of accounting for factors in the broader family context in predicting the association between depressive symptoms and maternal parenting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

[Work-to-family influence and social supports: job satisfaction in a north-Italy public health organization --differences between medical and administrative staff].

Science.gov (United States)

Colombo, Lara; Zito, Margherita; Ghislieri, Chiara

2012-01-01

In recent years, the interest in the well-being at work has grown considerably, also considering the latest law directives. Several scholars have devoted particular attention to the topic of the work-to-family influence and of social supports, as elements able to affect the perceived well-being. The well-being in health care has to consider the particular nature of work and the relevant relational dimensions that require special attention for the emotional side. The research was promoted by the Committee for Equal Opportunities of a public health organization in the North-West Italy. Referring to the job demands-resources theoretical model, this study investigated the role of organizational and family supports, work-to-family spillover (positive and negative) and family workload as possible determinants of job satisfaction, intended as an indicator of psychological well-being at work. Respondents to the questionnaire are 541 (55% of the total employees), their average age is 43 and they are mostly women (80%). Data analysis showed the central role of supervisors supports, of the co-workers supports and, to a lesser extent, the role of the work-to-family spillover in influencing job satisfaction. Moreover, significant differences between medical and administrative staff were detected. The centrality of supports, especially those of supervisors in determining job satisfaction, is in line with studies indicating that a supportive leadership and a family-friendly culture can facilitate the arise of positive outcomes for both workers and organizations.

Associations of professional quality of life and social support with health in clinical nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Chia-Yun; Yang, Mei-Sang; Leung, Wan; Liu, Yea-Ying; Huang, Hui-Wen; Wang, Ruey-Hsia

2018-03-01

To explore the associations of the professional quality of life and social support with health in nurses. Physical and mental health may be associated with absence from work among nurses. Few studies have explored the associations of professional quality of life and social support on the physical and mental health of nurses. This was a cross-sectional study. In total, 294 nurses were recruited from a hospital in Southern Taiwan. A self-report questionnaire was used to collect data. Burnout, secondary traumatic stress and social support from relatives or friends were important factors of physical and mental health. Interactions between support from relatives or friends and secondary traumatic stress are important factors in physical health. Reducing burnout and secondary traumatic stress is important for physical and mental health of nurses. Increasing social support from relatives or friends may be useful to reduce the negative effects of secondary traumatic stress on the physical health of nurses. Nurse managers could design interventions to reduce and prevent nurses from being influenced by burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Educating nurses to build effective social networks with relatives or friends and to seek support when experiencing secondary traumatic stress may also be needed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Factors Influencing the Health Behaviour of Indigenous Australians: Perspectives from Support People.

Science.gov (United States)

Waterworth, Pippa; Pescud, Melanie; Braham, Rebecca; Dimmock, James; Rosenberg, Michael

2015-01-01

Disparities between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations continue to be prevalent within Australia. Research suggests that Indigenous people participate in health risk behaviour more often than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and that such behaviour has a substantial impact on health outcomes. Although this would indicate that reducing health risk behaviour may have positive effects on health outcomes, the factors that influence Indigenous health behaviour are still poorly understood. This study aimed to interview people who support Indigenous groups to gain an understanding of their views on the factors influencing health behaviour within Indigenous groups in Western Australia. Twenty nine people participated in the study. The emergent themes were mapped against the social ecological model. The results indicated that: (1) culture, social networks, history, racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and the psychological distress associated with some of these factors interact to affect health behaviour in a complex manner; (2) the desire to retain cultural identity and distinctiveness may have both positive and negative influence on health risk behaviour; (3) strong social connections to family and kin that is intensified by cultural obligations, appears to affirm and disrupt positive health behaviour; (4) the separation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous social connection/networks that appeared to be fostered by marginalisation and racism may influence the effect of social networks on health behaviour; and (5) communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people may be interrupted by distrust between the groups, which reduces the influence of some non-Indigenous sources on the health behaviour of Indigenous people.

Factors Influencing the Health Behaviour of Indigenous Australians: Perspectives from Support People

Science.gov (United States)

Waterworth, Pippa; Pescud, Melanie; Braham, Rebecca; Dimmock, James; Rosenberg, Michael

2015-01-01

Disparities between the health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations continue to be prevalent within Australia. Research suggests that Indigenous people participate in health risk behaviour more often than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and that such behaviour has a substantial impact on health outcomes. Although this would indicate that reducing health risk behaviour may have positive effects on health outcomes, the factors that influence Indigenous health behaviour are still poorly understood. This study aimed to interview people who support Indigenous groups to gain an understanding of their views on the factors influencing health behaviour within Indigenous groups in Western Australia. Twenty nine people participated in the study. The emergent themes were mapped against the social ecological model. The results indicated that: (1) culture, social networks, history, racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and the psychological distress associated with some of these factors interact to affect health behaviour in a complex manner; (2) the desire to retain cultural identity and distinctiveness may have both positive and negative influence on health risk behaviour; (3) strong social connections to family and kin that is intensified by cultural obligations, appears to affirm and disrupt positive health behaviour; (4) the separation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous social connection/networks that appeared to be fostered by marginalisation and racism may influence the effect of social networks on health behaviour; and (5) communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people may be interrupted by distrust between the groups, which reduces the influence of some non-Indigenous sources on the health behaviour of Indigenous people. PMID:26599437

Course of social support and relationships between social support and patients' depressive symptoms in the first 3 years post-stroke

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kruithof, Willeke J.; Post, Marcel W. M.; van Leeuwen, Christel M.; Schepers, Vera P. M.; van den Bos, Geertrudis A. M.; Visser-Meily, Johanna M. A.

2015-01-01

To describe the course of social support (everyday support, support in problem situations and esteem support) from initial inpatient rehabilitation until 3 years post-stroke and to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships of social support with depressive symptoms. Prospective

Course of social support and relationships between social support and patients’ depressive symptoms in the first 3 years post-stroke

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kruithof, Willeke J.; Post, Marcel W. M.; van Leeuwen, Christel M.; Schepers, Vera P. M.; van den Bos, Geertrudis A. M.; Visser-Meily, Johanna M. A.

Objective: To describe the course of social support (everyday support, support in problem situations and esteem support) from initial inpatient rehabilitation until 3 years post-stroke and to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships of social support with depressive symptoms.

Social relationships and social support among post-war youth in Northern Uganda.

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De Nutte, Leen; Okello, James; Derluyn, Ilse

2017-08-01

Although social relationships and social support are salient factors for post-war adolescents' psychosocial coping and adjustment, there is only limited information regarding war-affected adolescents' views on social support and the relationships within which social support is provided. This study therefore explored both elements among a clinical sample of 20 adolescents living in post-war Northern Uganda. Following Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis, we found a prominent role of the biological mother and other primary biological family members in the upbringing of our participants. Spiritual and material support were perceived to be the most important type of support, respectively, while the adolescents were growing up and in their current lives. These findings provide support for the perception that caregiving systems are adaptable to particular sociocultural contexts. Further, the importance of particular functions of social support could signify a potentially selective buffering effect of these functions in adverse contexts. Because of the importance of the primary biological family and the salient role of parent-child relationships in the face of adversity, future research needs to focus on this particular kind of social relationship in contexts of prolonged collective violence. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

The Influence of Social Networks and Supports on Depression Symptoms: Differential Pathways for Older Korean Immigrants and Non-Hispanic White Americans.

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Jeon, Haesang; Lubben, James

The current cross-cultural study examines the pathways underlying different formations of social networks and social support systems, which affect depression symptoms among older Korean immigrants and non-Hispanic Whites in the United States. Data for this study came from a panel survey of 223 older Korean American immigrants and 201 non-Hispanic White older adults 65 years of age and older living in Los Angeles. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the proposed conceptual model designed to explain the direct and indirect relationships between social networks and social support on depression symptoms. Empirical evidence from this study indicated different effect of one's social networks and social support on depression by race/ethnicity. The work discussed in this article pointed to the need to recognize the role of culture in assessing the relationships between social networks, social support, and health among older adults.

Practicing what we preach: Investigating the role of social support in sport psychologists well-being.

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Hannah eMcCormack

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Well-being and mental health of psychologists and their clients can be strongly linked to the psychologists’ experience of work. We know from general theories of occupational health psychology that certain work factors will have a greater impact on well-being than others. Work engagement is positively related with occupational health, while burnout and workaholic tendencies relate negatively. An individual’s resources can buffer against these negative effects. Specifically, the environmental resource of social support can impede the impact and instance of workaholism and has a positive influence on burnout. Social support is often encouraged by sport psychologists in protecting an athlete’s well-being. Drawing on theory and research from work and organisational, health and social psychology we explore the lived experiences of burnout and work engagement among applied sport psychologists, investigating their perceptions of how these experiences impact their well-being. Thirty participants from five countries were asked, using semi-structured interviews, to recall specific incidents when feelings of work engagement and burnout occurred. We examined the influence of social support and its impact on these incidents. Thematic analysis revealed that burnout is frequently experienced despite high levels of work engagement. Sources of social support differ between groups of high burnout versus low burnout, as does reference to the dimensions of work engagement. Avenues for future research including investigating the role of mindfulness and therapeutic lifestyle changes for practitioners are outlined.

The Process of Social Influence: Readings in Persuasion.

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Beisecker, Thomas D., Ed.; Parson, Donn W., Ed.

An attempt to synthesize primarily experimental studies of the process of social influence is presented. The point is made that each of us is involved in the process of social influence, both because we often attempt to influence someone else, and because we are constantly targets for attempts at social influence. This book is divided into four…

Social support and stressful events in two dimensions: life events and illness as an event.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tijhuis, M.A.R.; Flap, H.D.; Foets, M.; Groenewegen, P.P.

1995-01-01

Previous research on the buffering effects of social support focused mainly on life events as stressors, and mental illness as outcome. Furthermore, the question as to why support influences illness has not been subjected to theoretical or empirical study much. In this article we develop a

Selection Strategies for Social Influence in the Threshold Model

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Karampourniotis, Panagiotis; Szymanski, Boleslaw; Korniss, Gyorgy

The ubiquity of online social networks makes the study of social influence extremely significant for its applications to marketing, politics and security. Maximizing the spread of influence by strategically selecting nodes as initiators of a new opinion or trend is a challenging problem. We study the performance of various strategies for selection of large fractions of initiators on a classical social influence model, the Threshold model (TM). Under the TM, a node adopts a new opinion only when the fraction of its first neighbors possessing that opinion exceeds a pre-assigned threshold. The strategies we study are of two kinds: strategies based solely on the initial network structure (Degree-rank, Dominating Sets, PageRank etc.) and strategies that take into account the change of the states of the nodes during the evolution of the cascade, e.g. the greedy algorithm. We find that the performance of these strategies depends largely on both the network structure properties, e.g. the assortativity, and the distribution of the thresholds assigned to the nodes. We conclude that the optimal strategy needs to combine the network specifics and the model specific parameters to identify the most influential spreaders. Supported in part by ARL NS-CTA, ARO, and ONR.

Motivated malleability: Frontal cortical asymmetry predicts the susceptibility to social influence.

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Schnuerch, Robert; Pfattheicher, Stefan

2017-07-16

Humans, just as many other animals, regulate their behavior in terms of approaching stimuli associated with pleasure and avoiding stimuli linked to harm. A person's current and chronic motivational direction - that is, approach versus avoidance orientation - is reliably reflected in the asymmetry of frontal cortical low-frequency oscillations. Using resting electroencephalography (EEG), we show that frontal asymmetry is predictive of the tendency to yield to social influence: Stronger right- than left-side frontolateral activation during a resting-state session prior to the experiment was robustly associated with a stronger inclination to adopt a peer group's judgments during perceptual decision-making (Study 1). We posit that this reflects the role of a person's chronic avoidance orientation in socially adjusted behavior. This claim was strongly supported by additional survey investigations (Studies 2a, 2b, 2c), all of which consistently revealed that trait avoidance was positively linked to the susceptibility to social influence. The present contribution thus stresses the relevance of chronic avoidance orientation in social conformity, refining (yet not contradicting) the longstanding view that socially influenced behavior is motivated by approach-related goals. Moreover, our findings valuably underscore and extend our knowledge on the association between frontal cortical asymmetry and a variety of psychological variables.

fMRI Study of Social Anxiety during Social Ostracism with and without Emotional Support.

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Yoshiko Nishiyama

Full Text Available Social anxiety is characterized by an excessive fear of being embarrassed in social interactions or social performance situations. Emotional support can help to decrease or diminish social distress. Such support may play an important role at different points of social interaction. However, it is unclear how the beneficial effects of social support are represented in the brains of socially anxious individuals. To explore this, we used the same paradigm previously used to examine the effects of emotional support on social pain caused by exclusion. Undergraduates (n = 46 showing a wide range of social anxiety scores underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI while participating in a Cyberball game. Participants were initially included and later excluded from the game. In the latter half of the session in which participants were excluded, they were provided with supportive messages. In line with our previous work, we found that social exclusion led to increased anterior cingulate cortex (ACC activity, whereas emotional support led to increased left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC activity. Despite validation of the paradigm, social anxiety was not associated with increased ACC activity during social exclusion, or during perceived emotional support. Instead, fear of negative evaluation as assessed by the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE scale showed positive associations with left DLPFC activation while receiving emotional support, compared to while being socially excluded. The more socially anxious an individual was, the greater was the left DLPFC activity increased during receipt of messages. This suggests that highly socially anxious people still have the ability to perceive social support, but that they are nevertheless susceptible to negative evaluation by others.

fMRI Study of Social Anxiety during Social Ostracism with and without Emotional Support.

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Nishiyama, Yoshiko; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Kunisato, Yoshihiko; Okada, Go; Yoshimura, Shinpei; Kanai, Yoshihiro; Yamamura, Takanao; Yoshino, Atsuo; Jinnin, Ran; Takagaki, Koki; Onoda, Keiichi; Yamawaki, Shigeto

2015-01-01

Social anxiety is characterized by an excessive fear of being embarrassed in social interactions or social performance situations. Emotional support can help to decrease or diminish social distress. Such support may play an important role at different points of social interaction. However, it is unclear how the beneficial effects of social support are represented in the brains of socially anxious individuals. To explore this, we used the same paradigm previously used to examine the effects of emotional support on social pain caused by exclusion. Undergraduates (n = 46) showing a wide range of social anxiety scores underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participating in a Cyberball game. Participants were initially included and later excluded from the game. In the latter half of the session in which participants were excluded, they were provided with supportive messages. In line with our previous work, we found that social exclusion led to increased anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity, whereas emotional support led to increased left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity. Despite validation of the paradigm, social anxiety was not associated with increased ACC activity during social exclusion, or during perceived emotional support. Instead, fear of negative evaluation as assessed by the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) scale showed positive associations with left DLPFC activation while receiving emotional support, compared to while being socially excluded. The more socially anxious an individual was, the greater was the left DLPFC activity increased during receipt of messages. This suggests that highly socially anxious people still have the ability to perceive social support, but that they are nevertheless susceptible to negative evaluation by others.

Factors influencing social self-disclosure among adolescents living with HIV in Eastern Africa.

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Nöstlinger, Christiana; Bakeera-Kitaka, Sabrina; Buyze, Jozefien; Loos, Jasna; Buvé, Anne

2015-01-01

Adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) face many psychosocial challenges, including HIV disclosure to others. Given the importance of socialization during the adolescent transition process, this study investigated the psychological and social factors influencing self-disclosure of own HIV status to peers. We examined social HIV self-disclosure to peers, and its relationship to perceived HIV-related stigma, self-efficacy to disclose, self-esteem, and social support among a sample of n = 582 ALHIV aged 13-17 years in Kampala, Uganda, and Western Kenya. Data were collected between February and April 2011. Among them, 39% were double orphans. We conducted a secondary data analysis to assess the degree of social disclosure, reactions received, and influencing factors. Interviewer-administered questionnaires assessed medical, socio-demographic, and psychological variables (Rosenberg self-esteem scale; self-efficacy to disclose to peers), HIV-related stigma (10-item stigma scale), and social support (family-life and friends). Descriptive, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses were performed with social self-disclosure to peers with gender as covariates. Almost half of ALHIV had told nobody (except health-care providers) about their HIV status, and about 18% had disclosed to either one of their friends, schoolmates, or a boy- or girlfriend. Logistic regression models revealed that having disclosed to peers was significantly related to being older, being a paternal orphan, contributing to family income, regular visits to the HIV clinic, and greater social support through peers. Low self-efficacy to disclose was negatively associated to the outcome variable. While social self-disclosure was linked to individual factors such as self-efficacy, factors relating to the social context and adolescents' access to psychosocial resources play an important role. ALHIV need safe environments to practice disclosure skills. Interventions should enable them to make optimal use of

Normative social influence is underdetected.

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Nolan, Jessica M; Schultz, P Wesley; Cialdini, Robert B; Goldstein, Noah J; Griskevicius, Vladas

2008-07-01

The present research investigated the persuasive impact and detectability of normative social influence. The first study surveyed 810 Californians about energy conservation and found that descriptive normative beliefs were more predictive of behavior than were other relevant beliefs, even though respondents rated such norms as least important in their conservation decisions. Study 2, a field experiment, showed that normative social influence produced the greatest change in behavior compared to information highlighting other reasons to conserve, even though respondents rated the normative information as least motivating. Results show that normative messages can be a powerful lever of persuasion but that their influence is underdetected.

Perceived social support among students of medical sciences.

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Zamani-Alavijeh, Freshteh; Dehkordi, Fatemeh Raeesi; Shahry, Parvin

2017-06-01

Social support is emotional and instrumental assistance from family, friends or neighbors, and has an important but different impact on individuals, mainly depending on contextual factors. To determine the status of perceived social support and related personal and family characteristics of medical sciences students in Ahvaz, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, the target population included the students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in the second semester of 2013-2014, of whom 763 were selected by cluster random sampling method. The study tool was a two-part questionnaire containing 48 self-administered questions including 25 questions of measurements of personal and family characteristics and a Persian modified version of Vaux's social support scale (Cronbach's α=0.745). Data were analyzed with T test, ANOVA and chi-square and using SPSS version 16 and 0.05 was considered as the level of significance. The mean score of the perceived social support was 17.06±3.6 and 60.3% of them reported low social support. There was a significant relationship among the perceived social support and sex (p=0.02), faculty (psocial support and importance of social support in reducing stress and academic failure, the planners need to provide efficient supportive interventions for students.

Perceptions, Expectations, and Informal Supports Influence Exercise Activity in Frail Older Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louise Broderick

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This study aims to explore frail older adults’ perceptions of what influences their exercise behaviors. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 29 frail older adults. Thematic content analysis established the findings. Frail older adults perceive exercise as a by-product of other purposeful activities such as manual work or social activities. Progression into frailty appears to be associated with a decline in non-family support, changing traditional roles within family support networks, and lower baseline activity levels. Frail older adults perceive exercise as incidental to more purposeful activities rather than an endpoint in itself. Therefore, exercise programs concentrating on functional outcomes may be more relevant for this population. Strategies that educate and promote social support networks may also benefit frail older adults.

Feeling hopeful inspires support for social change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Greenaway, Katharine H.; Cichocka, Aleksandra; van Veelen, Ruth; Likki, Tiina; Branscombe, Nyla R.

2014-01-01

Hope is an emotion that has been implicated in social change efforts, yet little research has examined whether feeling hopeful actually motivates support for social change. Study 1 (N = 274) confirmed that hope is associated with greater support for social change in two countries with different

Perceived stigma and social support in treatment for pharmaceutical opioid dependence.

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Cooper, Sasha; Campbell, Gabrielle; Larance, Briony; Murnion, Bridin; Nielsen, Suzanne

2018-02-01

The dramatic increase in pharmaceutical opioid (PO) use in high-income countries is a growing public health concern. Stigma and social support are important as they may influence treatment uptake and outcomes, yet few studies exist regarding perceived stigma and social support among people with PO dependence. The aims of the study are to: (i) compare characteristics of those with PO dependence from iatrogenic and non-iatrogenic causes; (ii) document perceived stigma and its correlates in people in treatment for PO dependence; and (iii) examine correlates of social support in people in treatment for PO dependence. This prospective cohort study included (n = 108) PO-dependent people referred from treatment services. Telephone interviews were conducted at baseline, 3, 12 and 24 months. Multivariate linear regression was used to examine correlations. Mean age was 41 (SD = 10.5). Half (n = 56, 52%) were female. Two in five met the criteria for iatrogenic dependence (n = 41, 38%), with iatrogenic dependence associated with chronic pain, and no history of injection or heroin use. One quarter of study subjects reported past month unsanctioned opioid use (n = 25, 23%). Being married/de facto or female was associated with higher levels of perceived stigma. Unsanctioned opioid use, iatrogenic dependence and mental health conditions were associated with lower social support. Stigma affects all people in treatment. Those who are married/de facto and female may benefit from interventions to address stigma. The association of low social support with poorer mental health and ongoing substance use indicate that treatment could focus more on this area. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Modeling social norms and social influence in obesity.

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Shoham, David A; Hammond, Ross; Rahmandad, Hazhir; Wang, Youfa; Hovmand, Peter

2015-03-01

The worldwide increase in obesity has led to changes in what is considered "normal" or desirable weight, especially among populations at higher risk. We show that social norms are key to understanding the obesity epidemic, and that social influence mechanisms provide a necessary linkage between individual obesity-related behaviors and population-level characteristics. Because influence mechanisms cannot be directly observed, we show how three complex systems tools may be used to gain insights into observed epidemiologic patterns: social network analysis, agent-based modeling, and systems dynamics modeling. However, simulation and mathematical modeling approaches raise questions regarding acceptance of findings, especially among policy makers. Nevertheless, we point to modeling successes in obesity and other fields, including the NIH-funded National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) Envison project.

The Influence of Social and Organizational Support on Transfer of Training: Evidence from Thailand

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Homklin, Tassanee; Takahashi, Yoshi; Techakanont, Kriengkrai

2014-01-01

This study focused on integrating social and organizational support as moderators into the main analysis model of the relationship between learning -- specifically perceived knowledge retained -- and its transfer as perceived by participants. We used hierarchical regression analysis in order to test our hypotheses. Results were generally…

Utilized social support and self-esteem mediate the relationship between perceived social support and suicide ideation. A test of a multiple mediator model.

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Kleiman, Evan M; Riskind, John H

2013-01-01

While perceived social support has received considerable research as a protective factor for suicide ideation, little attention has been given to the mechanisms that mediate its effects. We integrated two theoretical models, Joiner's (2005) interpersonal theory of suicide and Leary's (Leary, Tambor, Terdal, & Downs, 1995) sociometer theory of self-esteem to investigate two hypothesized mechanisms, utilization of social support and self-esteem. Specifically, we hypothesized that individuals must utilize the social support they perceive that would result in increased self-esteem, which in turn buffers them from suicide ideation. Participants were 172 college students who completed measures of social support, self-esteem, and suicide ideation. Tests of simple mediation indicate that utilization of social support and self-esteem may each individually help to mediate the perceived social support/suicide ideation relationship. Additionally, a test of multiple mediators using bootstrapping supported the hypothesized multiple-mediator model. The use of a cross-sectional design limited our ability to find true cause-and-effect relationships. Results suggested that utilized social support and self-esteem both operate as individual moderators in the social support/self-esteem relationship. Results further suggested, in a comprehensive model, that perceived social support buffers suicide ideation through utilization of social support and increases in self-esteem.

Hispanic perspectives on sexual harassment and social support.

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Cortina, Lilia M

2004-05-01

Bridging the social support, sexual victimization, and cultural psychology literatures, this study examines social-support processes in the context of sexual harassment and Hispanic American culture. Surveys were administered to a community sample of Hispanic American working women, 249 of whom described some encounter with sexual harassment at work. Regression results provided mixed backing for hypotheses about support-seeking behavior, which appeared largely dependent on the social power of the harassment perpetrator. Additional findings upheld predictions about support-perception patterns; harassed women perceived more supportive social reactions when they turned to informal networks of friends and family, but responses were less positive when they turned to formal, organizational sources. Finally, as expected, perceived support and acculturation interacted to moderate relations between sexual harassment and job satisfaction. The article concludes with implications for research and interventions related to social support and sexual harassment.

The influence of emotion regulation on social interactive decision-making.

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van't Wout, Mascha; Chang, Luke J; Sanfey, Alan G

2010-12-01

Although adequate emotion regulation is considered to be essential in every day life, it is especially important in social interactions. However, the question as to what extent two different regulation strategies are effective in changing decision-making in a consequential socially interactive context remains unanswered. We investigated the effect of expressive suppression and emotional reappraisal on strategic decision-making in a social interactive task, that is, the Ultimatum Game. As hypothesized, participants in the emotional reappraisal condition accepted unfair offers more often than participants in the suppression and no-regulation condition. Additionally, the effect of emotional reappraisal influenced the amount of money participants proposed during a second interaction with partners that had treated them unfairly in a previous interaction. These results support and extend previous findings that emotional reappraisal as compared to expressive suppression, is a powerful regulation strategy that influences and changes how we interact with others even in the face of inequity.

The influence of emotion regulation on social interactive decision-making

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van ’t Wout, Mascha; Chang, Luke J.; Sanfey, Alan G.

2010-01-01

Although adequate emotion regulation is considered to be essential in every day life, it is especially important in social interactions. However, the question as to what extent two different regulation strategies are effective in changing decision-making in a consequential socially interactive context remains unanswered. We investigated the effect of expressive suppression and emotional reappraisal on strategic decision-making in a social interactive task, i.e. the Ultimatum Game. As hypothesized, participants in the emotional reappraisal condition accepted unfair offers more often than participants in the suppression and no-regulation condition. Additionally, the effect of emotional reappraisal influenced the amount of money participants proposed during a second interaction with partners that had treated them unfairly in a previous interaction. These results support and extend previous findings that emotional reappraisal as compared to expressive suppression, is a powerful regulation strategy that influences and changes how we interact with others even in the face of inequity. PMID:21171756

Social Support and Emocional Stability in Adolescence

OpenAIRE

Zuzana Mičková

2014-01-01

The issue of anticipation social support is actual topic because of detection important factors for positive development of personality. Emotional bonds are getting stronger with perception of social support. Subjective feeling of positive emotions and relationships is manifest with higher range of social and mental functioning, emotional - willing stability of personality. Emotional basement of personality is emotional stability, which represent relationship with the anticipated social suppo...

Social cohesion, social support, and health among Latinos in the United States.

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Mulvaney-Day, Norah E; Alegría, Margarita; Sribney, William

2007-01-01

The role of individual versus community level social connections in promoting health is an important factor to consider when addressing Latino health. This analysis examines the relationships between social support, social cohesion, and health in a sample of Latinos in the United States. Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study, the analysis uses ordered logistic regression to explore the relationships of family support, friend support, family cultural conflict, and neighborhood social cohesion with self-rated physical and mental health, taking into account language proficiency and use, nativity, and sociodemographic variables. Family support, friend support, and neighborhood social cohesion were positively related to self-rated physical and mental health, and family cultural conflict was negatively related when controlled only for sex and age. After controlling for education, income, and other demographic measures, only family support was found to have a weak association with self-rated physical health; however, the relationship seemed to be mediated by language. In contrast, family support and family cultural conflict were strongly associated with self-rated mental health, after controlling for language, education, income, and other demographic measures. The study did not find neighborhood social cohesion to be significantly related to either self-rated physical or mental health, after accounting for the effects of the other social connection variables. Language of interview did not explain the highly significant effects of language proficiency and use. Social connections are important for health and mental health, but language and other sociodemographic factors seem to be related to how Latinos establish these social linkages. Further investigation into the role of language in the development and maintenance of social connections may help unravel the mechanisms by which they promote or decrease health.

Network and social support in family care of children with diabetes.

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Pennafort, Viviane Peixoto Dos Santos; Queiroz, Maria Veraci Oliveira; Nascimento, Lucila Castanheira; Guedes, Maria Vilani Cavalcante

2016-01-01

to understand the influence of network and social support in the care of a child with type 1 diabetes. qualitative study, with assumptions of ethnonursing, conducted in a reference service specialized in the treatment of diabetes, in 2014, in the city of Fortaleza, state of Ceará, Brazil. Twenty-six members of the family and their respective school children participated in the study. The process of collection and analysis followed the observation-participation-reflection model. the analytical categories showed that the social network in the care of children with diabetes helped sharing of information and experiences, moments of relaxation and aid in the acquisition of supplies for treatment, with positive repercussions in the family context, generating well-being and confidence in the care of children with diabetes. the cultural care provided by nurses strengthens the network and social support because it encourages autonomy in the promotion of the quality of life of children with type 1 diabetes and their families.

Social support for health-related leisure activity of the elderly and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Inferences from previous research suggest that social support from friends and family is important in influencing physical activity participation in enabling the elderly to achieve better health outcomes and satisfaction with life. Within a South African context, some of the elderly are faced with the prospect of increased isolation ...

Willingness To Communicate, Social Support, and Language Learning Orientations of Immersion Students.

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MacIntyre, Peter D.; Baker, Susan C.; Clement, Richard; Conrod, Sarah

2001-01-01

Hypothesized that orientations toward language learning (L2) as well as social support would influence students willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language. Grade 9 L2 students of French immersion participated in the study. Results showed endorsement of all five orientations (travel, job related, friendship with Francophones, personal…

The influence of social skills on getting social support for adolescents during study abroad: A case study of Japanese short-term exchange students

OpenAIRE

TAKAHAMA, Ai; NISHIMURA, Yoshie; TANAKA, Tomoko

2008-01-01

This study investigates how short-term international students get social support and achieve cross-cultural adjustment during study abroad using interviews based on a recall method. The participants of the study are 8 Japanese students who studied in the U.S for about 6 months to one year. They were asked about their study abroad experiences in relation to their cross-cultural adaptation and about their social support networks. Two findings were obtained. First, the participants of the study ...

A Survey of Models and Algorithms for Social Influence Analysis

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Sun, Jimeng; Tang, Jie

Social influence is the behavioral change of a person because of the perceived relationship with other people, organizations and society in general. Social influence has been a widely accepted phenomenon in social networks for decades. Many applications have been built based around the implicit notation of social influence between people, such as marketing, advertisement and recommendations. With the exponential growth of online social network services such as Facebook and Twitter, social influence can for the first time be measured over a large population. In this chapter, we survey the research on social influence analysis with a focus on the computational aspects. First, we present statistical measurements related to social influence. Second, we describe the literature on social similarity and influences. Third, we present the research on social influence maximization which has many practical applications including marketing and advertisement.

Cancer patients and the provision of informational social support.

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Robinson, James D; Tian, Yan

2009-07-01

Research into the impact of social support on health-care patients has focused on the benefits of receiving social support. Although recipients benefit from social support, there are also potential benefits to the providers of social support that have gone relatively unexplored. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between the reception and provision of informational social support by cancer patients. Based on the work of Gouldner (1960), this investigation attempts to examine the role reciprocity plays within the social support process. The norm of reciprocity is conceptualized as a generalized moral belief rather than as a simple pattern of exchange between caregivers and care receivers. Use of reciprocity as a generalized moral belief instead of a pattern of behavioral exchange between providers and recipients of social support allows a more thorough integration theoretically and more methodical examination of the role the relationship between providers and recipients plays in this process. Specifically, this investigation employs the notion of optimal matching as part of the mechanism underlying the satisfactions derived from informational social support. The results of the logistic regression analyses suggest that reciprocity is a viable explanation of the mechanism underlying the desire to provide social support to others among cancer patients and among adults who have never been diagnosed with cancer. This relationship between the reception and the provision of informational social support remains even after controlling for age, education, gender, race, social integration, and cancer diagnosis. Implications for the social support literature are discussed.

Burnout in Health Professionals According to Their Self-Esteem, Social Support and Empathy Profile.

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Molero Jurado, María Del Mar; Pérez-Fuentes, María Del Carmen; Gázquez Linares, José Jesús; Barragán Martín, Ana Belén

2018-01-01

Introduction: Professionals in the healthcare field are in situations that could be a source of stress and sometimes develop burnout syndrome. Self-esteem, social support, and empathy are variables which intervene and influence the appearance of this syndrome. Objective: Identify healthcare professional profiles based on self-esteem, empathy and perceived social support, and analyze the extent to which these profiles show differences in developing burnout. Method: The sample was made up of 719 healthcare professionals with a mean of 38.52 years of age. The Short Questionnaire of Burnout, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire and the Basic Empathy Scale were used. Results: The results of a cluster analysis with self-esteem, empathy, and perceived social support showed four groups/profiles. Two of them, which included professionals with low self-esteem, differed in the rest of the characteristics. Furthermore, significant differences in burnout scores were found among the groups identified. Conclusion: The results show the need to study burnout with attention to individual and or social characteristics, where self-esteem is shown to be one of the explanatory variables making the main differences among the groups.

Burnout in Health Professionals According to Their Self-Esteem, Social Support and Empathy Profile

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María del Mar Molero Jurado

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Professionals in the healthcare field are in situations that could be a source of stress and sometimes develop burnout syndrome. Self-esteem, social support, and empathy are variables which intervene and influence the appearance of this syndrome.Objective: Identify healthcare professional profiles based on self-esteem, empathy and perceived social support, and analyze the extent to which these profiles show differences in developing burnout.Method: The sample was made up of 719 healthcare professionals with a mean of 38.52 years of age. The Short Questionnaire of Burnout, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Perceived Social Support Questionnaire and the Basic Empathy Scale were used.Results: The results of a cluster analysis with self-esteem, empathy, and perceived social support showed four groups/profiles. Two of them, which included professionals with low self-esteem, differed in the rest of the characteristics. Furthermore, significant differences in burnout scores were found among the groups identified.Conclusion: The results show the need to study burnout with attention to individual and or social characteristics, where self-esteem is shown to be one of the explanatory variables making the main differences among the groups.

Age-related differences in social influence on risk perception depend on the direction of influence.

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Knoll, Lisa J; Leung, Jovita T; Foulkes, Lucy; Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

2017-10-01

Adolescents are particularly susceptible to social influence. Here, we investigated the effect of social influence on risk perception in 590 participants aged eight to fifty-nine-years tested in the United Kingdom. Participants rated the riskiness of everyday situations, were then informed about the rating of these situations from a (fictitious) social-influence group consisting of teenagers or adults, and then re-evaluated the situation. Our first aim was to attempt to replicate our previous finding that young adolescents are influenced more by teenagers than by adults. Second, we investigated the social-influence effect when the social-influence group's rating was more, or less, risky than the participants' own risk rating. Younger participants were more strongly influenced by teenagers than by adults, but only when teenagers rated a situation as more risky than did participants. This suggests that stereotypical characteristics of the social-influence group - risk-prone teenagers - interact with social influence on risk perception. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Influence of Social Factors on Student Satisfaction Among College Students With Disabilities

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Oertle, Kathleen Marie; Fleming, Allison R.; Plotner, Anthony J.; Hakun, Jonathan G.

2017-01-01

A significant body of research on student retention reflects that social and environmental factors influence continued enrollment in post-secondary education and academic success. Yet, for students with disabilities, more emphasis is placed on accommodations, access, and support services without sufficient attention to the social aspect of the student experience. In this study, we investigated belonging as a primary contributor to student satisfaction and examined the degree to which other so...

Perceived Stress in Online Prostate Cancer Community Participants: Examining Relationships with Stigmatization, Social Support Network Preference, and Social Support Seeking.

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Rising, Camella J; Bol, Nadine; Burke-Garcia, Amelia; Rains, Stephen; Wright, Kevin B

2017-06-01

Men with prostate cancer often need social support to help them cope with illness-related physiological and psychosocial challenges. Whether those needs are met depends on receiving support optimally matched to their needs. This study examined relationships between perceived stress, prostate cancer-related stigma, weak-tie support preference, and online community use for social support in a survey of online prostate cancer community participants (n = 149). Findings revealed a positive relationship between stigma and perceived stress. This relationship, however, was moderated by weak-tie support preference and online community use for social support. Specifically, stigma was positively related to perceived stress when weak-tie support was preferred. Analyses also showed a positive relationship between stigma and perceived stress in those who used their online community for advice or emotional support. Health communication scholars should work collaboratively with diagnosed men, clinicians, and online community administrators to develop online interventions that optimally match social support needs.

Social Support in Children With ADHD: An Exploration of Resilience.

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Mastoras, Sarah M; Saklofske, Donald H; Schwean, Vicki L; Climie, Emma A

2018-06-01

This study investigated the role of perceived social support in promoting emotional well-being among children with ADHD. Specifically, it examined how children with ADHD perceive support from key individuals in their lives and the relationships between this support and aspects of emotional well-being. Main versus buffering models of social support in the context of social preference status were also explored. Participants were 55 school-age children with ADHD-combined or hyperactive/impulsive (ADHD-C/HI). Parent and child ratings evaluated source-specific social support, social status, and aspects of self-concept, anxiety, and depression. Children with ADHD reported lower social support than normative samples. Social support had moderate positive associations with self-concept, with source-specific differences, but was not associated with internalizing symptoms. Regression models with social preference status supported a main effect model of perceived social support. Social support may provide a target for resilience-based interventions among children with ADHD in promoting their self-concept and well-being.

Nursing in general practice: organizational possibilities for decision latitude, created skill, social support and identity derived from role.

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Merrick, Eamon; Duffield, Christine; Baldwin, Richard; Fry, Margaret

2012-03-01

This article is a report of a study to describe the factors that support organizational opportunities for practice nurse decision-making and skill development for nurses employed in general practice in New South Wales, Australia. Corresponding to the availability of subsidies from the Australian universal health insurer (Medicare), there has been an increase in the number of nurses employed in general practice. Currently, there is no Australian evidence as to the organizational possibilities for these practice nurses to make decisions, develop their own skills and abilities, derive identity from their role or how their role is influenced by social support. Over a 8-month period in 2008 practice, nurses employed in general practice in the State of New South Wales were invited to complete a 26-item self-administered online questionnaire utilizing constructs from Karaseks (1998) Job Content Questionnaire (valid n = 160). Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that all scales demonstrated acceptable levels of internal consistency. Sequential regression models revealed that social support exerts a weak influence on decision latitude (R(2) = 0·07); the addition of self-identity through work significantly improved the predictive ability of the model (R(2) = 0·16). Social support and self-identity through work exerted a negative influence on created skill (R(2) = 0·347), whereas social support was effective in predicting self-identity through work (R(2) = 0·148).   Collegial and supervisory support in the work environment predicts organizational possibilities for practice nurse decision-making. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Relationship between social network, social support and health behaviour in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: cross-sectional studies.

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Hempler, Nana F; Joensen, Lene E; Willaing, Ingrid

2016-02-29

Psychosocial and behavioural aspects of diabetes may differ according to diabetes type. This study compared people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with respect to social relations (cohabitation status, contact with the social network and social support) and health behaviours (diet and physical activity). Furthermore, we examined whether potential differences in health behaviour between people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were influenced by education level and social relations. We conducted two cross-sectional surveys consisting of people with type 2 diabetes (N = 1081) and type 1 diabetes (N = 2419) from a specialist diabetes clinic. Gender-stratified stepwise multiple regression models assessed differences by diabetes type and other variables of interest. Significant associations were found between diabetes type and social network, social support and health behaviour. No differences were observed regarding cohabitation status. People with type 2 diabetes were less physically active, less likely to follow recommended diet (men), had fewer contacts with family and friends and were less certain of counting on help in case of severe illness than people with type 1 diabetes. No impact of education level, social network and social support were observed concerning differences in health behaviours by diabetes type; however, in women, the association between physical activity and diabetes type was not significant after adjustment for social relations and education level. People with type 2 diabetes had less contact with the social network, less certainty about support in case of severe illness and fewer healthy behaviours than people with type 1 diabetes. It may be important to draw attention to differences in health behaviours and social relations between people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in diabetes care, patient education and support initiatives.

Relationship between social network, social support and health behaviour in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: cross-sectional studies

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Nana F. Hempler

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Psychosocial and behavioural aspects of diabetes may differ according to diabetes type. This study compared people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes with respect to social relations (cohabitation status, contact with the social network and social support and health behaviours (diet and physical activity. Furthermore, we examined whether potential differences in health behaviour between people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes were influenced by education level and social relations. Methods We conducted two cross-sectional surveys consisting of people with type 2 diabetes (N = 1081 and type 1 diabetes (N = 2419 from a specialist diabetes clinic. Gender-stratified stepwise multiple regression models assessed differences by diabetes type and other variables of interest. Results Significant associations were found between diabetes type and social network, social support and health behaviour. No differences were observed regarding cohabitation status. People with type 2 diabetes were less physically active, less likely to follow recommended diet (men, had fewer contacts with family and friends and were less certain of counting on help in case of severe illness than people with type 1 diabetes. No impact of education level, social network and social support were observed concerning differences in health behaviours by diabetes type; however, in women, the association between physical activity and diabetes type was not significant after adjustment for social relations and education level. Conclusions People with type 2 diabetes had less contact with the social network, less certainty about support in case of severe illness and fewer healthy behaviours than people with type 1 diabetes. It may be important to draw attention to differences in health behaviours and social relations between people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in diabetes care, patient education and support initiatives.

Social support and child protection: Lessons learned and learning.

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Thompson, Ross A

2015-03-01

Social support has been a topic of research for nearly 50 years, and its applications to prevention and intervention have grown significantly, including programs advancing child protection. This article summarizes the central conclusions of the 1994 review of research on social support and the prevention of child maltreatment prepared for the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, and surveys advances in the field since its publication. Among the lessons learned twenty years ago are (a) the diversity of the social support needs of at-risk families and their association with child endangerment, (b) the need to supplement the emotionally affirmative aspects of social support with efforts to socialize parenting practices and monitor child well-being, (c) the desirability of integrating formal and informal sources of social support for recipients, and (d) the importance of considering the complex recipient reactions to receiving support from others. The lessons we are now learning derive from research exploring the potential of online communication to enhance social support, the neurobiology of stress and its buffering through social support, and the lessons of evaluation research that are identifying the effective ingredients of social support interventions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The benefits of social influence in optimized cultural markets.

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Abeliuk, Andrés; Berbeglia, Gerardo; Cebrian, Manuel; Van Hentenryck, Pascal

2015-01-01

Social influence has been shown to create significant unpredictability in cultural markets, providing one potential explanation why experts routinely fail at predicting commercial success of cultural products. As a result, social influence is often presented in a negative light. Here, we show the benefits of social influence for cultural markets. We present a policy that uses product quality, appeal, position bias and social influence to maximize expected profits in the market. Our computational experiments show that our profit-maximizing policy leverages social influence to produce significant performance benefits for the market, while our theoretical analysis proves that our policy outperforms in expectation any policy not displaying social signals. Our results contrast with earlier work which focused on showing the unpredictability and inequalities created by social influence. Not only do we show for the first time that, under our policy, dynamically showing consumers positive social signals increases the expected profit of the seller in cultural markets. We also show that, in reasonable settings, our profit-maximizing policy does not introduce significant unpredictability and identifies "blockbusters". Overall, these results shed new light on the nature of social influence and how it can be leveraged for the benefits of the market.

Impact of social norms and social support on diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour of adolescents: a scoping review.

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Draper, C E; Grobler, L; Micklesfield, L K; Norris, S A

2015-09-01

The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adulthood is rapidly increasing, and it is essential that risk factors for NCDs be addressed in adolescence, both for the health of individuals during adolescence and for their health in later life. These risk factors include diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour. No literature has been published that comprehensively summarizes the impact of social norms and social support on these behaviours among adolescents. Therefore, a scoping review was conducted to determine the extent of recent (since 2000) literature available on this topic. A comprehensive search strategy was used to search PubMed and EMBASE for eligible reviews. Review papers (narrative reviews, systematic and non-systematic reviews) published in English in peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to February 2013 were included in the overview. Two of the authors screened the titles and abstracts of the search results independently. Thirty reviews were included in the scoping review. This scoping review has shown sufficient evidence for parental influences, and especially the positive impact of an authoritative parenting style, on healthy behaviours of adolescents, although the evidence is somewhat more compelling for diet than for physical activity and sedentary behaviour. More research is needed to investigate parental and family influences on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. And the effect of peer influences on diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour of adolescents requires further investigation. The evidence presented affirms the consideration of social norms and social support in the development of interventions to address these behaviours in adolescents. The evidence regarding parenting style provides some concrete guidance for such interventions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The effects of eliciting implicit versus explicit social support among youths susceptible for late-onset smoking.

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Roberts, Megan E; Bernstein, Michael H; Colby, Suzanne M

2016-11-01

Adolescents susceptible to late-onset smoking (becoming regular smokers at age 18 or later) are an understudied population. Social support is a promising target for intervention, but it is important to distinguish between implicit social support (reminders that one belongs to a network of valued others) and explicit social support (seeking and receiving advice and emotional solace). This study aimed to test the potential protective influence of implicit and explicit social support on reducing the risk of late-onset smoking. Fifty-eight smoking-susceptible youths (aged 16-18, 45% African American, 55% non-Hispanic White) completed an experimental session that included a video-recording task designed to elicit thoughts about implicit, explicit, or no social support. Youths reported their behavioral willingness and intentions (BW and BI) to smoke immediately following the social support manipulation; a random sample of 39 youths reported again at a 3-week follow-up. Following the manipulation, BW and BI for cigarette smoking were significantly higher among youths assigned to the explicit-support condition, compared to those in the implicit-support or control conditions. At follow-up, BW and BI were highest in the explicit-support condition and lowest in the implicit-support condition, but the differences were not significant. Overall, findings indicated that for teens susceptible for late-onset smoking, eliciting thoughts about implicit social support produces lower risk for cigarette initiation than does eliciting thoughts about explicit social support. The present results and the video task that yielded them are important to researchers and practitioners interested in reducing the likelihood of late-onset smoking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Micro and Small Entrepreneur Social Ads: The Influence of Risk Perception as Measured by Self-Monitoring and Social Expectation on Poverty Reduction Social Ads in Indonesia

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Adi Zakaria Afiff

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Regardless of the growing usage of social ads in Indonesia, the effectiveness of these social ads has not really been assessed. One theme of the social ads that is related to the poverty problem in this country is the micro and small entrepreneur social ads, namely a number of related social ads issued by the government that persuades its audience to release themselves from poverty by becoming micro and small entrepreneurs that is supported by low cost loans from the government.As becoming a micro or small entrepreneur has both an individual and a social risk perception, a 2x2x2 experiment was conducted using self-monitoring to represent the individual risk perception, social expectation to represent the social risk perception and message framing; to see how these 3 factors affect the target audience attitude toward the message of becoming a micro and small entrepreneur. The result of the study shows that self-monitoring, the individual risk perception, has the strongest influence over the audience’s attitude, in which the higher the self-monitoring characteristic of the audience the more positive the attitude formed toward the message. Social expectation and message framing does not show any direct significant influence, however the interaction of the 2 factors show significant influence toward the attitude the message.

Understanding Gender Differences in Rape Victim Blaming: The Power of Social Influence and Just World Beliefs.

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Pinciotti, Caitlin M; Orcutt, Holly K

2017-08-01

Victims of sexual violence are frequently blamed by friends, family, or legal personnel in the aftermath of an attack, with men attributing greater blame on average than women. Victims' experiences of being blamed may generate a vicious cycle in which they are more likely to be blamed in the future. Moreover, just world beliefs (JWB) have been studied extensively as an underlying cognitive mechanism that predicts greater blame. Studies examining the influence of social support on blame have yet to examine the unique role of JWB on these attributions. The current study examined blame attribution of a fictional rape victim who received either positive, negative, or neutral support from friends and family in a sample of 383 undergraduate men and women. Individually, social support and JWB were both significant predictors of blame, and women were more influenced by social support than men; specifically, gender was a more salient predictor of blame toward the positively supported victim, suggesting that positive support received by friends and family may evoke a domino effect of support from other women. Conditional effects revealed that JWB were most influential on blame when responding to the positively supported victim. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Social support, physical activity and sedentary behavior among 6th-grade girls: a cross-sectional study

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Hoelscher Deanna M

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the importance of social support in promoting physical activity, little is known about the relative influence of the type or source of social support on adolescent girls' physical activity and sedentary behaviors. This study examined the associations of two types of social support (social participation in and social encouragement for physical activity and two social support sources (family and friends with self-reported daily minutes of physical activity and sedentary behavior among sixth-grade girls in Texas. Methods A secondary analysis of 718 sixth-grade girls between the ages of 10 to 14 was performed using cross-sectional baseline data from an osteoporosis prevention intervention study. Physical activity and sedentary behaviors (television-video viewing and computer-video game playing were assessed using 3 administrations of the Self-Administered Physical Activity Checklist; social support indicators were assessed with Likert-type items from a psychosocial questionnaire. Results In multiple linear regression analyses, friend physical activity participation (partial correlation coefficient (r = 0.10, p = .009 and friend (r = 0.12 and family encouragement (r = 0.11 (p Conclusion Findings lend support to the importance of social support for physical activity among adolescent girls but suggest that the source and type of social support may differ for physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Further research is needed to assess the causal or reciprocal relation between the roles of friends and family in promoting physical activity and of family physical activity in decreasing sedentary behaviors among early adolescent girls.

Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) variant rs1042778 moderates the influence of family environment on changes in perceived social support over time.

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Dobewall, Henrik; Hakulinen, Christian; Keltikangas-Järvinen, Liisa; Pulkki-Råback, Laura; Seppälä, Ilkka; Lehtimäki, Terho; Raitakari, Olli T; Hintsanen, Mirka

2018-08-01

Lack of social support is an established risk factor across health outcomes, making it important to examine its family environmental and genetic determinants. In a 27-year follow-up of the Young Finns Study (N = 2341), we examined with a latent growth curve model whether genes involved in the oxytocin signaling pathway-namely, oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) variants rs1042778, rs2254298, and rs53576-moderate the effect of early-life social experiences on perceived social support across the life span. Mothers reported the emotional warmth and acceptance towards their children at baseline when the participants were from 3 to 18 years old (1980). Perceived family support and support from friends and peripheral sources were assessed in five follow-ups 18 years apart (1989-2007). Maternal emotional warmth and acceptance predicted the initial level of perceived social support across subscales, while the rate of change in family support was affected by the family environment only if participants carried the T-allele of OXTR rs1042778. This gene-environment interaction was not found for the rate of change in support from friends and peripheral sources and we also did not find associations between latent growth in perceived social support and OXTR variants rs53576 and rs2254298. Selective attrition in perceived social support, maternal emotional warmth and acceptance, gender, and SES. Family environment was assessed by a non-standardized measure. OXTR rs1042778 polymorphism seems to contribute to changes in perceived family support in that way that some individuals (T-allele carriers) 'recover', to some extent, from the effects of early-life social experiences, whereas others (G/G genotype carriers) do not. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Online Big Blue Test for Promoting Exercise: Health, Self-Efficacy, and Social Support.

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Gómez-Zúñiga, Beni; Pousada, Modesta; Hernandez, Manny M; Colberg, Sheri; Gabarrón, Elia; Armayones, Manuel

2015-10-01

Recent articles have documented the influence of self-efficacy and social support on exercising. Simultaneously, insulin use is also related to the perception of self-efficacy and social support in patients with diabetes. We combine these two ideas through the Big Blue Test experience in a social networking site and propose to analyze whether a change in blood sugar levels after completion of the Big Blue Test and insulin use are related to the perception of self-efficacy and social support in patients with diabetes. To undergo the Big Blue Test, 3,926 participants voluntarily joined the Diabetes Hands Foundation. Responses were analyzed using descriptive analysis. The participants who reduced their blood glucose after exercise the least were those with lower self-efficacy and also with lower perceived social support. There seems to have been no relationship between changes in blood sugar level and the explicit intention of doing exercise in the future. Insulin-dependent participants demonstrated a lower perception of self-efficacy and social support than non-insulin-dependent participants. Change in blood glucose level or being insulin-dependent or not do not explain completely a health behavior such as exercise. Hence, self-efficacy and social support have an impact on behavioral change such as exercise to become a habit in people with diabetes, and this experience through a social networking site is an important tool for this behavioral change. For exercise to become a habit in people with diabetes, it is necessary to consider not only the crucial physiological variables, but also those psychological variables that clearly have an impact on behavioral change.

Job stress with supervisor’s social support as a determinant of work Intrusion on family conflict

OpenAIRE

Ismail, Azman; Suhaimi, Fara Farihana; Bakar, Rizal Abu; Alam, Syed Shah

2013-01-01

Purpose: The primary objective of this study is to examine the influence of supervisor’s social support in the correlation between job stress and work intrusion on family conflict.Design/methodology/approach: A survey method was employed to gather survey questionnaires from academic staff in a Malaysian government university in Borneo. Findings: The outcomes of SmartPLS path model showed three major findings: first, supervisor’s social support does act as an important moderating variable in t...

Physical activity in adolescents: analysis of the social influence of parents and friends

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Luanna Alexandra Cheng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between physical activity and social support from parents and friends on the physical activity level among adolescents. METHODS: Data from 2,361 adolescents (56.6% females; mean age 16.4; SD = 1.2, from public and private high schools were analyzed. The physical activity level of the adolescents, parents, and friends were measured through a questionnaire. Parents' and friends' support and self-efficacy were measured using two previously tested scales. Data analysis was performed usingthe structural equation modeling in IBM(r SPSS(r AmosTM 20.0. RESULTS: Physical activity of friends was directly associated with physical activity level of adolescents. Physical activity of the father was associated with their sons, and the physical activity of mother was associated with their daughters. An indirect association was identified between the physical activity of parents and friends with physical activity level of the adolescents, mediated by social support. Social support was directly associated with physical activity in adolescents of both genders and indirectly mediated by self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Parents and friends have a social influence on adolescents' level of physical activity through the mechanism of behavior modeling or through social support, mediated by self-efficacy.

Physical activity in adolescents: analysis of the social influence of parents and friends.