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

OpenAIRE

Scott E. Wilks

2008-01-01

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 we...

Supporting Students' Intentions to Persist in STEM Disciplines: The Role of Living-Learning Programs among Other Social-Cognitive Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Soldner, Matthew; Rowan-Kenyon, Heather; Inkelas, Karen Kurotsuchi; Garvey, Jason; Robbins, Claire

2012-01-01

Using Social Cognitive Career Theory as a guide, we explored the relationship between students' participation in living-learning programs and their intention to earn a baccalaureate in STEM. We found that STEM-focused programs, in comparison to general forms, held promise in supporting students' intentions to graduate in a STEM field. (Contains 2…

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.

Cigarette continuity programs and social support for smoking.

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Sumner, W; Dunaway, M; Dillman, D G

1998-01-01

To describe smokers' participation in cigarette continuity programs and the prevalence and structure of cooperative teams of smokers. Cross-sectional survey of smoking histories and continuity-program participation by individuals and their family members in a convenience sample of 176 current smokers at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center, Lexington. Fisher exact test or chi2 tests were used to compare proportions. One of 3 smokers collected coupons for a continuity program. Three quarters of the collectors redeemed their own coupons, and one quarter gave coupons to another collector. Coupon collectors reported an average team size of more than 2 members. One fifth of collectors were teammates with another generation of family members, and one quarter of collectors aged 24 to 35 years were teammates with their children. Smokers were often aware of their relatives' coupon-collecting habits. Continuity programs have been a popular means of reinforcing smoking, especially within families and groups of friends. Continuity programs are novel in encouraging smoking and brand loyalty between generations. Continuity-program participants need to be aware of the risk of promoting smoking initiation by their children. Health advocates could use similar strategies to promote smoking cessation and prevention within families and other social groups.

Social reintegration of TBI patients: a solution to provide long-term support.

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Bulinski, Leszek

2010-01-01

This article evaluates the effectiveness of a workable long-term program to provide social support for TBI patients, based on the "Academy of Life" concept. Disability after TBI causes numerous disruptions of normal life, which affect the patient, the family, and society. The patient needs the particular kind of support the program was designed to provide. The study involved 200 married couples with a TBI spouse previously enrolled in the "Academy of Life." The methods included documentation analysis, clinical interviews, the Family Bonds Scale, the Social Isolation Scale, and the Social Functions subscale from a battery used to evaluate QOL after TBI. The subjects were examined before and after completing the program. In the first examination all types of family bonds were found to be severely weakened; there was deep social isolation, loneliness, sadness, a feeling of being surrounded by hostility, and no purposeful social activity. The most common form of support from significant others was pity and unwanted interference, accompanied by lack of understanding and social ostracism. In the second examination there was selective improvement of all parameters, significantly greater in patients without PTSD symptoms. The best effects were achieved in the reduction of social dysfunctions, the growth of purposeful social activity, and improvement in the type of support received, and a reduction of selected parameters of social isolation. The program here described is selectively effective for the social reintegration of TBI-patients, especially those without PTSD symptoms.

Impact of Supported Housing on Social Relationships Among Homeless Veterans.

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O'Connell, Maria J; Kasprow, Wesley J; Rosenheck, Robert A

2017-02-01

This study examined social network structure and function among a sample of 460 homeless veterans who participated in an experimental trial of the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supported Housing (HUD-VASH) program. Participants were randomly assigned to HUD-VASH (housing subsidies and case management), case management only, or standard care. Mixed-model longitudinal analysis was used to compare treatment groups on social network outcomes over 18 months. Veterans in HUD-VASH reported significantly greater increases in social support than veterans in the two other groups, as well as greater frequency of contacts, availability of tangible and emotional support, and satisfaction with nonkin relationships over time. These gains largely involved relationships with providers and other veterans encountered in treatment. Supported housing may play a pivotal role in fostering constructive new relationships with persons associated with service programs but may have a more limited impact on natural support networks.

Social Validity of a Positive Behavior Interventions and Support Model

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Miramontes, Nancy Y.; Marchant, Michelle; Heath, Melissa Allen; Fischer, Lane

2011-01-01

As more schools turn to positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) to address students' academic and behavioral problems, there is an increased need to adequately evaluate these programs for social relevance. The present study used social validation measures to evaluate a statewide PBIS initiative. Active consumers of the program were…

Social support for healthy behaviors: Scale psychometrics and prediction of weight loss among women in a behavioral program

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Kiernan, Michaela; Moore, Susan D.; Schoffman, Danielle E.; Lee, Katherine; King, Abby C.; Taylor, C. Barr; Kiernan, Nancy Ellen; Perri, Michael G.

2015-01-01

Social support could be a powerful weight-loss treatment moderator or mediator but is rarely assessed. We assessed the psychometric properties, initial levels, and predictive validity of a measure of perceived social support and sabotage from friends and family for healthy eating and physical activity (eight subscales). Overweight/obese women randomized to one of two 6-month, group-based behavioral weight-loss programs (N=267; mean BMI 32.1±3.5; 66.3% White) completed subscales at baseline, and weight loss was assessed at 6 months. Internal consistency, discriminant validity, and content validity were excellent for support subscales and adequate for sabotage subscales; qualitative responses revealed novel deliberate instances not reflected in current sabotage items. Most women (>75%) “never” or “rarely” experienced support from friends or family. Using non-parametric classification methods, we identified two subscales—support from friends for healthy eating and support from family for physical activity—that predicted three clinically meaningful subgroups who ranged in likelihood of losing ≥5% of initial weight at 6 months. Women who “never” experienced family support were least likely to lose weight (45.7% lost weight) whereas women who experienced both frequent friend and family support were more likely to lose weight (71.6% lost weight). Paradoxically, women who “never” experienced friend support were most likely to lose weight (80.0% lost weight), perhaps because the group-based programs provided support lacking from friendships. Psychometrics for support subscales were excellent; initial support was rare; and the differential roles of friend versus family support could inform future targeted weight-loss interventions to subgroups at risk. PMID:21996661

The Effectiveness of Hypertensive Management Programs and Social Support in Primary Health Care Systems: Preliminary Study

OpenAIRE

Pantip Sangprasert; Surasak Buranatrevedh; Duangnate Pipatsatitpong

2016-01-01

This quasi-experimental study used inclusion criteria obtaining samples taken from high-risk and grade I hypertensive patients aged 35 to 59 without hypertensive complications. The two related groups comprised 36 individuals. Both were enrolled in a hypertensive management program comprising health education strategies, respiratory training, advice on limiting salt and fat intake, exercise, group discussion with social support, telephon counseling, and home visits. Three perceptio...

Effects of a community health promotion program on social factors in a vulnerable older adult population residing in social housing.

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Agarwal, Gina; Brydges, Madison

2018-04-16

Supporting older adults' health and wellbeing in the community is an important policy goal that can be supported by health promotion. Despite widespread acceptance of the biopsychosocial model of health and its relation to health, many health promotion programs fail to realize this model in program design. Further, there is limited evidence to support program design targeting social determinants of health such as social isolation or connectedness. To fill this gap, we aimed to understand older adult's experiences participating in cardiovascular health promotion program in a subsidized residential building to capture unintended 'spin-off' psychosocial effects. This study took a constructivist, ethnographic approach utilizing participant observation and semi-structured interviews with participants of the program to understand participant's lived experiences of a health promotion program. In total, we conducted eighty hours of field work and fifteen semi-structured interviews with participants of the program. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Four themes emerged. First, the health promotion program filled a perceived gap caused by a constrained and impersonal health care system. Secondly, the program connected older adults with resources and provided regular and secure access to health information and support. Third, for some residents, the program facilitated social relationships between older adults, leaving participants feeling more socially connected to other residents. Lastly, a paradox of loneliness emerged where older adults talked openly about feelings of loneliness, however not in relation to themselves, but rather regarding their peers. Psychosocial aspects of health, such as loneliness, social connectedness, and social support may be of equal value as the physical health benefits to the older adults who participate in health promotion programs. Incorporating these elements into programming is a complex goal, and the complexity of targeting

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.

Strategies, Use, and Impact of Social Media for Supporting Teacher Community within Professional Development: The Case of One Urban STEM Program

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Rosenberg, Joshua M.; Greenhalgh, Spencer P.; Wolf, Leigh Graves; Koehler, Matthew J.

2017-01-01

This paper examines the use of social media to foster community connections within the MSU Urban Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program. We describe the strategies employed by the program and the technologies employed by instructors to provide support, build community, and showcase learning. We highlight three particular…

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 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.

Development of the Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills program for adults on the autism spectrum: Results of initial study.

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Baker-Ericzén, Mary J; Fitch, Meghan A; Kinnear, Mikaela; Jenkins, Melissa M; Twamley, Elizabeth W; Smith, Linda; Montano, Gabriel; Feder, Joshua; Crooke, Pamela J; Winner, Michelle G; Leon, Juan

2018-01-01

The population of adults on the autism spectrum continues to increase, and vocational outcomes are particularly poor. Longitudinal studies of adults with autism spectrum and without intellectual disability have shown consistent and persistent deficits across cognitive, social, and vocational domains, indicating a need for effective treatments of functional disabilities as each impact employment. This initial pilot study is an open trial investigation of the feasibility, acceptability, and initial estimates of outcomes for the newly developed Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills intervention, a manualized "soft skills" curriculum, to enhance both cognitive and social development in adults with autism spectrum. A total of eight adults with autism spectrum, without intellectual disability (78% males), participated in the study. Results support the original hypothesis that adults with autism spectrum can improve both cognitive (i.e. executive functioning) and social cognitive (i.e. social thinking and social communication) abilities. Further Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills was found to be feasible, acceptable, and highly satisfactory for participants and parents. Employment rates more than doubled post-intervention, with an increase from 22% to 56% of participants employed. Conclusion is that Supported Employment, Comprehensive Cognitive Enhancement, and Social Skills has promise as an intervention that can be easily embedded into exiting supported employment vocational training programs to improve cognitive, social, and vocational outcomes.

Design Guidelines for Graduate Program Social Media Use

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Rosenberg, Joshua M.; Terry, Colin A.; Bell, John; Hiltz, Virginia; Russo, Tracy E.

2016-01-01

Social media provides a promising platform for members of informal and formal educational communities to build community, collaborate, and support institutional goals such as student recruitment. Despite burgeoning research on the educational uses of social media, we are not aware of any to guide graduate program social media use. In order to…

The importance of community consultation and social support in adhering to an obesity reduction program: results from the Healthy Weights Initiative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lemstra M

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Mark Lemstra,1 Marla R Rogers2 1Alliance Wellness and Rehabilitation, Moose Jaw, 2College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Background: Few community-based obesity reduction programs have been evaluated. After 153 community consultations, the City of Moose Jaw, SK, Canada, decided to initiate a free comprehensive program. The initiative included 71 letters of support from the Mayor, every family physician, cardiologist, and internist in the city, and every relevant community group including the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.Objective: To promote strong adherence while positively influencing a wide range of physical and mental health variables measured through objective assessment or validated surveys.Methods: The only inclusion criterion was that the individuals must be obese adults (body mass index >30 kg/m2. Participants were requested to sign up with a “buddy” who was also obese and identify three family members or friends to sign a social support contract. During the initial 12 weeks, each individual received 60 group exercise sessions, 12 group cognitive behavioral therapy sessions, and 12 group dietary sessions with licensed professionals. During the second 12-week period, maintenance therapy included 12 group exercise sessions (24 weeks in total.Results: To date, 243 people have been referred with 229 starting. Among those who started, 183 completed the program (79.9%, while 15 quit for medical reasons and 31 quit for personal reasons. Mean objective reductions included the following: 31.0 lbs of body fat, 3.9% body fat, 2.9 in from the waist, 2.3 in from the hip, blood cholesterol by 0.5 mmol/L, systolic blood pressure by 5.9 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure by 3.2 mmHg (all P<0.000. There were no changes in blood sugar levels. There was also statistically significant differences in aerobic fitness, self-report health, quality of

The effect of a creative art program on self-esteem, hope, perceived social support, and self-efficacy in individuals with multiple sclerosis: a pilot study.

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Fraser, Cira; Keating, Michelle

2014-12-01

Creative art has been found to be beneficial to some patients with chronic illness. Little is understood about how creative art can benefit individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The purpose of the pilot study was to determine if there was a difference in self-esteem, hope, perceived social support, and self-efficacy in individuals with MS after a 4-week creative art program. A one-group, pretest/posttest design was used. The convenience sample of 14 individuals was recruited from MS Centers and the National MS Society. They ranged in age from 29 to 70 years (M = 51.3 years, SD = 12.5 years). Participants included 14 women. The creative art program included week 1-watercolor, week 2-collage making, week 3-beading, and week 4-knitting. Each of the four weekly sessions was facilitated by a registered nurse with expertise in MS and lasted 2 hours. Creative artists instructed participants and provided a hands-on experience for each of the creative projects. Participants were free to share thoughts, experiences, and words of support and encouragement during each session. The variables were measured before starting the creative art program and after the final session. The instruments included the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Herth Hope Index, the Modified Social Support Survey, the MS Self-Efficacy Scale, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 16.0 was used to analyze the data. There was a significant increase in all variables after the creative art program as follows: self-esteem (t = -3.05, p = 009), hope (t = -3.96, p = .002), social support (t = -2.21, p = .046), self-efficacy to function with MS (t = -2.68, p = .019), and self-efficacy to control MS (t = 3.22, p = .007). The power analysis revealed a large effect size for hope (d = 1.06), self-esteem (d = 0.82), and self-efficacy (control; d = 0.86). A medium effect size was found for self-efficacy (function; d = 0.72) and social support (d = 0

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 Effectiveness of Hypertensive Management Programs and Social Support in Primary Health Care Systems: Preliminary Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pantip Sangprasert

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This quasi-experimental study used inclusion criteria obtaining samples taken from high-risk and grade I hypertensive patients aged 35 to 59 without hypertensive complications. The two related groups comprised 36 individuals. Both were enrolled in a hypertensive management program comprising health education strategies, respiratory training, advice on limiting salt and fat intake, exercise, group discussion with social support, telephon counseling, and home visits. Three perception and preventive behavior questionnaires and home behavior records collected data according to individual hypertension risk factors. The study was carried out for four months. Descriptive statistics and a paired t-test were used. Results showed a statistical significance difference with increased total mean scores with the following variances:healthstatus,self-efficacyanddecreasedbarrierperception(p=.000, .008and.022, respectively. There was noticeable improvement in exercise and stress management, but no significant change in overall preventive behavior for hypertension (p >.05. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were lower (p .05. Primary healthcare services should also be a strategic development, especially focus socially-supported on mental wellbeing whichis beneficial for riskandhypertensive groups.

Social Support and Mental Health in LGBTQ Adolescents: A review of the literature.

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McDonald, Kari

2018-01-01

LGBTQ adolescents experience higher rates of mental health disorders than their heterosexual peers. The purpose of this systematic review of the literature was to examine studies evaluating social support and its effects on mental health in the LGBTQ adolescent population. Higher levels of social support were associated with positive self-esteem. Lack of social support (or low social support) was associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, alcohol or drug misuse, risky sexual behaviors, shame, and low self-esteem. Interdisciplinary research teams from multiple and diverse professions could provide valuable insight supporting the development of inclusive and comprehensive interventions programs for this population.

Changes in Social Support over Time in a Faith-Based Physical Activity Intervention

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Story, Chandra R.; Knutson, Douglas; Brown, Jameisha B.; Spears-Laniox, Erica; Harvey, Idethia Shevon; Gizlice, Ziya; Whitt-Glover, Melicia C.

2017-01-01

African-American women report higher levels of chronic conditions and church attendance relative to the overall US population. Therefore, efforts have increased over the past decade to design church-based health promotion programs. The present study compared changes in religiosity, religious social support and general social support across time…

Reducing Error, Fraud and Corruption (EFC) in Social Protection Programs

OpenAIRE

Tesliuc, Emil Daniel; Milazzo, Annamaria

2007-01-01

Social Protection (SP) and Social Safety Net (SSN) programs channel a large amount of public resources, it is important to make sure that these reach the intended beneficiaries. Error, fraud, or corruption (EFC) reduces the economic efficiency of these interventions by decreasing the amount of money that goes to the intended beneficiaries, and erodes the political support for the program. ...

Exploring the Unique Features of a First Nations Graduate-Level Social Work Program

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Ralph C. Bodor

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Recently, a one-time cohort of graduate-level social work students completed a unique MSW program. The program was delivered in partnership between the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary and Blue Quills First Nations College and, of the twenty four graduates; twenty-one were of First Nations or Me´tis ancestry. The program honored traditional knowledge and ways of learning combined with a critical analysis of Western perspectives of social work knowledge. Strong fiscal resources enabled the program to establish a formal support network for the students and to support the development of Indigenous curriculum and programming that encouraged success for the students. The program was fundamentally different than urban on-campus programs while still maintaining graduate level accreditation requirements. This analysis of the program required the use of Indigenous Research Methodology to collect and create an understanding of the program. Instructors commented on the centered, empowered, balanced, and congruent students. The formal and informal, concrete and invisible supports to the students ensured the success of this program and this cohort of students. As one student commented, the program started in ceremony, ended in ceremony, and could not fail within the context ceremony.

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

[Social support to women in situation of domestic violence].

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Pereira-Gomes, Nadirlene; Lorenzini Erdmann, Alacoque; Rebouças-Gomes, Nadjane; da Silva-Monteiro, Deise; Moreira Dos Santos, Raiane; Menezes-Couto, Telmara

2015-12-01

Objective To understand the meanings attributed by health professionals to the social support of women in domestic violence situations. Methods We interviewed 52 professionals from five local health units of the municipality of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Data were processed based on the Grounded Theory. Results It was shown that the demands are related to the threats of companions and economic dependence, which justifies intersectorial referrals and women's inclusion in the income and employment generation program. Discussion Given the high demand and the health promotion prerogative of Primary Health Care, a greater availability of social workers within the Health Strategy is needed. Social support to women requires political interest in combining the health care sector with other resources available to combat violence.

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

Execution of a participatory supportive return to work program within the Dutch social security sector: a qualitative evaluation of stakeholders' perceptions.

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Lammerts, Lieke; Schaafsma, Frederieke G; van Mechelen, Willem; Anema, Johannes R

2016-04-14

A process evaluation of a participatory supportive return to work program, aimed at workers without a (permanent) employment contract who are sick-listed due to a common mental disorder, revealed that this program was executed less successfully than similar programs evaluated in earlier studies. The program consisted of a participatory approach, integrated care and direct placement in competitive employment. Aim of this study was to get a better understanding of the execution of the program by evaluating stakeholders' perceptions. In the absence of an employer, the program was applied by the Dutch Social Security Agency, in collaboration with vocational rehabilitation agencies. Together with the sick-listed workers, these were the main stakeholders. Our research questions involved stakeholders' perceptions of the function(s) of the program, and their perceptions of barriers and facilitators for a successful execution of the program within the Dutch social security sector. Semi-structured interviews were held with five sick-listed workers, eight professionals of the Social Security Agency, and two case managers of vocational rehabilitation agencies. Interview topics were related to experiences with different components of the program. Selection of respondents was based on purposive sampling and continued until data saturation was reached. Content analysis was applied to identify patterns in the data. Two researchers developed a coding system, based on predefined topics and themes emerging from the data. Although perceived functions of some components of the program were as intended, all stakeholders stressed that the program often had not resulted in return to work. Perceived barriers for a successful execution were related to a poor collaboration between the Dutch Social Security Agency, vocational rehabilitation agencies and healthcare providers, the type of experienced (health) problems, time constraints, and limited job opportunities. For future implementation

Quality Indicators for Family Support Services and Their Relationship to Organizational Social Context

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Olin, S. Serene; Williams, Nate; Pollock, Michele; Armusewicz, Kelsey; Kutash, Krista; Glisson, Charles; Hoagwood, Kimberly E.

2013-01-01

Quality measurement is an important component of healthcare reform. The relationship of quality indicators (QIs) for parent-delivered family support services to organizational social contexts known to improve quality is unexamined. This study employs data collected from 21 child mental health programs that deliver team-based family support services. Performance on two levels of QIs —those targeting the program and staff -- were significantly associated with organizational social context profiles and dimensions. High quality program policies are associated with positive organizational cultures and engaging climates. Inappropriate staff practices are associated with resistant cultures. Implications for organizational strategies to improve service quality are discussed. PMID:23709286

Role of Academic Self-efficacy and Social Support on Nursing Students' Test Anxiety.

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Warshawski, Sigalit; Bar-Lev, Oshra; Barnoy, Sivia

2018-05-25

Associations between test anxiety, academic self-efficacy (ASE), and social support through social media have not been fully explored. The purposes were to explore associations between test anxiety, ASE, and social support from social media and to examine differences in test anxiety by students' year of studies and cultural background. This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive design. The sample comprised first- and fourth-year nursing students (n = 240) attending a baccalaureate nursing program in Israel. Higher ASE and support through social media were related to lower test anxiety. Fourth-year students and Jewish students had higher ASE than first-year and Arab students, who received more support on social media than Jewish students. Developing learning strategies designed to increase students' ASE and reduce test anxiety is warranted. Social media as an educational tool can be adopted for this purpose.

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

Use of Evidence in the Implementation of Social Programs: A Qualitative Study from Chile.

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Flores, Rodrigo; Naranjo, Carola; Hein, Andreas

2016-01-01

Through this qualitative, empirical study the authors aim to explore and describe the sources of knowledge that are used to guide intervention practice by social workers in Chile. Particular attention was paid to factors that may facilitate or hinder the use of research-based evidence to guide social interventions design, implementation, and outcome evaluation. In order to explore these issues, 25 semi-structured interviews with social workers from Chilean social service non-profit organizations were conducted. The main findings suggest that social workers do not use research-based evidence to support their social interventions due to various personal organizational constraints (e.g., lack of time, lack of access to resources for disseminating evidence, lack of English command). In addition, no evaluation processes of social programs which will support evidence-based effectiveness could be found. One key barrier to support use of evidence and evidence production may be related to the fact that most non-governmental organizations maintain a hierarchical and vertical relationship with state agencies (program design, oversight, and funding) for social program development.

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

US Religious Congregations' Programming to Support Veterans: A Mixed Methods Study.

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Derose, Kathryn Pitkin; Haas, Ann; Werber, Laura

2016-06-01

Religious congregations may be well equipped to address veterans' reintegration needs, but little is known about the prevalence and nature of such support. We conducted a mixed methods study using nationally representative congregational survey data and in-depth interviews with congregational leaders. Overall, 28% of congregations nationally reported having programming to support veterans and positive, independent predictors included: community context (county veteran presence, high-poverty census tract, rural compared to urban location); congregational resources (more adult attendees, having a paid employee that spent time on service programs); and external engagement (assessing community needs, collaboration, and social service participation). Qualitative interviews revealed a range of activities, including attending to spiritual issues, supporting mental, physical and social well-being, and addressing vocational, legal, financial, and material needs.

Stressors, supports and the social ecology of displacement: psychosocial dimensions of an emergency education program for Chechen adolescents displaced in Ingushetia, Russia.

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Betancourt, Theresa Stichick

2005-09-01

This study explored the psychosocial benefits of an emergency education intervention serving adolescents displaced by the war in Chechnya. It set out to describe key stressors and sources of social support available to youth served by the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) emergency education program. Interviews were conducted with 57 Chechen adolescents living in spontaneous settlements in Ingushetia, Russia in the fall of 2000. Of particular interest was the degree to which the education program addressed specified psychosocial goals. Findings indicated that young people and their families faced a number of physical and emotional stressors. The data indicated that the emergency education program provided benefits by enriching sources of social support, providing meaningful activity and a sense of hope for the future, and creating a space for young people to spend time and connect to others. However, the contrast between the desire of adolescents "to live like other kids" and the options available to them presented a dilemma for the emergency education program: adolescents craved normalcy, but for any intervention to be delivered, it had to first begin with creative and adaptive strategies that were by no means a complete replacement for formal, mainstream education. The programmatic and policy implications of these findings are presented here.

Injured athletes' perceptions about social support.

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Clement, Damien; Shannon, Vanessa R

2011-11-01

According to the buffering hypothesis, social support moderates the harmful effects of stress and, in turn, indirectly affects injured athletes' health and well-being. Previous research suggests that perceptions of social support influence athletes' psychological reactions, as well as their rehabilitation adherence, but additional research in this area is warranted. To examine injured athletes' perceptions regarding satisfaction, availability, and contribution for each of the 8 types of social support. Descriptive. Mid-Atlantic Division II and III institutions. 49 injured athletes. Social support was assessed using a modified version of the Social Support Survey. Injured athletes were significantly more satisfied with social support provided by athletic trainers (ATCs) than that provided by coaches and teammates. In addition, injured athletes reported that social support provided by ATCs contributed significantly more to their overall well-being. Athletes reported several significant differences regarding satisfaction and contribution to well-being among the 8 different types of social support. Injury, an unavoidable part of sport, is often accompanied by negative psychological reactions. This reaction may have a negative influence on an athlete's experience of injury and rehabilitation. Findings suggest that perceptions of social support provided by ATCs have the greatest influence on injured athletes' rehabilitation and well-being.

Social support, problem solving, and the longitudinal course of newlywed marriage.

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Sullivan, Kieran T; Pasch, Lauri A; Johnson, Matthew D; Bradbury, Thomas N

2010-04-01

Married couples (N = 172) were observed as newlyweds and observed again 1 year later while engaging in 2 problem-solving and 2 personal support discussions. Microanalytic coding of these conversations was used to examine associations between problem-solving and social support behaviors for 1 year and their relative contributions to 10-year trajectories of self-reported relationship satisfaction and dissolution. Results demonstrated that initially lower levels of positive support behaviors and higher levels of negative support behaviors predicted 1-year increases in negative emotion displayed during problem-solving conversations. Emotions coded from the initial problem-solving conversations did not predict 1-year changes in social support behaviors. Controlling for emotions displayed during problem-solving interactions eliminated or reduced associations between initial social support behaviors and (a) later levels of satisfaction and (b) relationship dissolution. These findings corroborate models that prioritize empathy, validation, and caring as key elements in the development of intimacy (e.g., Reis & Shaver, 1988) and suggest that deficits in these domains foreshadow deterioration in problem solving and conflict management. Implications for integrating support and problem solving in models of relationship change are outlined, as are implications for incorporating social support in education programs for developing relationships.

Size of the social network versus quality of social support: which is more protective against PTSD?

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Platt, Jonathan; Keyes, Katherine M; Koenen, Karestan C

2014-08-01

Supportive social networks are important to the post-traumatic response process. However, the effects of social network structure may be distinct from the perceived function of those networks. The present study examined the relative importance of role diversity and perceived strength of social support in mitigating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were drawn from respondents who report lifetime potentially traumatic events in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (N = 31,650). The Social Network Index (SNI) was used to measure the diversity of social connections. The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12) was used to measure the perceived availability of social support within the network. Odds of current PTSD were compared among individuals representing four dichotomous types of social support: high diversity/high perceived strength, high diversity/low perceived strength, low diversity/high perceived strength, and low diversity/low perceived strength to examine which type of support is more protective against PTSD. Unadjusted odds of PTSD were 1.59 (95 % CI 1.39-1.82) for those with low versus high perceived support strength, and 1.10 (0.94-1.28) among those with non-diverse versus diverse social networks. Compared to the reference group (high diversity/high perceived strength), the adjusted odds of current PTSD were higher for two groups: low diversity/low perceived strength (OR = 1.62; 1.33-1.99), and low diversity/high perceived strength (OR = 1.57; 1.3-1.91). The high diversity/low perceived strength group had no greater odds of PTSD (OR = 1.02; 0.81-1.28). The diversity of a social network is potentially more protective against PTSD than the perception of strong social support. This suggests that programs, which engage individuals in social groups and activities may effectively attenuate the risk of PTSD. A better understanding of how these networks operate with respect to PTSD prevention and mitigation holds

[Social support after traumatism].

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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.

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

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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.

Differential segmentation responses to an alcohol social marketing program.

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Dietrich, Timo; Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn; Schuster, Lisa; Drennan, Judy; Russell-Bennett, Rebekah; Leo, Cheryl; Gullo, Matthew J; Connor, Jason P

2015-10-01

This study seeks to establish whether meaningful subgroups exist within a 14-16 year old adolescent population and if these segments respond differently to the Game On: Know Alcohol (GOKA) intervention, a school-based alcohol social marketing program. This study is part of a larger cluster randomized controlled evaluation of the GOKA program implemented in 14 schools in 2013/2014. TwoStep cluster analysis was conducted to segment 2,114 high school adolescents (14-16 years old) on the basis of 22 demographic, behavioral, and psychographic variables. Program effects on knowledge, attitudes, behavioral intentions, social norms, alcohol expectancies, and drinking refusal self-efficacy of identified segments were subsequently examined. Three segments were identified: (1) Abstainers, (2) Bingers, and (3) Moderate Drinkers. Program effects varied significantly across segments. The strongest positive change effects post-participation were observed for Bingers, while mixed effects were evident for Moderate Drinkers and Abstainers. These findings provide preliminary empirical evidence supporting the application of social marketing segmentation in alcohol education programs. Development of targeted programs that meet the unique needs of each of the three identified segments will extend the social marketing footprint in alcohol education. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of perceived social support on health and socio-economic differences in social support in adolescents

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Gecková, A.; Pudelsky, M.; van Dijk, J.P.

2001-01-01

The influence of perceived social support on health and socio-economic differences in social support were investigated in sample of adolescents (n = 2616, including 1370 boys, mean age 15 years). The perceived social support was studied in five spheres: school, interpersonal relations, serious

Toward Mentoring in Palliative Social Work: A Narrative Review of Mentoring Programs in Social Work.

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Toh, Ying Pin; Karthik, R; Teo, Chia Chia; Suppiah, Sarasvathy; Cheung, Siew Li; Krishna, Lalit

2018-03-01

Mentoring by an experienced practitioner enhances professional well-being, promotes resilience, and provides a means of addressing poor job satisfaction and high burnout rates among medical social workers. This is a crucial source of support for social workers working in fields with high risk of compassion fatigue and burnout like palliative care. Implementing such a program, however, is hindered by differences in understanding and application of mentoring practice. This narrative review of mentoring practice in social work seeks to identify key elements and common approaches within successful mentoring programs in social work that could be adapted to guide the design of new mentoring programs in medical social work. Methodology and Data Sources: A literature search of mentoring programs in social work between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2015, using Pubmed, CINAHL, OVID, ERIC, Scopus, Cochrane and ScienceDirect databases, involving a senior experienced mentor and undergraduate and/or junior postgraduates, was carried out. A total of 1302 abstracts were retrieved, 22 full-text articles were analyzed, and 8 articles were included. Thematic analysis of the included articles revealed 7 themes pertaining to the mentoring process, outcomes and barriers, and the characteristics of mentoring relationships, mentors, mentees, and host organizations. Common themes in prevailing mentoring practices help identify key elements for the design of an effective mentoring program in medical social work. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings upon clinical practice in palliative care and on sustaining such a program.

Network-based social capital and capacity-building programs: an example from Ethiopia

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Mantopoulos Jeannie

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Capacity-building programs are vital for healthcare workforce development in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to increasing human capital, participation in such programs may lead to new professional networks and access to social capital. Although network development and social capital generation were not explicit program goals, we took advantage of a natural experiment and studied the social networks that developed in the first year of an executive-education Master of Hospital and Healthcare Administration (MHA program in Jimma, Ethiopia. Case description We conducted a sociometric network analysis, which included all program participants and supporters (formally affiliated educators and mentors. We studied two networks: the Trainee Network (all 25 trainees and the Trainee-Supporter Network (25 trainees and 38 supporters. The independent variable of interest was out-degree, the number of program-related connections reported by each respondent. We assessed social capital exchange in terms of resource exchange, both informational and functional. Contingency table analysis for relational data was used to evaluate the relationship between out-degree and informational and functional exchange. Discussion and evaluation Both networks demonstrated growth and inclusion of most or all network members. In the Trainee Network, those with the highest level of out-degree had the highest reports of informational exchange, χ2 (1, N = 23 = 123.61, p 2(1, N = 23 = 26.11, p > 0.05. In the Trainee-Supporter Network, trainees with the highest level of out-degree had the highest reports of informational exchange, χ2 (1, N = 23 = 74.93, p 2 (1, N = 23 = 81.31, p Conclusions We found substantial and productive development of social networks in the first year of a healthcare management capacity-building program. Environmental constraints, such as limited access to information and communication technologies, or challenges with

Social support, stress and the aging brain.

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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.

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

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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.

The Use of Expressive Therapies and Social Support with Youth in Foster Care: The Performing Arts Troupe

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Audra Holmes Greene

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The Performing Arts Troupe is a program that provides youth in foster care and youth from low income neighborhoods with expressive therapies and social support. The program is designed to assist youth in addressing the effects of trauma and developing competencies as they prepare to transition to adulthood. The article discusses the literature base for the program, the program activities and describes the impact of the program on youth through preliminary evaluations and case studies. The program offers an innovative combination of expressive therapies and social supports that has effectively met the needs of vulnerable youth.

Peer social support training in UK prisons.

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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.

12-Step Interventions and Mutual Support Programs for Substance Use Disorders: An Overview

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Donovan, Dennis M.; Ingalsbe, Michelle H.; Benbow, James; Daley, Dennis C.

2013-01-01

Social workers and other behavioral health professionals are likely to encounter individuals with substance use disorders in a variety of practice settings outside of specialty treatment. 12-Step mutual support programs represent readily available, no cost community-based resources for such individuals; however, practitioners are often unfamiliar with such programs. The present article provides a brief overview of 12-Step programs, the positive substance use and psychosocial outcomes associated with active 12-Step involvement, and approaches ranging from ones that can be utilized by social workers in any practice setting to those developed for specialty treatment programs to facilitate engagement in 12-Step meetings and recovery activities. The goal is to familiarize social workers with 12-Step approaches so that they are better able to make informed referrals that match clients to mutual support groups that best meet the individual’s needs and maximize the likelihood of engagement and positive outcomes. PMID:23731422

Activities of daily living (ADL) of single elderly individuals using social assistive programs in a rural community.

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Yokokawa, Yoshiharu; Miyoshi, Kei; Kai, Ichiro

2017-01-01

Objectives　The proportion of elderly individuals living alone is increasing in Japan. Matsumoto city office provides social assistive programs such as home help, lunch delivery, life advice, and safety check telephone calls. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of ADL between the elderly using social assistive programs (the use group) and those who did not (the non-use group).Methods　We conducted a cross-sectional study at Shiga district of Matsumoto city in September 2014. A total of 128 elderly individuals participated in this study. Health volunteers asked these subjects to complete a questionnaire without assistance. Measurement items included lifestyle variables and social support networks. With respect to the frequency of use, we used questions that inquired about the use of the social assistive program. We included a set of instruments commonly used in the health assessment of elderly populations: functional capacity (Instrumental ADL, Intellectual Activity, Social Role), social support, nutrition (Mini Nutrition Assessment [MNA]) and depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS]).Results　The use group consisted of 24 elderly individuals participating in the social support program. The non-use group consisted of 89 elderly individuals living alone without programs. The mean age of those who completed the survey was 83.9±4.2 years for the use group and 82.3±4.3 years for the non-use group. Comparisons between the two groups did not show significant difference in terms of their intellectual activity, social role, emotional social support, and MNA or GDS scores. The use group was more likely to use the public transfer service and receive instrumental social support from children and relatives.Conclusions　By means of utilizing the public transfer service, and receiving family support, the elderly living alone who used social assistive programs could live independently. These findings suggest a need for improvement in the public

Cyberbullying Victimization in Adolescents as Related to Body Esteem, Social Support, and Social Self-Efficacy.

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Olenik-Shemesh, Dorit; Heiman, Tali

2017-01-01

The authors examined cyberbullying victimization in the context of issues of key importance to youth: body esteem, social support, and social self-efficacy. Research has found that traditional peer-bullying victimization is significantly correlated with low body esteem in Western societies, especially pertaining to weight (R. Puhl & J. Luedicke, 2012 ). Studies have also found a relationship among bullying victimization, appearance-related bullying, low body esteem, and psychosocial difficulties among youth (L. E. Park, R. M. Calogero, A.F. Young, & A. Diraddo, 2010 ). However, the emergence of cyberbullying, characterized by its own special features (P. K. Smith et al., 2008 ), has raised a salient need to explore the relationship between cyber victimization and body esteem, no less important with social framework, because both are key components in adolescents' lives that may be associated with cyberbullying victimization. The authors examined these relationships among 204 Israeli adolescents 14-16 years old. The results indicate a noteworthy prevalence (45%) of cyber victims. Cyber victimization is significantly correlated with low body esteem and low social support and social self-efficacy. Low body esteem and low social support predicted the probability of being a cyber victim. The results extend the knowledge about potential personal and social risk factors for cyber victimization during adolescence. Implications for specific intervention programs are discussed.

Social Support and Social Conflict as Predictors of Prenatal Depression

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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

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

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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 support and bipolar disorder

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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.

Stressors, coping, and social supports of adolescent mothers.

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Panzarine, S

1986-05-01

This report describes the perceived stressors, coping strategies, and social supports of a group of adolescent mothers during their first month at home after delivery. In addition to concerns about the baby and the limitations imposed by motherhood, many of the young mothers considered their interpersonal relationships as problematic. Findings suggest that the puerperium was not a time of major distress for most of these young women. Factors contributing to a relatively smooth transition to motherhood were the adolescent's use of anticipatory coping prior to the birth, their extensive reliance on family support once at home, and their past experience with childcare. Sharing childcare with the family was an important component of the support received by these adolescents, and it is suggested that the adolescent's mobilization of social supports may be essential to ther adaptation to motherhood. Professionals were infrequently mentioned as sources of support even though a majority of the sample participated in special adolescent maternity programs. Finally, findings also suggest that problem-focused coping was used more often when dealing with concrete stressors, while emotion-focused coping was used more in response to interpersonal problems.

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.

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

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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.

Role of social support in adolescent suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.

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Miller, Adam Bryant; Esposito-Smythers, Christianne; Leichtweis, Richard N

2015-03-01

The present study examined the relative contributions of perceptions of social support from parents, close friends, and school on current suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA) history in a clinical sample of adolescents. Participants were 143 adolescents (64% female; 81% white; range, 12-18 years; M = 15.38; standard deviation = 1.43) admitted to a partial hospitalization program. Data were collected with well-validated assessments and a structured clinical interview. Main and interactive effects of perceptions of social support on SI were tested with linear regression. Main and interactive effects of social support on the odds of SA were tested with logistic regression. Results from the linear regression analysis revealed that perceptions of lower school support independently predicted greater severity of SI, accounting for parent and close friend support. Further, the relationship between lower perceived school support and SI was the strongest among those who perceived lower versus higher parental support. Results from the logistic regression analysis revealed that perceptions of lower parental support independently predicted SA history, accounting for school and close friend support. Further, those who perceived lower support from school and close friends reported the greatest odds of an SA history. Results address a significant gap in the social support and suicide literature by demonstrating that perceptions of parent and school support are relatively more important than peer support in understanding suicidal thoughts and history of suicidal behavior. Results suggest that improving social support across these domains may be important in suicide prevention efforts. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The development of social relationships, social support, and posttraumatic growth in a dragon boating team for breast cancer survivors.

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McDonough, Meghan H; Sabiston, Catherine M; Ullrich-French, Sarah

2011-10-01

Physical activity experiences may contribute to psychological and social wellbeing among breast cancer survivors. The main purpose of the current study was to qualitatively explore the development of social relationships, social support, and posttraumatic growth among breast cancer survivors participating in a dragon boat program over 19 months. Guided by interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009), semistructured interviews were conducted with 17 breast cancer survivors on five occasions over their first two seasons of dragon boating. Narrative accounts were developed for each participant, and four profiles emerged describing processes of social and posttraumatic growth development over time: "developing a feisty spirit of survivorship," "I don't want it to be just about me," "it's not about the pink it's about the paddling," and "hard to get close." Profiles were discussed in terms of developing social relationships and support, providing support to others, physicality and athleticism, and negative interactions and experiences.

A Community-Engaged Art Program for Older People: Fostering Social Inclusion

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Moody, Elaine; Phinney, Alison

2012-01-01

Social inclusion is an important factor in promoting optimum health and wellness for older adults. Community-engaged arts (CEA) have been promoted as a means to support social inclusion for this population, but little empirical evidence has been reported. The objective of this study was to explore the role of a CEA program in the social inclusion…

Supportive Social Services for LGBT Youth: Lessons from the Safe Schools Movement

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Russell, Stephen T.

2010-01-01

How do social services professionals identify and design supportive environments that promote the positive development of LGBT youth? Although there are extraordinary examples of individuals and programs that exist for the purpose of supporting LGBT youth and fostering their development, the work of documenting and empirically analyzing what works…

On the Comparison of Public Health and Social Support in Addicts and Non-Addicts

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touraj hashemi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study aimed at comparing the degree of public health and social support in addicted and non-addicted people. Method: This study was causative-comparative and all addicts who had referred to addiction treatment centers in city of Khoy in 2012 constituted its population. From among this population, 60 addicts through convenience sampling method were selected and then peered with 60 normal subjects by age, gender, and education. The measurement tools were Goldberg Public Health (Ghq-28 and Social Support (Fleming questionnaires. Results: The results showed That Addicts enjoy a lower degree of Mental Health and Social Support. Conclusion: Providing social support for the addicts under treatment programs is one of the important factors in withdrawal from drug use.

Ways of coping with stress and perceived social support in gynecologic cancer patients.

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Yilmaz, Sema Dereli; Bal, Meltem Demirgöz; Beji, Nezihe Kzlkaya; Arvas, Macit

2015-01-01

Stress is commonly encountered among cancer patients and may be a challenge affecting immune system resistance. Social support may contribute positively to the health of cancer patients, playing a role in coping with stress. The aim of this study was to determine whether ways of coping are related to social support given to women with gynecologic cancer. The study was performed as a cross-sectional design in a university hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, with 221 women with gynecologic cancer; the data were collected via 3 questionnaires, the first with sociodemographic and clinical features, the second with multidimensional scale of perceived social support, and the third with the scale of ways of coping with stress. Women with gynecologic cancer who were employed and declared their incomes as balanced and reported more years of education were more likely to perceive higher social support and to use the ineffective coping ways with stress at a lower rate (P perceived social support from family, friends, significant other, and total increases (P support from family members is the mainstay of coping with stress by women with gynecologic cancer. Nurses are indispensable in increasing social support required by women with gynecologic cancer. Well-trained clinical nurses via in-service programs should be experienced and aware of women diagnosed with gynecologic cancer in need of social support during hospital visits and provide necessary guidance.

Perceived Social Support among Mentally Ill Patients

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Bandana Pokharel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Social support is the perception that one is cared for, has assistance available from significant others and its benefit is by buffering stress by influencing the ability to adjust and live with illness. Social support can uplift the quality and subjective wellbeing of people. The objective of this study was to examine the perceived social support and factors influencing it among mentally ill patients. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out. Ninety cases aged more than 18 years visiting outpatient of psychiatric department and diagnosed as a case of mental illness for at least a year were included. Instruments used were self-developed proforma and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Interview technique was used to collect the data. Results: Majority (60% of the patients perceive social support from family, 28% of the patients perceive social support from significant others. Regression analysis showed that the perceived social support is influenced by employment status, type of family one lives in and physical illness. It is not influenced by gender, subjective financial status and frequency of hospitalization. Conclusion: Perceived social support is influenced by employment status, type of family one lives in and physical illness. Majority (60% of the patients perceive social support from family.

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.

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.

Social Community: A Mechanism to Explain the Success of STEM Minority Mentoring Programs

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Mondisa, Joi-Lynn; McComb, Sara A.

2015-01-01

Social community may be a mechanism that explains the success of minority mentoring programs. We define a social community as an environment where like-minded individuals engage in dynamic, multidirectional interactions that facilitate social support. In this conceptual article, we propose a social community model for science, technology,…

Social Security And Mental Illness: Reducing Disability With Supported Employment

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Drake, Robert E.; Skinner, Jonathan S.; Bond, Gary R.; Goldman, Howard H.

2010-01-01

Social Security Administration disability programs are expensive, growing, and headed toward bankruptcy. People with psychiatric disabilities now constitute the largest and most rapidly expanding subgroup of program beneficiaries. Evidence-based supported employment is a well-defined, rigorously tested service model that helps people with psychiatric disabilities obtain and succeed in competitive employment. Providing evidence-based supported employment and mental health services to this population could reduce the growing rates of disability and enable those already disabled to contribute positively to the workforce and to their own welfare, at little or no cost (and, depending on assumptions, a possible savings) to the government. PMID:19414885

Social Support and HIV Risks Among Migrant and Non-Migrant Market Workers in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

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Mergenova, Gaukhar; Shaw, Stacey A; Terlikbayeva, Assel; Gilbert, Louisa; Gensburg, Lenore; Primbetova, Sholpan; El-Bassel, Nabila

2017-08-01

Migration processes are listed within the primary factors facilitating the heterosexual spread of HIV. The study examines the relationship between social support, sexual HIV risk behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among 1342 male migrant and non-migrant market workers from Barakholka Market in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (1) higher level of perceived social support [Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease (ENRICHD) Social Support Instrument (ESSI score)] was associated with a lower likelihood of having sex with a female sex worker (FSW) [OR = 0.952 (0.927, 0.978) p social support factors should be considered as a component of HIV and STI prevention programs for male migrant workers from Central Asia in Kazakhstan.

The Effects of Geographic Isolation and Social Support on the Health of Wisconsin Women.

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Tittman, Sarah M; Harteau, Christy; Beyer, Kirsten M M

2016-04-01

Rural residents are less likely to receive preventive health screening, more likely to be uninsured, and more likely to report fair to poor health than urban residents. Social disconnectedness and perceived isolation are known to be negative predictors of self-rated physical health; however, the direct effects of geographic isolation and social support on overall health have not been well elucidated. A cross-sectional survey of women (n = 113) participating in Wisconsin Rural Women's initiative programming was conducted, which included measures of geographic isolation, an assessment of overall health, and social support using the validated Interpersonal Support Evaluation List with 3 subscales, including belonging support, tangible support, and appraisal support. Geographic isolation was shown to be a negative predictor of belonging support (P = .0064) and tangible support (P = .0349); however, geographic isolation was not a statistically significant predictor of appraisal support. A strong and direct relationship was observed between social support and self-perceived health status among this population of Wisconsin women, and hospital access based on geographic proximity was positively correlated (P = .028) with overall health status. The direct relationship between social support and overall health demonstrated here stresses the importance of developing and maintaining strong social support networks, which can be improved through rural support groups that have the unique ability to assist rural residents in fostering social support systems, advocating stress management techniques, and achieving a greater sense of well-being.

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.

Merging Empiricism and Humanism: Role of Social Validity in the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support Model

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Marchant, Michelle; Heath, Melissa Allen; Miramontes, Nancy Y.

2013-01-01

Criteria for evaluating behavior support programs are changing. Consumer-based educational and behavioral programs, such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), are particularly influenced by consumer opinion. Unfortunately, the need for and use of social validity measures have not received adequate attention in the empirical literature…

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.

Social Work Programs' Use of the World Wide Web to Facilitate Field Instruction

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Jerry Finn

2001-05-01

Full Text Available Employing a systems model, this study presents a content analysis of the Websites of social work academic programs in the United States. A sample of 292 academic programs was extracted from the Baccalaureate Programs' Directors' (BPD online directory of CSWE-accredited social work programs. Of these, 119 were MSW or MSW/BSW programs; the remaining 173 were BSW programs. Although many aspects of Website content were examined, field curriculum was the central focus of this study. The results demonstrate the wide variety of information included on the Websites. MSW and MSW/BSW program Websites offer more information than BSW programs. However, most programs are not making use of the Internet to obtain feedback, create interaction, or provide support. A variety of model Websites are offered to assist social work academic programs develop and maintain their own Websites.

Structured social relationships: a review of volunteer home visiting programs for parents of young children.

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Byrne, Fiona; Grace, Rebekah; Tredoux, Jaimie; Kemp, Lynn

2016-06-01

Objective The aims of the present paper were to: (1) review the research literature that contributes to an understanding of the role of volunteer home visiting programs in supporting the health and well being of families with young children; and (2) propose a conceptual model outlining service pathways for families in need of additional support. Methods An integrative literature review method was used, with a mix of electronic and manual search methods for the period January 1980-January 2014. Forty-five studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria for review and were coded according to themes developed a priori. Results There is little formal research that has examined the effectiveness of volunteer home visiting programs for supporting family health and well being. The available research suggests that volunteer home visiting programs provide socioemotional support through structured social relationships; however, there is limited empirical evidence to explicate the factors that contribute to these outcomes. Conclusion In recognition of the importance of peer support for new parents, the not-for-profit sector has been involved in providing volunteer home visiting services to families for decades. However, the body of research to support this work is characterised by methodological limitations, and rigorous evidence is limited. What is clear anecdotally and qualitatively from the existing research is that parents who are in need of additional support value engagement with a community volunteer. These structured social relationships appear to fulfil a service need within the community, helping build bridges to support social networks, and thus complementing professional services and relationships. Overall, structured social relationships in the form of volunteer home visiting programs appear to provide an important pathway to support family health and well being. Findings from the existing research are mixed and often characterised by methodological

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.

Examining the premises supporting the empirically supported intervention approach to social work practice.

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McBeath, Bowen; Briggs, Harold E; Aisenberg, Eugene

2010-10-01

Federal, state, and local policymakers and funders have increasingly organized human service delivery functions around the selection and implementation of empirically supported interventions (ESIs), under the expectation that service delivery through such intervention frameworks results in improvements in cost-effectiveness and system performance. This article examines the validity of four premises undergirding the ESI approach: ESIs are effective, relevant to common client problems and needs, culturally appropriate, and replicable and sustainable in community-based settings. In reviewing available literature, the authors found insufficient support for the uniform application of an ESI approach to social work practice in the human service sector, particularly as applied within agency contexts serving ethnic minority clients. The authors recommend that greater attention be devoted to the development and dissemination of social work interventions that respond to needs that are broadly understood and shared across diverse cultural groups, have proven clinical efficacy, and can be translated successfully for use across different agency and cultural environments. Such attention to the research and development function of the social work profession is increasingly necessary as policymakers and human service system architects require reduced costs and improved performance for programs serving historically oppressed client populations.

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

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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

Help Wanted: American Drone Program Needs Multifaceted Support to be Effective

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S. Hall

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The U.S. drone program in Pakistan faces strong resistance in Pakistan. Because the program solely seeks to eliminate terrorist groups and leaders through bombing campaigns, with no built in social support, the local population’s anti-American sentiment has reached the highest level in history. This angry mood against U.S. drone programs is spreading throughout the Islamic world. To counter this anti-American sentiment, and increase the drone program’s effectiveness, the U.S. must invest in multifaceted, socio-economic support efforts to educate the population and rebuild the gratuity, trust, and commitment of Pakistan’s people to the “War on Terror.”

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-psychological principles of community-based conservation and conservancy motivation: attaining goals within an autonomy-supportive environment.

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Decaro, Daniel; Stokes, Michael

2008-12-01

Community-based natural resource conservation programs in developing nations face many implementation challenges underpinned by social-psychological mechanisms. One challenge is garnering local support in an economically and socially sustainable fashion despite economic hardship and historical alienation from local resources. Unfortunately, conservationists' limited understanding of the social-psychological mechanisms underlying participatory conservation impedes the search for appropriate solutions. We address this issue by revealing key underlying social-psychological mechanisms of participatory conservation. Different administrative designs create social atmospheres that differentially affect endorsement of conservation goals. Certain forms of endorsement may be less effective motivators and less economically and socially sustainable than others. From a literature review we found that conservation initiatives endorsed primarily for nonautonomous instrumental reasons, such as to avoid economic fines or to secure economic rewards, are less motivating than those endorsed for autonomous reasons, such as for the opportunity for personal expression and growth. We suggest that successful participatory programs promote autonomous endorsement of conservation through an administrative framework of autonomy support-free and open democratic participation in management, substantive recognition and inclusion of local stakeholder identity, and respectful, noncoercive social interaction. This framework of the autonomy-supportive environment (self-determination theory) has important implications for future research into program design and incentive-based conservation and identifies a testable social-psychological theory of conservancy motivation.

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.

Evaluation of a Music Therapy Social Skills Development Program for Youth with Limited Resources.

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Pasiali, Varvara; Clark, Cherie

2018-05-21

Children living in low-resource communities are at risk for poorer socio-emotional development and academic performance. Emerging evidence supports use of group music therapy experiences to support social development through community afterschool programming. To examine the potential benefit of a music therapy social skills development program to improve social skills and academic performance of school-aged children with limited resources in an afterschool program. We used a single-group pre/post-test design, and recruited 20 students (11 females, 9 males), ages 5 to 11 years, from an afterschool program. The music therapy social skills program consisted of eight 50-minute sessions, and we measured social competence and antisocial behavior using the Home & Community Social Behavioral Scale (HCSBS; Merrell & Caldarella, 2008), and social skills, problem behaviors, and academic competence using the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS; Gresham & Elliot, 2008a, 2008b). Only students who attended a minimum of six sessions (N = 14) were included in data analysis. Results showed no significant change in individual HBSC subscale scores; however, the total number of low-performance/high-risk skills significantly decreased. SSIS teacher results indicated significant improvement in communication, significant decrease of hyperactivity, autistic behavioral tendencies and overall problem behaviors, and marginal decreases in internalization. Parent ratings mirrored, in part, those of the teacher. Results indicated that music therapy has the potential of being an effective intervention for promoting social competence of school-aged children with limited resources, particularly in the areas of communication and low-performance/high-risk behaviors. Teaching skills through song lyrics and improvisation emerged as salient interventions.

[Social and family support to the elderly in urban areas].

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Zapata-López, Bertha I; Delgado-Villamizar, Norma L; Cardona-Arango, Doris

2015-12-01

Objective To describe the social and family support networks available to the elderly living in urban areas of the municipality of Angelópolis-Antioquia during the year 2011. Materials A descriptive transversal study was conductedusing the population experience to determine the social support received by the 239 seniors in the urban area of Angelópolis-Antioquia. The data was obtained from primary sources and univariate and bivariate analysis was conducted. Results Mostly women were interviewed (59.8 %) aged between 60 and 74 (66.9 %). The social status that appeared with the highest percentage was "married" (47.3 %) though with the interviewed women the social status with the highest occurrence was "widow" (40.6 %). 69,5 % had an elementary school educational level and 16,7 % had no formal education at all. 60.3 % were registered in the subsidized program. The support from families and friends was qualified as satisfactory. A statistically significant connection was found between gender and undertaking different activities in free time (value of p=0,004). Conclusions the study indicates that loneliness is an aspect that makes the elderly feel unprotected and vulnerable. Despite the general feeling of satisfaction regarding family support, some of them, especially women, expressed feeling mistreated. The data along with the lack of activities for spare time must be taken into account to formulate intervention strategies for effective support networks to improve the situation of this vulnerable population of the municipality.

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.

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.

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

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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.

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.

Effect of a school-based intervention on physical activity and quality of life through serial mediation of social support and exercise motivation: the PESSOA program.

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Quaresma, A M; Palmeira, A L; Martins, S S; Minderico, C S; Sardinha, L B

2014-12-01

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of social support and behavioral regulation of exercise on physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL), in a Portuguese school-based intervention. We hypothesized that serial mediation effects would be present leading to greater levels of PA and QoL. The sample comprised 1042 students (549 boys), aged 10-16 years, BMI = 19.31 ± 3.51, allocated to two groups of schools: control (n = 207) and intervention (n = 835). This study will report the 24 months results of the program, which aimed to develop healthy lifestyles. Questionnaires were used to measure PA, QoL, motivation to exercise and social support. There was no direct impact of the intervention on QoL or PA. Serial mediation analyses were conducted. Social support (P motivation (P = 0.085) increased more on intervention group. Indirect effects were observed in all serial mediation models. The positive indirect effects on PA and QoL were explained by the increase on peer/parent support in serial with the increase in intrinsic motivation (P motivation (P school-based intervention promoted the development of social support and motivational mechanisms that explained higher levels of PA and QoL. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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

The Online Social Support Scale: Measure development and validation.

Science.gov (United States)

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).

Additional Indicators to Promote Social Sustainability within Government Programs: Equity and Efficiency

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Adriana Acevedo Tirado

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Social programs are crucial to reduce poverty and inequity in developing countries. The operation of social programs, however, cannot be improved with traditional engineering tools since these tools are designed to maximize profits: in social programs maximizing profits is not the objective, social sustainability is. Field research was conducted and it was found that the operation of social programs is considered more socially sustainable if it meets two criteria: Efficiency and Equity; in other words, if the program can help more people who need it the most. This paper proposes a methodology centered in the development of mathematical formulas for the concepts of Efficiency and Equity, so that, by being able to measure them, government programs operation can be enhanced with engineering tools. The methodology is illustrated with a case study, a subsidized milk distribution program in Mexico, called Liconsa. Once the formulas were developed and used in a simulation model for Liconsa, different policies were tested and their results regarding Efficiency and Equity were compared. Results showed the best policies for Liconsa are the balanced ones: where help is increased for beneficiaries, while cost reduction commitments are obtained. In the discussion it is argued how the developed Equity and Efficiency indicators help to understand the tradeoffs between the objectives in opposition: instead of analyzing dozens of indicators, some of them improving and others worsening, the two formulas allow to capture all effects into two objectives and evaluate decisions based on their integral impact. Conclusions show that the mathematical definition of Equity and Efficiency supports better and more informed decision making towards improving the social sustainability of the programs operation. The mathematical definition of Equity and Efficiency and its use in engineering models helps balance the opposing objectives of social programs operation and promotes

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.

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.

The Reuni Program and Challenges for Professional Education in Social Work

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Kátia Regina de Souza Lima

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the implementation of the Program for Support to Plans for the Restructuring and Expansion of Federal Universities (Reuni, particularly concerning the expansion of the number of openings for students in the schools of Social Work at federal universities. It identifies Reuni as an expression of the expansion policy underway in Brazil in the first decade of the new century. The text analyzes the political and pedagogical significance of the program, it’s impacts on the intensification of the work of teaching and on professional education in Social Work.

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

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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.

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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

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

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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 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...

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

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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

Social Support and Postpartum Depression Revisited: The Traditional Female Role as Moderator among Mexican Women.

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Albuja, Analia F; Lara, M Asunción; Navarrete, Laura; Nieto, Lourdes

2017-08-01

Women who lack social support tend to have a higher risk of postpartum depression. The present study examined the traditional female role, understood here as the adoption of passive and submissive traits specific to Mexican women, as another risk factor for postpartum depressive symptomatology that interacts with social support. Using two waves of data from a longitudinal study of 210 adult Mexican women (20-44 years-old, M age = 29.50 years, SD = 6.34), we found that lacking social support during the third trimester of their pregnancy was associated with greater depressive symptoms at 6 months in the postpartum, although this relationship depended on the level of endorsement of the traditional female role during pregnancy. Lower social support during pregnancy predicted greater postpartum depressive symptoms for women with higher endorsement of the traditional female role, even when accounting for prenatal depressive symptoms. These results suggest that Mexican women's experience of social support may depend on their individual adherence to gender roles. Understanding the association between women's traditional roles and social support in the risk for postpartum depression can improve prevention and educational programs for women at risk.

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.

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

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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

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Perceived social support among students of medical sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Foster Youth and Social Support: The First RCT of Independent Living Services

Science.gov (United States)

Greeson, Johanna K. P.; Garcia, Antonio R.; Kim, Minseop; Courtney, Mark E.

2015-01-01

Objective: Conduct secondary data analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of Massachusetts' Adolescent Outreach Program for Youths in Intensive Foster Care (Outreach) for increasing social support (SS) among enrolled youth. Participants: 194 youth in intensive foster care under the guardianship of the Massachusetts Department of Children and…

Pipe support program at Pickering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahazizian, L.A.; Jazic, Z.

1997-01-01

This paper describes the pipe support program at Pickering. The program addresses the highest priority in operating nuclear generating stations, safety. We present the need: safety, the process: managed and strategic, and the result: assurance of critical piping integrity. In the past, surveillance programs periodically inspected some systems, equipment, and individual components. This comprehensive program is based on a managed process that assesses risk to identify critical piping systems and supports and to develop a strategy for surveillance and maintenance. The strategy addresses all critical piping supports. Successful implementation of the program has provided assurance of critical piping and support integrity and has contributed to decreasing probability of pipe failure, reducing risk to worker and public safety, improving configuration management, and reducing probability of production losses. (author)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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.

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.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Cultivating secondary traumatic growth among healthcare workers: the role of social support and self-efficacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shoji, Kotaro; Bock, Judith; Cieslak, Roman; Zukowska, Katarzyna; Luszczynska, Aleksandra; Benight, Charles C

2014-09-01

This 2-study longitudinal investigation examined the indirect effects of secondary traumatic stress (STS) on secondary traumatic growth via two mediators: perceived social support and secondary trauma self-efficacy. In particular, we tested if the 2 hypothetical mediators operate sequentially, that is, with secondary trauma self-efficacy facilitating social support (i.e., cultivation hypothesis) and/or social support enhancing self-efficacy (i.e., enabling hypothesis). Participants in Study 1 (N = 293 at Time 1, N = 115 at Time 2) were behavioral healthcare providers working with U.S. military personnel suffering from trauma. Study 2 was conducted among Polish healthcare workers (N = 298 at Time 1, N = 189 at Time 2) providing services for civilian survivors of traumatic events. In both studies, multiple mediational analyses showed evidence for the cultivation hypothesis. The relationship between STS at Time 1 and secondary traumatic growth at Time 2 was mediated sequentially by secondary trauma self-efficacy at Time 1 and social support at Time 2. The enabling hypothesis was not supported. Education and development programs for healthcare workers may benefit from boosting self-efficacy with the intent to facilitate perceived social support. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cancer patients and the provision of informational social support.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Applying Social Network Analysis to Identify the Social Support Needs of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Koltai, Kolina; Walsh, Casey; Jones, Barbara; Berkelaar, Brenda L

2018-04-01

This article examines how theoretical and clinical applications of social network analysis (SNA) can inform opportunities for innovation and advancement of social support programming for adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and survivors. SNA can help address potential barriers and challenges to initiating and sustaining AYA peer support by helping to identify the diverse psychosocial needs among individuals in the AYA age range; find strategic ways to support and connect AYAs at different phases of the cancer trajectory with resources and services; and increase awareness of psychosocial resources and referrals from healthcare providers. Network perspectives on homophily, proximity, and evolution provide a foundational basis to explore the utility of SNA in AYA clinical care and research initiatives. The uniqueness of the AYA oncology community can also provide insight into extending and developing current SNA theories. Using SNA in AYA psychosocial cancer research has the potential to create new ideas and pathways for supporting AYAs across the continuum of care, while also extending theories of SNA. SNA may also prove to be a useful tool for examining social support resources for AYAs with various chronic health conditions and other like groups.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Sustainable Ergonomic Program - Basic Condition for Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility

Science.gov (United States)

Marková, Petra; Beňo, Rastislav; Hatiar, Karol

2012-12-01

Gradually increasing pressure on companies to start to behave socially responsible is a response to social, environmental and economic requirements. The society faces a period of changes that have occurred since the beginning of the crisis and revealing weaknesses in the economy. We become witnesses of rapid changes and challenges posed by globalization, lack of resources, demographic structure and innovation. Objective necessity becomes a corporate social responsibility (CSR) already at the companies’ level, which is supported by the approach of the EU institutions and the Slovak Republic. One of the possible appliance through which we can contribute to the sustainability of CSR are sustainable ergonomic programs. When we want to talk about sustainable ergonomic program is important to focus on three key areas. The first area is the Impact of technic and technology to employees at work, the second area is the Importance and impact of socially responsible HR in ergonomics and last area is the Creation of the work environment in relation to environmental sustainability. Ergonomic programs sustainability requires to apply appropriate methods for evaluation of their cost benefit and health effect.

Personal support networks, social capital, and risk of relapse among individuals treated for substance use issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Panebianco, Daria; Gallupe, Owen; Carrington, Peter J; Colozzi, Ivo

2016-01-01

The success of treatment for substance use issues varies with personal and social factors, including the composition and structure of the individual's personal support network. This paper describes the personal support networks and social capital of a sample of Italian adults after long-term residential therapeutic treatment for substance use issues, and analyses network correlates of post-treatment substance use (relapse). Using a social network analysis approach, data were obtained from structured interviews (90-120 min long) with 80 former clients of a large non-governmental therapeutic treatment agency in Italy providing voluntary residential treatments and rehabilitation services for substance use issues. Participants had concluded the program at least six months prior. Data were collected on socio-demographic variables, addiction history, current drug use status (drug-free or relapsed), and the composition and structure of personal support networks. Factors related to risk of relapse were assessed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models. A main goal of this study was to identify differences between the support network profiles of drug free and relapsed participants. Drug free participants had larger, less dense, more heterogeneous and reciprocal support networks, and more brokerage social capital than relapsed participants. Additionally, a lower risk of relapse was associated with higher socio-economic status, being married/cohabiting, and having network members with higher socio-economic status, who have greater occupational heterogeneity, and reciprocate support. Post-treatment relapse was found to be negatively associated with the socioeconomic status and occupational heterogeneity of ego's support network, reciprocity in the ties between ego and network members, and a support network in which the members are relatively loosely connected with one another (i.e., ego possesses "brokerage social capital"). These findings suggest the

The Impacts of Social Support and Cognitive Function on Depression among Community-Dwelling Older Japanese Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Bum Jung; Nakaoka, Susan; Underwood, Charna

2017-02-17

Research has demonstrated a relationship between social support, cognitive function, and depression among older adults, yet fewer studies have explored this association with Japanese American elders. This study aims to examine depression and describe its relationship with social support, cognitive function, and socioeconomic condition among Japanese American elders. A cross-sectional study of 205 Japanese American elders was conducted in Honolulu and Los Angeles County. A hierarchical regression model was used with depression as a dependent variable and with independent variables such as social support, cognitive function, and socioeconomic status. The study found that social support and cognitive function were significantly associated with depression for Japanese American elders. Also age and education were significantly associated with depression. Based on the findings, the study indicates the importance of developing preventive strategies to reduce the depression issue using culturally tailored programs to the study population.

Building a Marketing Curriculum to Support Courses in Social Entrepreneurship and Social Venture Competitions

Science.gov (United States)

Schlee, Regina Pefanis; Curren, Mary T.; Harich, Katrin R.

2009-01-01

This study examines the implications of the increased popularity of social enterprise programs and social venture competitions for the marketing curriculum. Social enterprise programs and competitions are often offered outside the school of business and target students from a variety of academic backgrounds. Although social enterprises use…

Site Support Program Plan Infrastructure Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The Fiscal Year 1996 Infrastructure Program Site Support Program Plan addresses the mission objectives, workscope, work breakdown structures (WBS), management approach, and resource requirements for the Infrastructure Program. Attached to the plan are appendices that provide more detailed information associated with scope definition. The Hanford Site's infrastructure has served the Site for nearly 50 years during defense materials production. Now with the challenges of the new environmental cleanup mission, Hanford's infrastructure must meet current and future mission needs in a constrained budget environment, while complying with more stringent environmental, safety, and health regulations. The infrastructure requires upgrading, streamlining, and enhancement in order to successfully support the site mission of cleaning up the Site, research and development, and economic transition

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

The role of the social worker in the in-vitro fertilization program.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenfeld, D; Mazure, C; Haseltine, F; DeCherney, A

1984-01-01

The role of the clinical social worker in the In-Vitro fertilization Program is to help provide patients with an environment that includes realistic expectation and emphasizes the emotional spectrum of euphoria, anxiety and dysphoria that can accompany the demanding protocol. The literature supports the need for counseling and supportive psychotherapy in the infertility clinic but has not dealt specifically with the psychological demands of In-Vitro fertilization. This paper addresses the emotional stress of in-vitro fertilization and emphasizes the role of social worker as counselor, educator and guide.

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.

Marital satisfaction: the differential impact of social support dependent on situation and gender in medical staff in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Rostami, Arian; Ghazinour, Mehdi; Richter, Jörg

2013-05-12

Stress is unavoidable in everyday life and it can effect on marital relationship. Social support especially from emotionally closed persons as a protective factor can help individuals to deal with stress and buffers the negative effects of life stress on marital satisfaction. In the present cross-sectional study we investigated the relationship between social and spousal support and marital satisfaction in medical staff in Iran. Data collection was performed in 653 medical staff using socio-demographic questions, the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire. Women and men did not differ in total social support satisfaction and the total number of supporting people; but, women were more often support providers for their husbands than men were for their wives. Spouse support was a more important indicator of marital satisfaction for women than for men. Also results revealed that spouse support is more important than social support from other resources to explain marital satisfaction. Job satisfaction had an explanatory effect on marital satisfaction especially in men. Furthermore, the findings showed that social support could decrease the explanatory impact of job satisfaction on scales of marital satisfaction. Therefore, focusing on social support, especially spouse support could be an effective approach in family counseling or family education programs to improve marital satisfaction in medical staff.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Positive Social Support, Negative Social Exchanges, and Suicidal Behavior in College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Jameson K.; Barton, Alison L.

2011-01-01

Objective: Risk for suicide is often higher among college students, compared to same-age noncollegiate peers, and may be exacerbated by quality of social support and interactions. The authors examined the independent contributions of positive social support and negative social exchanges to suicide ideation and attempts in college students.…

Social support and performance anxiety of college music students.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Erin; Chesky, Kris

2011-09-01

This study characterized perceived social support and performance anxiety of college music students, compared characteristics to those of non-music majors, and explored the relationships between social support and performance anxiety. Subjects (n = 609) completed a questionnaire that included demographics, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and visual analog scale measures of performance anxiety. Results showed that music majors perceived significantly lower levels of social support from significant others when compared to non-music majors. Perceived social support was significantly correlated with measures of performance anxiety. Students with greater perceived social support reported less frequent anxiety and lower levels of impact of anxiety on ability to perform. These findings may have practical implications for schools of music and conservatories.

Psychological distress and academic self-perception among international medical students: the role of peer social support.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Yukari; Klugar, Miloslav; Ivanova, Katerina; Oborna, Ivana

2014-11-28

Psychological distress among medical students is commonly observed during medical education and is generally related to poor academic self-perception. We evaluated the role of peer social support at medical schools in the association between psychological distress and academic self-perception. An online survey was conducted in a medical degree program for 138 international students educated in English in the Czech Republic. The Medical Student Well-Being Index was used to define the students' psychological distress. Perceived peer social support was investigated with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Poor academic self-perception was defined as the lowest 30% of a subscale score of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure. Analyses evaluated the presence of additive interactions between psychological distress and peer social support on poor academic self-perception, adjusted for possible confounders. Both psychological distress and low peer social support were negatively associated with poor academic self-perception, adjusted for local language proficiency and social support from family. Students with psychological distress and low peer social support had an odds ratio of 11.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1-56.6) for poor academic self-perception as compared with those without distress who had high peer social support. The presence of an additive interaction was confirmed in that the joint association was four times as large as what would have been expected to be on summing the individual risks of psychological distress and low peer social support (synergy index = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.3-14.9). Psychological distress and low peer social support may synergistically increase the probability of poor academic self-perception among international medical students. Promoting peer social relationships at medical school may interrupt the vicious cycle of psychological distress and poor academic performance.

Social and psychological determinants of participation in internet-based cancer support groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høybye, Mette Terp; Dalton, Susanne Oksbjerg; Christensen, Jane

2010-01-01

PURPOSE: In this study, we identified the social and psychological characteristics of Danish cancer patients that determine use of the internet for support. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We invited 230 cancer patients taking part in a public rehabilitation program to participate in an internet module...... observed no difference between the two groups in quality of life or psychological well-being, while coping to some extent seemed related to participation in internet support groups. CONCLUSION: This study adds to the discussion on social inequality in internet use by cancer patients, showing that patients...... comprising training in the retrieval of cancer-related information from the internet and self-support groups. Persons who were motivated to join the internet groups (N = 100; 47%) were compared with persons who chose not to participate (N = 111) on the basis of self-reported baseline questionnaire data...

The Relationship Between Use of Social Network Sites, Online Social Support, and Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Abstract. Existing work on the effects of social network sites (SNS) on well-being has often stressed that SNS can help people gain social support from their online networks, which positively affects their well-being. However, the majority of studies in this area have been cross-sectional in nature and/or relied on student samples. Using data from six waves of a longitudinal study with a representative sample of Dutch Internet users, we first examined whether users and nonusers of SNS differ in online social support and well-being (as indicated by life satisfaction and stress). In a second step, we investigated in more detail how SNS use – more specifically, asking for advice and the number of strong ties on these SNS – are related to online social support, stress, and satisfaction with life. Overall, our results provide no evidence for SNS use and online social support affecting either stress or life satisfaction. SNS users reported more online social support than nonusers did, but also higher levels of stress; the two groups did not differ in overall life satisfaction. With regard to the underlying processes, we found positive cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between asking for advice on SNS and online social support, indicating that SNS can be an effective tool for receiving social support. However, online social support was not related to higher life satisfaction or reduced stress 6 months later; instead, it seems that SNS users with lower life satisfaction and/or higher stress seek more social support online by asking for advice on SNS. PMID:29147141

"Keeping the Vision": Collaborative Support for Social Justice Teaching and Transformational Resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Henning, Nicholas Simon

2009-01-01

Little is known about new teachers who graduate from social justice-oriented teacher education programs (SJOTEPs) and go into urban schools as full-time teachers. How does their training translate into conceptual understandings and classroom practices? Moreover, what types of supports are needed for the attainment of such a lofty goal as social…

Social support, social conflict, and immigrant women's mental health in a Canadian context: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Guruge, S; Thomson, M S; George, U; Chaze, F

2015-11-01

Social support has positive and negative dimensions, each of which has been associated with mental health outcomes. Social networks can also serve as sources of distress and conflict. This paper reviews journal articles published during the last 24 years to provide a consolidated summary of the role of social support and social conflict on immigrant women's mental health. The review reveals that social support can help immigrant women adjust to the new country, prevent depression and psychological distress, and access care and services. When social support is lacking or social networks act as a source of conflict, it can have negative effects on immigrant women's mental health. It is crucial that interventions, programmes, and services incorporate strategies to both enhance social support as well as reduce social conflict, in order to improve mental health and well-being of immigrant women. Researchers have documented the protective role of social support and the harmful consequences of social conflict on physical and mental health. However, consolidated information about social support, social conflict, and mental health of immigrant women in Canada is not available. This scoping review examined literature from the last 24 years to understand how social support and social conflict affect the mental health of immigrant women in Canada. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Healthstar, and EMBASE for peer-reviewed publications focusing on mental health among immigrant women in Canada. Thirty-four articles that met our inclusion criteria were reviewed, and are summarized under the following four headings: settlement challenges and the need for social support; social support and mental health outcomes; social conflict and reciprocity; and social support, social conflict, and mental health service use. The results revealed that social support can have a positive effect on immigrant women's mental health and well-being, and facilitate social inclusion and the use of

Site Support Program Plan Infrastructure Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-26

The Fiscal Year 1996 Infrastructure Program Site Support Program Plan addresses the mission objectives, workscope, work breakdown structures (WBS), management approach, and resource requirements for the Infrastructure Program. Attached to the plan are appendices that provide more detailed information associated with scope definition. The Hanford Site`s infrastructure has served the Site for nearly 50 years during defense materials production. Now with the challenges of the new environmental cleanup mission, Hanford`s infrastructure must meet current and future mission needs in a constrained budget environment, while complying with more stringent environmental, safety, and health regulations. The infrastructure requires upgrading, streamlining, and enhancement in order to successfully support the site mission of cleaning up the Site, research and development, and economic transition.

The effect of a social support boosting intervention on stress, coping, and social support in caregivers of children with HIV/AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansell, P S; Hughes, C B; Caliandro, G; Russo, P; Budin, W C; Hartman, B; Hernandez, O C

1998-01-01

Caring for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected child is challenging and affects the entire family system. Studies have shown that social support can mitigate caregiver stress and enhance coping; however, social support may not always result in a positive outcome for the recipient. To measure caregiver stress, coping, and social support, and to test the effect of a social support boosting intervention on levels of stress, coping, and social support among caregivers of children with HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). An experimental design was used with monthly social support boosting interventions implemented. The stratified randomized sample included 70 primary caregivers of children with HIV/AIDS. The sample strata were seropositive caregivers (biological parents) and seronegative caregivers (foster parents and extended family members). Study measures included the Derogatis Stress Profile, Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale, and the Tilden Interpersonal Relationship Inventory. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated measure MANOVA. Statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups were found on changes in the dependent variables over time when caregiver strata were included as a factor in the analysis; no statistically significant results were found when caregiver strata were combined. Univariate Ftests indicated that the level of social support for caregivers who were seronegative in the experimental group was significantly different from seronegative caregivers in the control group and seropositive caregivers in both groups. No significant treatment group differences were found for seropositive caregivers. Seronegative caregivers derived substantial benefit from the social support boosting intervention. Seronegative caregivers who acquire a child with HIV/AIDS are confronted with a complex stressful situation; the critical need to enhance their social support is

Program Use and Outcome Change in a Web-Based Trauma Intervention: Individual and Social Factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhiyun; Wang, Jianping; Maercker, Andreas

2016-09-09

Insight into user adherence to Web-based intervention programs and into its relationship to intervention effect is needed. The objective of this study was to examine use of a Web-based self-help intervention program, the Chinese version of My Trauma Recovery (CMTR), among Chinese traumatized individuals, and to investigate the relationship between program use and user characteristics before the intervention and change in outcomes after the intervention and at 3-months' follow-up. The sample consisted of 56 urban survivors of different trauma types and 90 rural survivors of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, who used the CMTR in 1 month on their own or guided by volunteers in a counseling center. Predictors were demographics (sex, age, highest education, marital status, and annual family income), health problems (trauma duration, posttraumatic symptoms, and depression), psychological factors (coping self-efficacy), and social factors (social functioning impairment and social support). Program use was assessed by general program usage (eg, number of visiting days) and program adherence (eg, webpages completed in modules). Outcome measures were the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS), Symptom Checklist 90-Depression (SCL-D), Trauma Coping Self-Efficacy scale (CSE), Crisis Support Scale (CSS), and Social Functioning Impairment questionnaire (SFI) adopted from the CMTR. (1) Program use: rural participants had a larger total number of visiting days (F1,144=40.50, Psocial factors at pretest. (3) Program use and outcomes change: in general, use of the triggers and self-talk modules showed a consistent positive association with improvement in PDS, SCL-D, SFI, and CSE. The relaxation module was associated with positive change in PDS, but with negative change in CSS and SFI. The professional help module was associated with positive change in SCL-D, but its use on the first day was associated with negative change in CSS and CSE. The unhelpful coping module was associated with

Assessing social support among South Asians: the multidimensional scale of perceived social support.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonsing, Kareen; Zimet, Gregory D; Tse, Samson

2012-06-01

The psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) of the Urdu (MSPSS-U) and Nepali (MSPSS-N) versions were investigated among Pakistani (n=148) and Nepalese (n=153) respondents living in Hong Kong. The factor analysis of the MSPSS-N conducted in this study confirmed the three factors of the original MSPSS, namely, Family, Friend, and Significant Others, while only two factors were extracted from the MSPSS-U (i.e., the Family and Friends subscales). With regard to construct validity, both the MSPSS-U and MSPSS-N were inversely correlated with depression, anxiety and stress as assessed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). The internal reliability and construct validity of the MSPSS-U and MSPSS-N were also established and provided support for the validity of both versions as tools for measuring perceived social support among South Asian migrants. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social network, social support, and risk of incident stroke: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagayoshi, Mako; Everson-Rose, Susan A; Iso, Hiroyasu; Mosley, Thomas H; Rose, Kathryn M; Lutsey, Pamela L

2014-10-01

Having a small social network and lack of social support have been associated with incident coronary heart disease; however, epidemiological evidence for incident stroke is limited. We assessed the longitudinal association of a small social network and lack of social support with risk of incident stroke and evaluated whether the association was partly mediated by vital exhaustion and inflammation. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study measured social network and social support in 13 686 men and women (mean, 57 years; 56% women; 24% black; 76% white) without a history of stroke. Social network was assessed by the 10-item Lubben Social Network Scale and social support by a 16-item Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-Short Form. During a median follow-up of 18.6 years, 905 incident strokes occurred. Relative to participants with a large social network, those with a small social network had a higher risk of stroke (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.44 [1.02-2.04]) after adjustment for demographics, socioeconomic variables, marital status, behavioral risk factors, and major stroke risk factors. Vital exhaustion, but not inflammation, partly mediated the association between a small social network and incident stroke. Social support was unrelated to incident stroke. In this sample of US community-dwelling men and women, having a small social network was associated with excess risk of incident stroke. As with other cardiovascular conditions, having a small social network may be associated with a modestly increased risk of incident stroke. © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

Peer support in the community: initial findings of a mentoring program for individuals with traumatic brain injury and their families.

Science.gov (United States)

Hibbard, Mary R; Cantor, Joshua; Charatz, Heather; Rosenthal, Robin; Ashman, Teresa; Gundersen, Nancy; Ireland-Knight, Lynne; Gordon, Wayne; Avner, Judith; Gartner, Audrey

2002-04-01

To evaluate the impact of a community-based peer support program for individuals and their family members following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Community-based sample of family members and individuals with traumatic brain injury. Twenty individuals who had participated in the peer support program (11 individuals with TBI and 9 family members). Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used: a retrospective structured interview assessing self-reported impacts of peer support on empowerment, quality of life, mood, skills and knowledge, and social supports; an in-depth qualitative interview with a subgroup of family members focused on the specific benefits/limitations of the peer support program. Participants in the peer support program reported positive impacts of peer support on increasing their knowledge of TBI, enhancing their overall quality of life, improving their general outlook, and enhancing their ability to cope with depression post TBI. The peer support program was reported to have had a minimal impact on enhancing social support from families, friends, and the community, with varying impacts noted on levels of happiness, coping with anger and anxiety, communication with professionals, and control over one's life. Qualitative analysis suggests the merits of this type of community-based support and areas of improvement for the peer support program itself. Preliminary data suggest that peer support is a promising approach to enhancing coping for both individuals and their family members after TBI.

Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal social support: cancer and older adults.

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Robinson, James D; Turner, Jeanine

2003-01-01

Although cancer occurs throughout the life span, many of the most frequently occurring types of cancer increase as we grow older. In fact, only cardiovascular disease accounts for more deaths in adults 65 years of age and older. One of the ways that cancer patients cope or adapt to their illness is through socially supportive communicative interactions and relationships. Cutrona and Russell (1990) argued that social support is multidimensional and suggested that social support is most effective when the support needs of the individual are consistent with the type of social support being offered by the support provider. From the communicative perspective, the notion of optimal matching between the types of social support desired and the type of social support offered is extended to include the type of relationship between the communicants. In addition, it is argued that computer-mediated social support can be superior to face-to-face social support. This article attempts to identify some of the conditions under which this is true.

Social support for schoolchildren at risk of social exclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivanauskiene V.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Social exclusion is a wider concept than poverty and includes not only material conditions but also inability to participate in economic, social, political and cultural life. The essence of social exclusion is social relationships (more exactly breaking off relationships, which may mean not only pushing away some members of the society, but also breaking off relationships with the society from the side of a person himself/herself. The reasons of origin of social exclusion may be legal, political, economical, social and cultural. Nowadays social exclusion is predetermined by social-economic factors. According to Poviliūnas (2001, the problems of children’s social exclusion may be solved ensuring proper education, care of public health, safety and minimal life standard. Growing aggression and violence of schoolchildren and their social exclusion are nowadays an important issue of political debate and media reports. Often schoolchildren face the risk of social exclusion at school during the period of adolescence. The risk also depends on the social status of their family in the society and the relationship of the family members. The aim of the article is to identify characteristic features of schoolchildren at risk of social exclusion and analyze social support provided for them. A quantitative research was carried out to achieve the aim. The method of data collection is a questionnaire. 105 teachers working in 3 secondary schools in Lithuania participated in the research. The research results revealed that most often schoolchildren face the risk of social exclusion at school during adolescence period. They are characterized as incommunicative, unsociable, passive, and shy, do not trust others, are vulnerable, have learning problems and avoid collaborative activities. These schoolchildren usually come from families of social risk or single parent families. The support provided at school by teachers to schoolchildren at risk of social exclusion

Social psychological-pedagogical support of singleparent family

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Ruslana Kazhuk

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the definition of the concept of "incomplete family", describes the typology of single-parent families, the necessity of special social psychological and pedagogical support for children from such families and their parents has been proved. The analysis of various concepts of ―support‖has been made. The idea of psychological and pedagogical support of modern incomplete families has been determined. Key words: incomplete family, types of single-parent families, support, social support, psychological and pedagogical support of single-parent families.

Maternal depressive symptoms, employment, and social support.

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Gjerdingen, Dwenda; McGovern, Patricia; Attanasio, Laura; Johnson, Pamela Jo; Kozhimannil, Katy Backes

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and employment and whether it is mediated by social support. We used data from a nationally representative sample of 700 US women who gave birth in 2005 and completed 2 surveys in the Listening to Mothers series, the first in early 2006, an average of 7.3 months postpartum, and the second an average of 13.4 months postpartum. A dichotomous measure of depressive symptoms was calculated from the 2-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and women reported their employment status and levels of social support from partners and others. We modeled the association between maternal employment and depressive symptoms using multivariate logistic regression, including social support and other control variables. Maternal employment and high support from a nonpartner source were both independently associated with significantly lower odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.35 and P = .011, and AOR, 0.40, P = .011, respectively). These relationships remained significant after controlling for mothers' baseline mental and physical health, babies' health, and demographic characteristics (AOR, 0.326 and P = .015, and AOR, 0.267 and P = .025, respectively). Maternal employment and strong social support, particularly nonpartner support, were independently associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Clinicians should encourage mothers of young children who are at risk for depression to consider ways to optimize their employment circumstances and "other" social support.

A systematic review of the impact of stroke on social support and social networks: associated factors and patterns of change.

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Northcott, Sarah; Moss, Becky; Harrison, Kirsty; Hilari, Katerina

2016-08-01

Identify what factors are associated with functional social support and social network post stroke; explore stroke survivors' perspectives on what changes occur and how they are perceived. The following electronic databases were systematically searched up to May 2015: Academic Search Complete; CINAHL Plus; E-journals; Health Policy Reference Centre; MEDLINE; PsycARTICLES; PsycINFO; and SocINDEX. PRISMA guidelines were followed in the conduct and reporting of this review. All included studies were critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program tools. Meta-ethnographic techniques were used to integrate findings from the qualitative studies. Given the heterogeneous nature of the quantitative studies, data synthesis was narrative. Seventy research reports met the eligibility criteria: 22 qualitative and 48 quantitative reporting on 4,816 stroke survivors. The qualitative studies described a contraction of the social network, with non-kin contact being vulnerable. Although family were more robust network members, significant strain was observed within the family unit. In the quantitative studies, poor functional social support was associated with depression (13/14 studies), reduced quality of life (6/6 studies) and worse physical recovery (2/2 studies). Reduced social network was associated with depression (7/8 studies), severity of disability (2/2 studies) and aphasia (2/2 studies). Although most indicators of social network reduced post stroke (for example, contact with friends, 5/5 studies), the perception of feeling supported remained relatively stable (4/4 studies). Following a stroke non-kin contact is vulnerable, strain is observed within the family unit, and poor social support is associated with depressive symptoms. © The Author(s) 2015.

Direct and Indirect Pathways From Social Support to Health?

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Personal circumstances and social characteristics as determinants of landholder participation in biodiversity conservation programs.

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Moon, Katie; Marshall, Nadine; Cocklin, Chris

2012-12-30

Adequate conservation of biodiversity on private land remains elusive due, in part, to a failure to understand the personal circumstances and social characteristics of private landholders. Our aim was to identify those personal and social dimensions of landholders that might contribute to improved conservation policy and program design and, thereby, participation in private land conservation. We tested whether personal circumstances of landholders (e.g., lifestyle and wellbeing, information and knowledge, financial security) and social characteristics (e.g., attitudes, norms, and trust) would be important predictors of landholders' capacity and willingness to participate in biodiversity conservation programs. Forty-five participants and twenty-nine non-participants of biodiversity conservation programs in north Queensland, Australia, were surveyed to: 1) examine differences between their personal circumstances and social characteristics that may influence participation; and 2) explore whether personal circumstances and social characteristics were influenced by participation. The results revealed that, compared to participants, non-participants in conservation programs had significantly different personal circumstances and social characteristics for four of eight measured variables. Compared to participants, non-participants demonstrated a reduced capacity and willingness to participate in conservation programs. Participation did not appear to have a strong influence on participants' personal circumstances or social characteristics, and when social norms supported conservation, programs did not demonstrate additionality. Conservation policies that maintain or improve landholders' personal circumstances and that promote pro-environmental norms may result in increased participation and thereby conservation outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Support and Housing Transitions Among Homeless Adults With Serious Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders.

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Gabrielian, Sonya; Young, Alexander S; Greenberg, Jared M; Bromley, Elizabeth

2016-08-22

Objective: Research suggests that social supports are associated with housing retention among adults who have experienced homelessness. Yet, we know very little about the social support context in consumers find and retain housing. We examined the ways and identified the junctures in which consumers' skills and deficits in accessing and mobilizing social supports influenced their longitudinal housing status. Method: We performed semi-structured qualitative interviews with VA Greater Los Angeles consumers ( n = 19) with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and a history of homelessness; interviews explored associations between longitudinal housing status (categorized as: stable, independent housing; sheltered housing, continually engaged in structured housing programs; and unstable housing) and social supports. We compared data from consumers in these 3 mutually exclusive categories. Results: All participants described social support as important for finding and maintaining housing. However, participants used formal (provider/case managers) and informal (family/friends) supports in different ways. Participants in stable housing relied on formal and informal supports to obtain/maintain housing. Participants in sheltered housing primarily used formal supports, for example, case management staff. Unstably housed participants used formal and informal supports, but some of these relationships were superficial or of negative valence. Interpersonal problems were prevalent across longitudinal housing status categories. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Social context, including patterns of formal and informal support, was associated with participants' longitudinal housing status. Within interventions to end homelessness, these findings suggest the value of future research to identify, tailor, and implement practices that can help consumers improve their social resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Support network and social support for children with special health care need

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaís Araújo Barbosa

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: to understand and identify the support network and social support from the perspective of families of children with chronic conditions. Methods: a qualitative study, with content analysis of 134 records, followed by ten semi-structured interviews. Results: the analysis has revealed that the primary caregiver, the mother, participates in a network of limited support, only with the help of her husband, children, grandparents and the child´s godparents. They also have a social network through a multidisciplinary team, which in some cases is not effective. Conclusion: families have a deficient and limited support network and the demand for care rely only on the support of the husband, grandparents, children, and godparents. Social networking refers to the philanthropic institutions, while the aid of public service, basic health unit is basic.

Marital Satisfaction: The Differential Impact of Social Support Dependent on Situation and Gender in Medical Staff in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Rostami, Arian; Ghazinour, Mehdi; Richter, Jörg

2013-01-01

Stress is unavoidable in everyday life and it can effect on marital relationship. Social support especially from emotionally closed persons as a protective factor can help individuals to deal with stress and buffers the negative effects of life stress on marital satisfaction. In the present cross-sectional study we investigated the relationship between social and spousal support and marital satisfaction in medical staff in Iran. Data collection was performed in 653 medical staff using socio-demographic questions, the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire. Women and men did not differ in total social support satisfaction and the total number of supporting people; but, women were more often support providers for their husbands than men were for their wives. Spouse support was a more important indicator of marital satisfaction for women than for men. Also results revealed that spouse support is more important than social support from other resources to explain marital satisfaction. Job satisfaction had an explanatory effect on marital satisfaction especially in men. Furthermore, the findings showed that social support could decrease the explanatory impact of job satisfaction on scales of marital satisfaction. Therefore, focusing on social support, especially spouse support could be an effective approach in family counseling or family education programs to improve marital satisfaction in medical staff. PMID:23777731

Ethnicity, Social Support, and Depression Among Elderly Chilean People.

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Gallardo-Peralta, Lorena P; Sánchez-Moreno, Esteban; López De Roda, Ana Barrón; Arias Astray, Andrés

2015-01-01

Recent evidence regarding the relationship between social support and depression in elderly people shows the important role of ethnicity. This research describes the characteristics of social support in a sample of elderly people aged 60 and above living in northern Chile (n = 493), and analyzes the differences in the relationship between social support and depression between an indigenous group (Aymara population, n = 147) and a nonindigenous group (white, Caucasian, mestizo, n = 346). Various dimensions of social support were considered: structural elements, functional social support according to source, and community participation. The results show the existence of significant differences in the characteristics and dimensions of social support depending on sex, ethnicity, and marital status. Further, the central role of the family group is observed for both Aymara and nonindigenous elderly people. The hierarchical regression models obtained result in notable differences in the role of the structural, functional, and community elements of support in explaining depression for the ethnic groups considered.

Relationship between Psychological Hardiness and Social Support with Adaptation: A Study on Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N hasan neghad

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Psychological hardiness is a personal factor and social support is regarded as an environmental factor that can facilitate adjustment to disease. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between adaptation with psychological hardiness and social support in individuals with Multiple sclerosis (MS. Methods: Seventy two females with MS and 25 males with MSwere selected through randomized sampling from two MS centers. Main variables of the study including adaptation, psychological hardiness, and social supportwere assessed respectively by Adaptation Inventory, Personal Attitudes Survey, and Social Support Questionnaire. Results: Spearman correlation coefficients revealed that there are significant relationships between adaptation and psychological hardiness (p<0.0001, as well as between adaptation and social support (p<0.0001. In addition, Multiple linear Regression showed that psychological hardiness (β= -0.483 and social support (β= -0.240 can explain 35/1% of adaptation variance in individuals with MS. Psychological hardinessproved to have a more important role in adaptation of individuals with MS. Conclusion: The study data demonstrated that personal factors like psychological hardiness and environmental factors such as social support can predict adjustment in individuals with MS. In order to clarify mechanisms of these factors on adaptation in individuals with MS, morelongitudinal and experimental studiesare required. These results are alsoapplicable in designing therapeutic programs for individuals with MS.

The Relationship between Social-Emotional Learning Ability and Perceived Social Support in Gifted Students

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Ogurlu, Üzeyir; Sevgi-Yalin, Hatun; Yavuz-Birben, Fazilet

2018-01-01

This study aimed to examine the relationship between social-emotional learning skills and perceived social support of gifted students. Based on this relationship, the authors also examined to what extent social and emotional learning skills were predictive of social support. In addition, gender variables were compared in social and emotional…

Parent and Friend Social Support and Adolescent Hope.

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Mahon, Noreen E; Yarcheski, Adela

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct two meta-analyses. The first examined social support from parents in relation to adolescent hope, and the second examined social support from friends in relation to adolescent hope. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for the literature reviewed, nine published studies or doctoral dissertations completed between 1990 and 2014 met the inclusion criteria. Using meta-analytic techniques and the mean weighted r statistic, the results indicated that social support from friends had a stronger mean effect size (ES = .31) than social support from parents (ES = .21); there was a statistically significant difference between the two ESs. Two of the four moderators for the parent social support-adolescent hope relationship were statistically significant. They were quality score and health status. Implications for school nurses and nurses in all settings are addressed, and conclusions are drawn based on the findings.

Social networks and social support for healthy eating among Latina breast cancer survivors: implications for social and behavioral interventions.

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Crookes, Danielle M; Shelton, Rachel C; Tehranifar, Parisa; Aycinena, Corina; Gaffney, Ann Ogden; Koch, Pam; Contento, Isobel R; Greenlee, Heather

2016-04-01

Little is known about Latina breast cancer survivors' social networks or their perceived social support to achieve and maintain a healthy diet. This paper describes the social networks and perceived support for healthy eating in a sample of breast cancer survivors of predominantly Dominican descent living in New York City. Spanish-speaking Latina breast cancer survivors enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of a culturally tailored dietary intervention. Social networks were assessed using Cohen's Social Network Index and a modified General Social Survey Social Networks Module that included assessments of shared health promoting behaviors. Perceived social support from family and friends for healthy, food-related behaviors was assessed. Participants' networks consisted predominantly of family and friends. Family members were more likely than other individuals to be identified as close network members. Participants were more likely to share food-related activities than exercise activities with close network members. Perceived social support for healthy eating was high, although perceived support from spouses and children was higher than support from friends. Despite high levels of perceived support, family was also identified as a barrier to eating healthy foods by nearly half of women. Although friends are part of Latina breast cancer survivors' social networks, spouses and children may provide greater support for healthy eating than friends. Involving family members in dietary interventions for Latina breast cancer survivors may tap into positive sources of support for women, which could facilitate uptake and maintenance of healthy eating behaviors.

Social support and health-related quality of life in women with breast cancer: a longitudinal study.

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Leung, Janni; Pachana, Nancy A; McLaughlin, Deirdre

2014-09-01

A breast cancer diagnosis is a distressing event that impacts on physical and psychological functioning. This study examined the longitudinal relationships among a diagnosis of breast cancer, social support, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Participants were 412 women from the 1946-1951 birth cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health who self-reported a new diagnosis of breast cancer between 1998 and 2007. The three surveys of longitudinal data analyzed included data 3 years before diagnosis, at diagnosis (baseline), and 3 years after diagnosis (follow-up). Social support was measured using the 19-item Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey; HRQOL was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. Compared with pre-diagnosis HRQOL, women newly diagnosed with breast cancer reported significantly poorer HRQOL in subscales related to pain, physical functioning, and health and vitality. At 3-year follow-up, HRQOL had improved in most domains to levels consistent with pre-diagnosis. Levels of social support remained stable across time. The structural equation model showed that social support was positively predictive of better physical and mental HRQOL at 3-year follow-up. Longitudinal analyses indicate that social support appears to be an important predictor of HRQOL in women diagnosed with breast cancer. In particular, positive emotional and informational support that may normally be provided by a partner is important in maintaining HRQOL. Identification of those lacking social support, especially patients without partners, will enable them to be guided to appropriate support networks and programs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

A meta-analysis of work-family conflict and social support.

Science.gov (United States)

French, Kimberly A; Dumani, Soner; Allen, Tammy D; Shockley, Kristen M

2018-03-01

The relationship between social support and work-family conflict is well-established, but the notion that different forms, sources, and types of social support as well as contextual factors can alter this relationship has been relatively neglected. To address this limitation, the current study provides the most comprehensive and in-depth examination of the relationship between social support and work-family conflict to date. We conduct a meta-analysis based on 1021 effect sizes and 46 countries to dissect the social support and work-family conflict relationship. Using social support theory as a theoretical framework, we challenge the assumption that social support measures are interchangeable by comparing work/family support relationships with work-family conflict across different support forms (behavior, perceptions), sources (e.g., supervisor, coworker, spouse), types (instrumental, emotional), and national contexts (cultural values, economic factors). National context hypotheses use a strong inferences paradigm in which utility and value congruence theoretical perspectives are pitted against one another. Significant results concerning support source are in line with social support theory, indicating that broad sources of support are more strongly related to work-family conflict than are specific sources of support. In line with utility perspective from social support theory, culture and economic national context significantly moderate some of the relationships between work/family support and work interference with family, indicating that social support is most beneficial in contexts in which it is needed or perceived as useful. The results suggest that organizational support may be the most important source of support overall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

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

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Oudsten, Brenda L.; van Heck, Guus L.; van der Steeg, Alida F. W.; Roukema, Jan A.; de Vries, Jolanda

2010-01-01

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

Five-year trajectories of social networks and social support in older adults with major depression.

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Voils, Corrine I; Allaire, Jason C; Olsen, Maren K; Steffens, David C; Hoyle, Rick H; Bosworth, Hayden B

2007-12-01

Research with nondepressed adults suggests that social networks and social support are stable over the life course until very late age. This may not hold true for older adults with depression. We examined baseline status and trajectories of social networks and social support at the group and individual levels over five years. The sample consisted of 339 initially depressed adults aged 59 or older (M = 69 years) enrolled in a naturalistic study of depression. Measures of social ties, including social network size, frequency of interaction, instrumental support, and subjective support, were administered at baseline and yearly for five years. Latent growth curve models were estimated for each aspect of social ties. On average, social network size and frequency of interaction were low at baseline and remained stable over time, whereas subjective and instrumental support were high at baseline yet increased over time. There was significant variation in the direction and rate of change over time, which was not predicted by demographic or clinical factors. Because increasing social networks may be ineffective and may not be possible for a portion of people who already receive maximal support, interventions to increase social support may only work for a portion of older depressed adults.

The Role of Support Services in Promoting Social Inclusion for the Disadvantaged Urban-dwelling Elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Vicky P K H; Sarkari, Feroz; Macneil, Kate; Cowan, Laura; Rankin, Joyce

2013-01-01

Disadvantaged older adults living in non-family situations in Toronto are more likely than older adults living in family situations to have less economic security, less social support, and less choice in housing. Older adults who live in poverty and are precariously housed are more likely to be chronically ill, to live with multiple illnesses, to have poor nutrition, high stress and loneliness, all of which are strongly associated with the determinant of health social exclusion. The aim of this study is to: 1) evaluate the level of social disadvantage and exclusion experienced by low-income older adults 65 years of age and older living alone or in non-family situations; 2) assess the level of dependency on government and community services (support services) to maintain a reasonable standard of living (minimize effects of social exclusion); and 3) identify consequences of social exclusion not addressed by current available services. Fifteen male older adult members of the Good Neighbours' Club in downtown Toronto were interviewed. Semi-structured questionnaires assessed barriers to, utility of, and perceived impact of support services available to disadvantaged older adults living in the central core of southeast Toronto. Support services for income, housing, food security, social support, and health care do mitigate the effects of social exclusion in the study participants. Data gathered from interviews identified factors that counter the efforts by support services to increase social inclusion in this population. Support services reduce social isolation experienced by these older adults. Evidence of the detrimental impact of low financial literacy suggests a need to design and implement training programs to build the older adults' capacity to manage their own finances effectively, and resist falling victim to financial fraud.

(PLWHA): influence of social support, self-esteem, health locus

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Coping among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): influence of social support, self-esteem, health locus of control and gender. ... approach, social support should be in the front burner, society should be sensitized to the importance of social support that is culturally appropriate and behaviour modification focused.

Sufficient Social Support as a Possible Preventive Factor against Fighting and Bullying in School Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Šmigelskas, Kastytis; Vaičiūnas, Tomas; Lukoševičiūtė, Justė; Malinowska-Cieślik, Marta; Melkumova, Marina; Movsesyan, Eva; Zaborskis, Apolinaras

2018-04-26

Background: This study aims to explore how sufficient social support can act as a possible preventive factor against fighting and bullying in school-aged children in 9 European countries. Methods : Data for this study were collected during the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. The sample consisted of 9 European countries, involving 43,667 school children in total, aged 11, 13 and 15 years. The analysed data focus on social context (relations with family, peers, and school) as well as risk behaviours such as smoking, drunkenness, fighting and bullying in adolescents. The relationships between social support and violent behaviour variables were estimated using multiple regression models and multivariate analyses. Results : Bullying, across 9 countries, was more prevalent than fighting, except for Armenia, Israel, and Poland. The prevalence among countries differed considerably, with fighting being most expressed in Armenia and bullying—in Latvia and Lithuania. The strongest risk factors for bullying and fighting were male gender (less expressed for bullying), smoking and alcohol consumption. In addition, for bullying the social support was similarly strong factor like above-mentioned factors, while for fighting—less significant, but still independent. All forms of social support were significantly relate with lower violent behaviour of school children, and family support was associated most strongly. Regardless the socioeconomic, historical, and cultural differences among selected countries, the enhancement and reinforcement of the social support from possible many different resources should be taken into consideration in prevention programs against school violence behaviours.

The use of social media in dental hygiene programs: a survey of program directors.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Rachel K; Pieren, Jennifer A

2014-08-01

The use of social media and social networking sites has become increasingly common by the current generation of students. Colleges and universities are using social media and social networking sites to advertise, engage and recruit prospective students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how social media is being used in dental hygiene program admissions and policy. Researchers developed a survey instrument investigating the use of social media. The survey included questions about demographic information, personal use of social media, program use of social media, social media use in admissions and social media policies. An email was sent to 321 dental hygiene program directors asking them to complete the survey. All participants were provided 4 weeks to complete the survey, and 2 reminder emails were sent. A total of 155 responses were received (48.3% response rate). While 84% of respondents indicated their program had a web page, only 20% had an official Facebook page for the program and 2% had a Twitter page. Thirty-five percent had a program policy specifically addressing the use of social media and 31% indicated that their university or institution had a policy. Only 4% of programs evaluate a potential student's Internet presence, mostly by searching on Facebook. Statistically significant differences (p≤0.05) were noted between those respondents with more personal social media accounts and those with fewer accounts, as those with more accounts were more likely to evaluate a potential student's Internet presence. Open ended responses included concern about social media issues, but some uncertainty on how to handle social media in the program. The concern for social media and professionalism was evident and more research and discussion in this area is warranted. Social media is currently being used in a variety of ways in dental hygiene programs, but not in the area of admissions. There is some uncertainty about the role social media should play in a

Coworking Spaces: A Source of Social Support for Independent Professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerdenitsch, Cornelia; Scheel, Tabea E; Andorfer, Julia; Korunka, Christian

2016-01-01

Coworking spaces are shared office environments for independent professionals. Such spaces have been increasing rapidly throughout the world, and provide, in addition to basic business infrastructure, the opportunity for social interaction. This article explores social interaction in coworking spaces and reports the results of two studies. Study 1 (N = 69 coworkers) finds that social interaction in coworking spaces can take the form of social support. Study 2 further investigates social support among coworkers (N = 154 coworkers) and contrasts these results with those of social support among colleagues in traditional work organizations (N = 609). A moderated mediation model using time pressure and self-efficacy, based on the conservation of resources theory, is tested. Social support from both sources was positively related to performance satisfaction. Self-efficacy mediated this relationship in the employee sample, while in the coworking sample, self-efficacy only mediated the relationship between social support and performance satisfaction if time pressure was high. Thus, a mobilization of social support seems necessary in coworking spaces. We conclude that coworking spaces, as modern social work environments, should align flexible work infrastructure with well-constructed opportunities for social support.

Coworking Spaces: A Source of Social Support for Independent Professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cornelia eGerdenitsch

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Coworking spaces are shared office environments for independent professionals. Such spaces have been increasing rapidly throughout the world, and provide, in addition to basic business infrastructure, the opportunity for social interaction. This article explores social interaction in coworking spaces and reports the results of two studies. Study 1 (N = 69 coworkers finds that social interaction in coworking spaces can take the form of social support. Study 2 further investigates social support among coworkers (N = 154 coworkers and contrasts these results with those of social support among colleagues in traditional work organizations (N = 609. A moderated mediation model using time pressure and self-efficacy, based on the conservation of resources theory, is tested. Social support from both sources was positively related to performance satisfaction. Self-efficacy mediated this relationship in the employee sample, while in the coworking sample, self-efficacy only mediated the relationship between social support and performance satisfaction if time pressure was high. Thus, a mobilization of social support seems necessary in coworking spaces. We conclude that coworking spaces, as modern social work environments, should align flexible work infrastructure with well-constructed opportunities for social support.

Immediate psycho-social support for disaster survivors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berliner, Peter; Navarro Gongóra, José; Espaillat, Vanessa

2011-01-01

. The support was centered on (1) providing information; (2) facilitating social regulation of emotions; (3) supporting a social support network for the patient; (4) focusing coping efforts; and (5) normalization of reactions. Finally it is described how the crisis made values of caring, compassion......The article describes how psychosocial support in the immediate and mid-term disaster response for Haitian earthquake survivors in hospitals in the Dominican Republic could ameliorate some of the suffering and prevent the crisis from becoming crystallized into symptoms and complex grief...

Are Facebook "Friends" Helpful? Development of a Facebook-Based Measure of Social Support and Examination of Relationships Among Depression, Quality of Life, and Social Support.

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McCloskey, Wilfred; Iwanicki, Sierra; Lauterbach, Dean; Giammittorio, David M; Maxwell, Kendal

2015-09-01

Greater social support is predictive of lower depression and higher quality of life (QOL). However, the way in which social support is provided has changed greatly with the expanding role of social networking sites (e.g., Facebook). While there are numerous anecdotal accounts of the benefits of Facebook-based social support, little empirical evidence exists to support these assertions, and there are no empirically validated measures designed to assess social support provided via this unique social networking medium. This study sought to develop an empirically sound measure of Facebook-based social support (Facebook Measure of Social Support [FMSS]) and to assess how this new measure relates to previously established measures of support and two outcome variables: depression and QOL. Following exploratory factor analysis, the FMSS was determined to assess four factors of social support on Facebook (Perceived, Emotional, Negative, Received/Instrumental). The Negative Support factor on the FMSS was most strongly related to both depression and QOL with magnitudes (and direction of relationships) comparable to a traditional measure of perceived social support. However, two FMSS factors (Received/Instrumental and Perceived) were unrelated to both mental health outcomes. Contrary to expectations, elevations in one FMSS factor (Emotional) was associated with worse symptoms of depression and poorer psychological QOL. When taken together, only the absence of negative social support on Facebook is significantly predictive of mental health functioning. Consequently, those hoping to use Facebook as a medium for reducing depression or improving QOL are unlikely to realize significant therapeutic benefits.

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.

Compare Self-Esteem and Social Support among Ageing

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Anahita Khodaabakhshi-Koolaee

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to compare the self-esteem and social support of the elderly residing in boarding centers and living in their homes. Materials and Methods: In this causal-comparative study, 120 elderly individuals residing in boarding facilities and living he their homes in the city of Shiraz were selected through available sampling and responded to demographic, social support, and self-esteem questionnaires.Results: The findings show that there was a significant difference between self-esteem and social support in both groups of the elderly residing in their homes and those living in boarding centers.Conclusion: The elderly living at home have greater self-esteem and social support than the elderly residing in boarding facilities.

Social relationships and health: the relative roles of family functioning and social support.

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Franks, P; Campbell, T L; Shields, C G

1992-04-01

The associations between social relationships and health have been examined using two major research traditions. Using a social epidemiological approach, much research has shown the beneficial effect of social supports on health and health behaviors. Family interaction research, which has grown out of a more clinical tradition, has shown the complex effects of family functioning on health, particularly mental health. No studies have examined the relative power of these two approaches in explicating the connections between social relationships and health. We hypothesized that social relationships (social support and family functioning) would exert direct and indirect (through depressive symptoms) effects on health behaviors. We also hypothesized that the effects of social relationships on health would be more powerfully explicated by family functioning than by social support. We mailed a pilot survey to a random sample of patients attending a family practice center, including questions on depressive symptoms, cardiovascular health behaviors, demographics, social support using the ISEL scale, and family functioning using the FEICS scale. FEICS is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess family emotional involvement and criticism, the media elements of family expressed emotion. Eighty-three useable responses were obtained. Regression analyses and structural modelling showed both direct and indirect statistically significant paths from social relationships to health behaviors. Family criticism was directly associated (standardized coefficient = 0.29) with depressive symptoms, and family emotional involvement was directly associated with both depressive symptoms (coefficient = 0.35) and healthy cardiovascular behaviors (coefficient = 0.32). The results support the primacy of family functioning factors in understanding the associations among social relationships, mental health, and health behaviors. The contrasting relationships between emotional involvement and

Social Support Networks Among Diverse Sexual Minority Populations

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Frost, David M.; Meyer, Ilan H.; Schwartz, Sharon

2016-01-01

This paper reports a study of the function and composition of social support networks among diverse lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) men and women (n = 396) in comparison to their heterosexual peers (n = 128). Data were collected using a structured social support network matrix in a community sample recruited in New York City. Our findings show that gay and bisexual men may rely on “chosen families” within LGBT communities more so than lesbian and bisexual women. Both heterosexuals and LGBs relied less on family and more on other people (e.g., friends, co-workers) for everyday social support (e.g., recreational and social activities, talking about problems). Providers of everyday social support were most often of the same sexual orientation and race/ethnicity as participants. In seeking major support (e.g., borrowing large sums of money), heterosexual men and women along with lesbian and bisexual women relied primarily on their families, but gay and bisexual men relied primarily on other LGB individuals. Racial/ethnic minority LGBs relied on LGB similar others at the same rate at White LGBs but, notably, racial/ethnic minority LGBs reported receiving fewer dimensions of support. PMID:26752447

Understanding the role of social media in online health: A global perspective on online social support

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Lee, Roderick Lamar; Kvasny, Lynette M.

2013-01-01

Around the globe, people are increasingly using social media for the provision of online social support. Online social support may be especially relevant for parents who have children that are afflicted with rare chronic diseases such as MECP2 Duplication Syndrome. Despite increasing evidence that online social support enhances a person’s psychological well-being, there is little research that seeks to understand how and why various forms of social media facilitate social support. This study ...

Stress Management: Social Support

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Healthy Lifestyle Stress management Having close friends and family has far-reaching benefits for your health. Here's how to build and maintain these ... article: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/social-support/art-20044445 . Mayo Clinic ...

The effect of social networks and social support on common mental disorders following specific life events.

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Maulik, P K; Eaton, W W; Bradshaw, C P

2010-08-01

This study examined the association between life events and common mental disorders while accounting for social networks and social supports. Participants included 1920 adults in the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Cohort who were interviewed in 1993-1996, of whom 1071 were re-interviewed in 2004-2005. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the data. Social support from friends, spouse or relatives was associated with significantly reduced odds of panic disorder and psychological distress, after experiencing specific life events. Social networks or social support had no significant stress-buffering effect. Social networks and social support had almost no direct or buffering effect on major depressive disorder, and no effect on generalized anxiety disorder and alcohol abuse or dependence disorder. The significant association between social support and psychological distress, rather than diagnosable mental disorders, highlights the importance of social support, especially when the severity of a mental health related problem is low.

Social support and depression of adults with visual impairments.

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Papadopoulos, Konstantinos; Papakonstantinou, Doxa; Montgomery, Anthony; Solomou, Argyro

2014-07-01

Relatively little research exists with regard to the relationship between social support and depression among adults with visual impairments. Such a gap is noteworthy when one considers that individuals become more dependent on others as they enter middle and late adulthood. The present research will examine the association between social networks, social support and depression among adults with visual impairments. Seventy-seven adults with visual impairments participated in the study. Depression, social network and emotional/practical social support were measured with self-report measures. Additionally, the degree to which emotional/practical social support received were positive or negative and the ability of respondents to self-manage their daily living were assessed. Less than a third of respondents scored above the threshold for depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were not related to gender or vision status. Depression was correlated with age, educational level, less positive practical support, more negative practical support and more negative emotional support, with lower perceptions of self-management representing the most robust predictor of depression. Age moderated the relationship between depression and self-management, and between depression and negative emotional support. Lower perceptions of self-management and negative emotional support were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic Stress, Social Support, and Maternal Depression: Is Social Support Deterioration Occurring

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Gjesfjeld, Christopher D.; Greeno, Catherine G.; Kim, Kevin H.; Anderson, Carol M.

2010-01-01

Maternal depression in low-income women is a significant problem because of its negative consequences for both mothers and their children. Economic stress increases risk for depression; however, mechanisms linking economic stress and depression are not well understood. The social support deterioration model suggests that chronic stressors can…

Principles of the organization of social and psychological support aimed at preventing the social risks of adolescence in Russia and abroad

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T.V. Tretyakova

2014-08-01

Full Text Available We discuss the features of development and implementation of programs of social and psychological support of adolescents in domestic and foreign practice. The priority in the field of prevention of social risks among young people is to provide systematic, comprehensive, accurate information about the consequences of substance use, adolescent training in self-care and self-regulation, the use of health-care technology, the formation of stable personal negative attitude to the problem of substance abuse. The effectiveness of preventive anti-drug programs is caused by the identification of the target group (including psychophysiological age characteristics, development of a set of preventive measures based on interagency cooperation with involvement of the minors’ parents (legal representatives.

A Multilevel Framework for Increasing Social Support in Schools

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Grapin, Sally L.; Sulkowski, Michael L.; Lazarus, Philip J.

2016-01-01

In school contexts, social support refers to the overall perception one has of feeling included and cared for in a community of peers, teachers, caregivers, and others. Social support is critical for promoting positive academic and psychosocial outcomes for students. Conversely, a lack of perceived social support may be associated with increased…

The Access to Antenatal and Postpartum Care Services of Migrant Workers in the Greater Mekong Subregion: The Role of Acculturative Stress and Social Support

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Charamporn Holumyong

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to determine whether social support and acculturative stress were related to obtaining antenatal and postpartum care for pregnant female migrants, as well as access to health care for migrant children. The study utilized data of 987 migrant workers in Thailand who originated from hill tribes and mountain communities in Myanmar and Cambodia. Regression analysis showed that the language barrier, a crucial factor behind acculturative stress, adversely influenced access to maternal care. Social support reduced the impact of acculturative stress. Migrants with support are more likely to access health care. Based on the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, more sources of support either from friends, family members, or other supporters who are significant could increase health care access. Besides friends and family, the support from the Migrant Health Worker Program and Migrant Health Volunteer Program allowed the formal health sector to utilize the informal social networks to improve care for migrants.

Job Stress with Supervisor’s Social Support as a Determinant of Work Intrusion on Family Conflict

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Azman Ismail

2013-09-01

Full Text Available 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 the relationship between role ambiguity and work intrusion on family conflict. Second, supervisor’s social support does not act as an important moderating variable in the relationship between role conflict and work intrusion on family conflict. Third, supervisor’s social support does not act as an important moderating variable in the relationship between role overload and work intrusion on family conflict. In sum, supervisor’s social support does act as a partial moderating variable in the hypothesized model.Practical implications: The findings of this study can be used as guidelines by management to overcome job stress problems through updating the content and methods of stress management training program, strengthening work groups and group cohesiveness in executing job, improving work-life balance programs to reduce the employee physiological and psychological stresses, revisiting the existing job designs based on the qualifications and expectations of individual employees, and  revising compensation and benefits policies and procedures to cover stress-related disorder diseases, and activating internal employee assistance programme in order to help employees and their families with problems arising from both work-related and external resources. If these suggestions are given highly attention this may increase the capability of employees to enhance the performance of institutions of higher learning.Originality/value: The role of supervisor�

A Nature-Based Social-Emotional Approach to Supporting Young Children's Holistic Development in Classrooms with and without Walls: The Social-Emotional and Environmental Education Development (SEED) Framework

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Carter, Deborah

2016-01-01

This paper describes a nature-based social-emotional approach to supporting young children's holistic development that can be applied in a range of early childhood settings from forest kindergartens and nature-based preschools to more traditional center-based early childhood programs. "The Social-Emotional and Environmental Education…

Telecommuting: stress and social support.

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Trent, J T; Smith, A L; Wood, D L

1994-06-01

Occupational stress and social support were measured in adults, 15 working as telecommuters, 9 working at home, and 14 working in a company office. Analysis showed telecommuters and office workers perceived more support than those working at home. Telecommuters also reported less stress and a stronger preference for this new work option.

Social networks, support and early psychosis: a systematic review.

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Gayer-Anderson, C; Morgan, C

2013-06-01

Background. There is strong evidence that those with a long-standing psychotic disorder have fewer social contacts and less social support than comparison groups. There is less research on the extent of social contacts and support prior to or at the onset of psychosis. In the light of recent evidence implicating a range of social experiences and contexts at the onset of psychosis, it is relevant to establish whether social networks and support diminished before or at the time of onset and whether the absence of such supports might contribute to risk, either directly or indirectly. We, therefore, conducted a systematic review of this literature to establish what is currently known about the relationship between social networks, support and early psychosis. Methods. We identified all studies investigating social networks and support in first episode psychosis samples and in general population samples with measures of psychotic experiences or schizotype by conducting systematic searches of electronic databases using pre-defined search terms and criteria. Findings were synthesized using non-quantitative approaches. Results. Thirty-eight papers were identified that met inclusion criteria. There was marked methodological heterogeneity, which limits the capacity to draw direct comparisons. Nonetheless, the existing literature suggests social networks (particularly close friends) and support diminished both among first episode samples and among non-clinical samples reporting psychotic experiences or with schizotype traits, compared with varying comparison groups. These differences may be more marked for men and for those from minority ethnic populations. Conclusions. Tentatively, reduced social networks and support appear to pre-date onset of psychotic disorder. However, the substantial methodological heterogeneity among the existing studies makes comparisons difficult and suggests a need for more robust and comparable studies on networks, support and early psychosis.

Pedagogical Support Components of Students' Social Adaptation

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Vlasova, Vera K.; Simonova, Galina I.; Soleymani, Nassim

2016-01-01

The urgency of the problem stated in the article is caused by the need of pedagogical support of students' social adaptation on the basis of systematicity, which is achieved if we correctly define the components of the process. The aim of the article is to determine the pedagogical support components of students' social adaptation. The leading…

Guatemala social marketing program.

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1987-01-01

The Guatemala Social Marketing Program reported 1986 increases after social marketing promotion in the sales of Panther and Scudo condoms, Perla oral contraceptives, and Lirio vaginal foaming tablets. Sale of Panther condoms was highest in February; all the other products peaked in June and July. Sales fell in December due to Christmas holidays. Sale patterns are illustrated graphically for all 4 products.

Social Network Characteristics, Social Support, and Cigarette Smoking among Asian/Pacific Islander Young Adults.

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Pokhrel, Pallav; Fagan, Pebbles; Cassel, Kevin; Trinidad, Dennis R; Kaholokula, Joseph Keawe'aimoku; Herzog, Thaddeus A

2016-06-01

Cigarette smoking may be one of the factors contributing to the high levels of cancer-related mortality experienced by certain Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI) subgroups (e.g., Native Hawaiian). Given the collectivist cultural orientation attributed to A/PI groups, social strategies are recommended for substance abuse or smoking cessation treatment among A/PI. However, research examining how social network characteristics and social support relate to smoking across A/PI subgroups has been lacking. This study investigated the associations between social network characteristics (e.g., size, composition), perceived social support, and recent cigarette use across Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and East Asian (e.g., Japanese, Chinese) young adults (18-35 year old). Cross-sectional, self-report data were collected from N = 435 participants (M age = 25.6, SD = 8.3; 61% women). Ethnic differences were found in a number of pathways linking social network characteristics, perceived social support, and cigarette smoking. Larger network size was strongly associated with higher perceived social support and lower recent cigarette smoking among Native Hawaiians but not Filipinos or East Asians. Higher perceived social support was associated with lower recent smoking among East Asians and Filipinos but not Native Hawaiians. Implications are discussed with regard to smoking prevention and cessation among A/PI. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

The organizational social context of mental health medicaid waiver programs with family support services: implications for research and practice.

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Glisson, Charles; Williams, Nathaniel J; Green, Philip; Hemmelgarn, Anthony; Hoagwood, Kimberly

2014-01-01

Peer family support specialists (FSS) are parents with practical experience in navigating children's mental health care systems who provide support, advocacy, and guidance to the families of children who need mental health services. Their experience and training differ from those of formally trained mental health clinicians, creating potential conflicts in priorities and values between FSS and clinicians. We hypothesized that these differences could negatively affect the organizational cultures and climates of mental health clinics that employ both FSS and mental health clinicians, and lower the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of FSS. The Organizational Social Context measure was administered on site to 209 FSS and clinicians in 21 mental health programs in New York State. The study compared the organizational-level culture and climate profiles of mental health clinics that employ both FSS and formally trained clinicians to national norms for child mental health clinics, assessed individual-level job satisfaction and organizational commitment as a function of job (FSS vs. clinician) and other individual-level and organizational-level characteristics, and tested whether FSS and clinicians job attitudes were differentially associated with organizational culture and climate. The programs organizational culture and climate profiles were not significantly different from national norms. Individual-level job satisfaction and organizational commitment were unrelated to position (FSS vs. clinician) or other individual-level and organizational-level characteristics except for culture and climate. Both FSS' and clinicians' individual-level work attitudes were associated similarly with organizational culture and climate.

Social support and ambulatory blood pressure in older people.

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Sanchez-Martínez, Mercedes; López-García, Esther; Guallar-Castillón, Pilar; Cruz, Juan J; Orozco, Edilberto; García-Esquinas, Esther; Rodríguez-Artalejo, Fernando; Banegas, José R

2016-10-01

Social support has been associated with greater nocturnal decline (dipping) in blood pressure (BP) in younger and middle-aged individuals. However, it is uncertain if aggregated measures of social support are related to ambulatory SBP in older adults, where high SBP is frequent and clinically challenging. We studied 1047 community-living individuals aged at least 60 years in Spain. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory BP was determined under standardized conditions. Social support was assessed with a seven-item questionnaire on marital status, cohabitation, frequency of contact with relatives, or with friends and neighbors, emotional support, instrumental support, and outdoor companionship. A social support score was built by summing the values of the items that were significantly associated with SBP variables, such that the higher the score, the better the support. Participants' mean age was 71.7 years (50.8% men). Being married, cohabiting, and being accompanied when out of home were the support items significantly associated with SBP variables. After adjustment for sociodemographic (age, sex, education), behavioral (BMI, alcohol, tobacco, salt consumption, physical activity, Mediterranean diet score), and clinical variables [sleep quality, mental stress, comorbidity, BP medication, and ambulatory BP levels and heart rate (HR)], one additional point in the social support score built with the abovementioned three support variables, was associated with a decrease of 0.93 mmHg in night-time SBP (P = 0.039), totaling 2.8 mmHg decrease for a score of 3 vs. 0. The three-item social support score was also inversely associated with the night/day SBP ratio (β = -0.006, P = 0.010). In older adults, social support is independently associated with lower nocturnal SBP and greater SBP dipping. Further research is needed in prospective studies to confirm these results.

Assessment of Depression in Elderly. Is Perceived Social Support Related? A Nursing Home Study : Depression and Social Support in Elderly.

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Patra, Paraskevi; Alikari, Victoria; Fradelos, Evangelos C; Sachlas, Athanasios; Kourakos, Michael; Rojas Gil, Andrea Paola; Babatsikou, Fotoula; Zyga, Sofia

2017-01-01

Geriatric depression is more common in nursing homes and social support is a mechanism that mitigates the stressors of life factors and simultaneously promotes wellness and health. The purpose of the study was to assess the levels of depression and social support among elderly in nursing homes. During the period February 2016-March 2016 170 elderly residents in nursing homes completed the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Statistical analysis was conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics 23. 37, 1% of the sample had depressive symptoms. Depression is statistically correlated with age and it is affected by the years of education (p = 0.003), the number of the children (p = 0.006), whether the elderly person is bedridden or not (p elderly performs activities outside the nursing home (0.001). Higher GDS score had those who were illiterate (6.41), those with one or no children (6.82 and 6.59 respectively), the bedridden (6.70), people without visits from relatives (7.69) and without activities outside (5.64). Also, social support is affected by the family status (p elderly performs activities outside the foundation (p elderly population leads to the need for more aid social support.

Perceived social support and life satisfaction in persons with somatization disorder

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Arif Ali

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Life satisfaction and perceived social support been shown to improve the well-being of a person and also affect the outcome of treatment in somatization disorder. The phenomenon of somatization was explored in relation to the perceived social support and life satisfaction. Aim: This study aimed at investigating perceived social support and life satisfaction in people with somatization disorder. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on persons having somatization disorder attending the outpatient unit of LGB Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, Assam. Satisfaction with life scale and multidimensional scale of perceived social support were used to assess life satisfaction and perceived social support respectively. Results: Women reported more somatic symptoms than men. Family perceived social support was high in the patient in comparison to significant others′ perceived social support and friends′ perceived social support. Perceived social support showed that a significant positive correlation was found with life satisfaction. Conclusion: Poor social support and low life satisfaction might be a stress response with regard to increased distress severity and psychosocial stressors rather than a cultural response to express psychological problems in somatic terms.

The coach program - a "joint" approach to patient education and support.

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Shaked, Yael; Dickson, Patricia; Workman, Kathy

2016-12-01

Hospital lengths of stay for orthopaedic procedures are declining internationally. Discharge home from hospital following total joint replacement surgery can be stressful due to pain and physical restrictions. Thus, many patients report experiencing increased anxiety and feeling a sudden withdrawal of support from their medical team. The Coach Program maximizes human resources and family-centred care by formally integrating an individual whom the patient identifies as their primary support into their health care team. This unique and innovative program was designed to decrease patient anxiety, increase patient confidence, enhance coping with shorter hospital lengths of stay, and smooth the discharge planning process. Anecdotal feedback from patients and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. A pilot self-reported patient survey was conducted. Future steps include distribution and analysis of a more detailed survey to a broader patient population and finding ways to address the needs of patients with limited social support. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"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.

Sufficient Social Support as a Possible Preventive Factor against Fighting and Bullying in School Children

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Kastytis Šmigelskas

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: This study aims to explore how sufficient social support can act as a possible preventive factor against fighting and bullying in school-aged children in 9 European countries. Methods: Data for this study were collected during the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC survey. The sample consisted of 9 European countries, involving 43,667 school children in total, aged 11, 13 and 15 years. The analysed data focus on social context (relations with family, peers, and school as well as risk behaviours such as smoking, drunkenness, fighting and bullying in adolescents. The relationships between social support and violent behaviour variables were estimated using multiple regression models and multivariate analyses. Results: Bullying, across 9 countries, was more prevalent than fighting, except for Armenia, Israel, and Poland. The prevalence among countries differed considerably, with fighting being most expressed in Armenia and bullying—in Latvia and Lithuania. The strongest risk factors for bullying and fighting were male gender (less expressed for bullying, smoking and alcohol consumption. In addition, for bullying the social support was similarly strong factor like above-mentioned factors, while for fighting—less significant, but still independent. All forms of social support were significantly relate with lower violent behaviour of school children, and family support was associated most strongly. Regardless the socioeconomic, historical, and cultural differences among selected countries, the enhancement and reinforcement of the social support from possible many different resources should be taken into consideration in prevention programs against school violence behaviours.

Workplace Social Support and Behavioral Health Prior to Long-Duration Spaceflight.

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Deming, Charlene A; Vasterling, Jennifer J

2017-06-01

Preparation and training for long-duration spaceflight bring with them psychosocial stressors potentially affecting the well-being and performance of astronauts, before and during spaceflight. Social support from within the workplace may mitigate behavioral health concerns arising during the preflight period and enhance resiliency before and during extended missions. The purpose of this review was to evaluate evidence addressing the viability of workplace social support as a pre-mission countermeasure, specifically addressing: 1) the observed relationships between workplace social support and behavioral health; 2) perceived need, acceptability, and format preference for workplace social support among high-achievers; 3) potential barriers to delivery/receipt of workplace social support; 4) workplace social support interventions; and 5) delivery timeframe and anticipated duration of workplace social support countermeasure benefits. We conducted an evidence review examining workplace social support in professional contexts sharing one or more characteristics with astronauts and spaceflight. Terms included populations of interest, social support constructs, and behavioral health outcomes. Abstracts of matches were subsequently reviewed for relevance and quality. Research findings demonstrate clear associations between workplace social support and behavioral health, especially following exposure to stress. Further, studies indicate strong need for support and acceptability of support countermeasures, despite barriers. Our review revealed two general formats for providing support (i.e., direct provision of support and training to optimize skills in provision and receipt of support) with potential differentiation of expected duration of benefits, according to format. Workplace social support countermeasures hold promise for effective application during pre-mission phases of long-duration spaceflight. Specific recommendations are provided.Deming CA, Vasterling JJ

The impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on social support and social conflict during hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

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Gerhart, James I; Asvat, Yasmin; Lillis, Teresa A; Fung, Henry; Grosse, Johanna; Hobfoll, Stevan E

2018-01-01

Social support and its relationship to psychological distress are of interest in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) as patients are dependent on caregivers pre-, during, and posttransplant.  Although social support is critical for managing stress and trauma, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) may erode social support and evoke conflict and abandonment within the support system. This study aimed to evaluate whether PTSS were associated with lower support and social conflict in a sample of patients undergoing HSCT. Prospective relationships between PTSS, perceived social support, and social conflict were assessed in 88 participants across the first three months of HSCT (T0 Baseline; T1 +30; T2 +60; T3 +90). When individuals experienced increase above their own average levels of PTSS, they reported concurrent increase in social conflict (p social support in the following month (p = .026). Results suggest PTSS during stem cell transplantation may evoke social conflict, but over time, the support system may recalibrate to be more supportive. Patients undergoing HSCT may benefit from family and social-level interventions that specifically target the incidence of interpersonal conflict as it unfolds during the initial stages of HSCT.

Social support in later life: family, friends and community

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Claudia Josefina Arias

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to carry out an analysis of the importance of social support and participation in old age. Contributions are presented first that various international agencies concerned with old age and aging have been made to strengthen this support and increased participation of older people. Different sources of social support are described: formal and informal interventions that can be made with varied promotion and preventive-wellness-care objectives and action at various levels-individual, group, family, organizational and community-and is made an analysis of the impact on the well-being have the resources of social support available to older people. Finally we reflect on Certain negative assumptions about the availability of support and social participation of older people in relation to recent research findings on the subject. Problematize the importance of these negative stereotypes about aging in general and on the participation and the availability of social support in particular in order to achieve more supportive environments that promote the development of the potential of older persons is concluded.

Social support and support groups among people with HIV/AIDS in Ghana.

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Abrefa-Gyan, Tina; Wu, Liyun; Lewis, Marilyn W

2016-01-01

HIV/AIDS, a chronic burden in Ghana, poses social and health outcome concerns to those infected. Examining the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) instrument among 300 Ghanaians from a cross-sectional design, Principal Component Analysis yielded four factors (positive interaction, trust building, information giving, and essential support), which accounted for 85.73% of the total variance in the MOS-SSS. A logistic regression analysis showed that essential support was the strongest predictor of the length of time an individual stayed in the support group, whereas positive interaction indicated negative association. The study's implications for policy, research, and practice were discussed.

The Structure and Validity of the Multidimensional Social Support Questionnaire

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Hardesty, Patrick H.; Richardson, George B.

2012-01-01

The factor structure and concurrent validity of the Multidimensional Social Support Questionnaire, a brief measure of perceived social support for use with adolescents, was examined. Findings suggest that four dimensions of perceived social support may yield more information than assessments of the unitary construct of support. (Contains 8 tables…

Boundary Spanners as supports of social capital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vincenti, Gordon

2016-01-01

Boundary Spanners are important agenets of supporting the capacity building of local neighbourhoods and of sustainable social captial the article focuses on the skills and competnces adn role of Boundary Spanners.......Boundary Spanners are important agenets of supporting the capacity building of local neighbourhoods and of sustainable social captial the article focuses on the skills and competnces adn role of Boundary Spanners....

Perceived Social Support as a Determinant of Quality of Life Among Medical Students: 6-Month Follow-up Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, In Cheol; Park, Kwi Hwa; Kim, Jin Joo; Yim, Jun; Ko, Kwang Pil; Bae, Seung Min; Kyung, Sun Young

2017-04-01

This longitudinal study aimed to identify the relevant factors related to quality of life (QoL) changes in medical students. For this 6-month follow-up study, we enrolled 109 students from a Korean medical school. To assess students' QoL, we used the World Health Organization QoL scale. Possible determinants of student QoL included demographics, fatigue, and social support. A stepwise multivariate analysis identified factors associated with changes of student QoL. Among sources of support, the "friends" category was the main position affecting their overall QoL, and "significant other" had the strongest influence on psychological and social domains. The impact of support from friends on QoL was confirmed in the longitudinal analysis. Final regression models revealed that providing students with more social support and promoting fatigue reduction best improved medical student sense of well-being. Creating stronger student support programs to prevent social detachment and implementing strategies to reduce fatigue can improve QoL in medical students.

Social support in development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mariska Kromhout; Peteke Feijten; Frieke Vonk; Mirjam de Klerk; Anna Maria Marangos; Wouter Mensink; Maaike den Draak; Alice de Boer; m.m.v. Jurjen Iedema

2014-01-01

Original title: De Wmo in beweging. Evaluatie Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning 2010-2012 The goal of the Dutch Social Support Act (Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning – Wmo) is to make it possible for people to manage within and outside their homes and to participate in society. Within the

Association Between Perceived Social Support and Depression in Postmenopausal Women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadayon Najafabadi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background The most common symptom in early menopausal women is depression. Depression is a type of chronic disease that impacts on postmenopausal women’s life. Social support plays a protective role for women and enables them to solve their life problems and thus, feel less depressed. Objectives We assessed depression as a chronic disease and evaluated the association between perceived social support and depression in postmenopausal women. Patients and Methods This correlation-analytic study was conducted on 321 postmenopausal women using 2-stage cluster sampling in Ahvaz in 2014. Data collecting instruments were comprised of a demographic questionnaire, a depression scale (Beck Depression Inventory-II, and a social support questionnaire (PRQ 85-Part 2. Data analysis was done using SPSS, version 20. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the relationship between perceived social support and depression, and the χ2 test was employed to assess the relationship between perceived social support and demographic characteristics. Results The Spearman correlation test revealed a significant reverse relationship between perceived social support and depression (r = -0.468; P = 0.001. There were significant relationships between perceived social support and some personal variables such as marital status, education level, and job status (P 0.05. Conclusions We found a reverse relationship between perceived social support and depression in postmenopausal women. Raising awareness in society apropos the relationship between social support and depression in postmenopausal women can enhance their quality of life.

Social Support Contributes to Outcomes following Distal Radius Fractures

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Caitlin J. Symonette

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Distal radius fractures are the most common fracture of the upper extremity and cause variable disability. This study examined the role of social support in patient-reported pain and disability at one year following distal radius fracture. Methods. The Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey was administered to a prospective cohort of 291 subjects with distal radius fractures at their baseline visit. Pearson correlations and stepwise linear regression models (F-to-remove 0.10 were used to identify whether social support contributes to wrist fracture outcomes. The primary outcome of pain and disability at one year was measured using the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation. Results. Most injuries were low energy (67.5% and were treated nonoperatively (71.9%. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that higher reported social support correlated with improved Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation scores at 1 year, r(n=181=-0.22, P<0.05. Of the subscales within the Social Support Survey, emotional/informational support explained a significant proportion of the variance in 1-year Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation scores, R2=4.7%, F (1, 181 = 9.98, P<0.05. Conclusion. Lower emotional/informational social support at the time of distal radius fracture contributes a small but significant percentage to patient-reported pain and disability outcomes.

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.

THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIATOR WITHIN THE DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT SYSTEM

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Maria Dorina PASCA

2014-04-01

Full Text Available For people with disabilities, to find a way to improve life quality by having a job and by developing independent living skills is a “sine qua non” condition for their social integration. The social mediator working within a disability employment support system facilitates the logistic implementation of a viable and plausible program, which can identify, and maintain a workplace for people with disabilities, and acts as a motivational guarantee of these persons’ chance for a better life while also providing life lessons to all of us. Hence, the major role of the social mediator is to develop a new cognitive structure of communication for disabled people so that they can act as our equals and not as marginalized human beings.

Tobacco training in clinical social work graduate programs.

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Kleinfelder, JoAnn; Price, James H; Dake, Joseph A; Jordan, Timothy R; Price, Joy A

2013-08-01

The leading cause of preventable death, in the most vulnerable segments of society, whom social workers often counsel, is cigarette smoking. The purpose of this study was to assess tobacco smoking cessation training in clinical social work programs. A valid 21-item questionnaire was sent to the entire population of 189 clinical graduate social work programs identified by the Council on Social Work Education. A three-wave mailing process was used to maximize the return rate. Directors from 112 clinical social work programs returned completed questionnaires (61 percent). The majority (91 percent) of directors reported having never thought about offering formal smoking cessation training, and only nine of the programs (8 percent) currently provided formal smoking cessation education. The three leading barriers to offering smoking cessation education were as follows: not a priority (60 percent), not enough time (55 percent), and not required by the accrediting body (41 percent). These findings indicate that clinical social work students are not receiving standardized smoking cessation education to assist in improving the well-being of their clients. The national accrediting body for graduate clinical social work programs should consider implementing guidelines for smoking cessation training in the curriculums.

Synthetic social support: Theorizing lay health worker interventions.

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Gale, Nicola K; Kenyon, Sara; MacArthur, Christine; Jolly, Kate; Hope, Lucy

2018-01-01

Levels of social support are strongly associated with health outcomes and inequalities. The use of lay health workers (LHWs) has been suggested by policy makers across the world as an intervention to identify risks to health and to promote health, particularly in disadvantaged communities. However, there have been few attempts to theorize the work undertaken by LHWs to understand how interventions work. In this article, the authors present the concept of 'synthetic socialsupport' and distinguish it from the work of health professionals or the spontaneous social support received from friends and family. The authors provide new empirical data to illustrate the concept based on qualitative, observational research, using a novel shadowing method involving clinical and non-clinical researchers, on the everyday work of 'pregnancy outreach workers' (POWs) in Birmingham, UK. The service was being evaluated as part of a randomized controlled trial. These LHWs provided instrumental, informational, emotional and appraisal support to the women they worked with, which are all key components of social support. The social support was 'synthetic' because it was distinct from the support embedded in spontaneous social networks: it was non-reciprocal; it was offered on a strictly time-limited basis; the LHWs were accountable for the relationship, and the social networks produced were targeted rather than spontaneous. The latter two qualities of this synthetic form of social support may have benefits over spontaneous networks by improving the opportunities for the cultivation of new relationships (both strong and weak ties) outside the women's existing spontaneous networks that can have a positive impact on them and by offering a reliable source of health information and support in a chaotic environment. The concept of SSS can help inform policy makers about how deploying lay workers may enable them to achieve desired outcomes, specify their programme theories and evaluate

The effect of social networking sites on the relationship between perceived social support and depression.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, Matthew A; Walsh, Michael; Wattier, Kristina; Knigge, Ryan; Miller, Lindsey; Stevermer, Michalene; Fogas, Bruce S

2016-12-30

This study examined whether Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have a negative moderator effect on the established relationship between perceived social support and depression in psychiatric inpatients. Survey instruments assessing for depression, perceived social support, and SNS use, were filled out by 301 psychiatric inpatients. Additional data on age, gender, and primary psychiatric diagnosis were collected. A step-wise multiple regression analysis was performed to determine significant interactions. There was no significant interaction of SNS use on the relationship between perceived social support and depression when measured by Social Media Use Integration Scale or by hours of SNS use per day. There was a significant negative relationship between perceived social support and depression, and a significant positive relationship between hours of SNS use per day and depression, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Limitations include a gender discrepancy among participants, generalizability, recall bias, and SNS measurement. This is the first study to look at SNS use and depression in psychiatric inpatients. SNS use did not affect perceived social support or the protective relationship between perceived social support and depression. Hours of SNS use per day were correlated with depression scores. Future studies between SNS use and depression should quantify daily SNS use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The model program of psycho-social treatment and staff training].

Science.gov (United States)

Ikebuchi, Emi

2012-01-01

The model program of psycho-social treatment and staff training were reported in this issue. The mission of model program is supporting recovery of persons with mental illness and their family as well as empowering their hope and sense of values. The personal support specialists belonging to multi-disciplinary team have responsibility to support life-long process of recovery across hospitalization, out-patients clinic, day treatment, and outreach service. The shared value of multi-disciplinary team (the community life supporting team) is recovery so that the team renders self directive life, various alternatives of their lives, and peer group with models of recovery to persons with mental illness. There should be several technologies which are used in the team such as engagement, psycho-education, cognitive-behavior therapy, care-management, cooperating with other resources. The responsibility, assessment and evaluation techniques, guarantee of opportunities for training, and auditing system of the team and process of treatment are important factors to educate team staff. Raising effective multi-disciplinary team requires existence of a mentor or good model near the team.

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...

When Using Facebook to Avoid Isolation Reduces Perceived Social Support.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Eun-Ju; Cho, Eugene

2018-01-01

A survey (N = 316) examined how other-directed Facebook use driven by fear of social isolation affects users' perception of social support they possess. As predicted, those higher on fear of isolation were more likely to (a) closely monitor others' activities for self-evaluation (i.e., social comparison) and (b) regulate their self-presentation to garner social approval (i.e., other-directed self-presentation), but less likely to (c) express their true inner feelings and thoughts (i.e., inner-directed self-presentation) on Facebook. Social comparison, in turn, lowered perceived social support among heavy Facebook users, whereas inner-directed self-presentation heightened it. Other-directed self-presentation had no significant effect on perceived social support. Results indicate that the desire to avoid social isolation may paradoxically diminish perceived social support by promoting social comparison, while suppressing the expression of true self on Facebook.

LASL's FY 1978 supporting research program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammel, E.F.; Merlan, S.J.; Freiwald, D.A.

1978-09-01

This report gives a brief overview of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's supporting research program, including philosophy, management and program analysis, funding, and a brief description of the kinds of work currently supported. 10 figures

Exercise dependence, social physique anxiety, and social support in experienced and inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, R.; Hale, B.; Smith, D.; Collins, D.

2000-01-01

Objectives—To investigate psychological correlates of exercise dependence in experienced and inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters. Secondary objectives included measuring social physique anxiety, bodybuilding identity, and social support among bodybuilders and weightlifters. Methods—Thirty five experienced bodybuilders, 31 inexperienced bodybuilders, and 23 weightlifters completed the bodybuilding dependence scale, a bodybuilding version of the athletic identity measurement scale, the social physique anxiety scale, and an adapted version of the social support survey-clinical form. Results—A between subjects multivariate analysis of variance was calculated on the scores of the three groups of lifters for the four questionnaires. Univariate F tests and follow up tests indicated that experienced bodybuilders scored significantly higher than inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters on bodybuilding dependence (pbodybuilding identity (pbodybuilders exhibit more exercise dependence, show greater social support behaviour, and experience less social physique anxiety than inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters. Key Words: bodybuilding; exercise dependence; social physical anxiety; social support; athletic identity PMID:11131230

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Mapping Dual-Degree Programs in Social Work and Public Health: Results From a National Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dory Ziperstein

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Dramatic changes in the health system due to national health reform are raising important questions regarding the educational preparation of social workers for the new health arena. While dual-degree programs in public health and social work can be an important response to what is needed educationally, little is known about them. The National MSW/MPH Programs Study surveyed MSW/MPH program administrators to better understand the prevalence, models, structure, and challenges of these dual-degree programs. Forty-two programs were identified, and 97.6% of those contacted participated (n=41. Findings indicate that MSW/MPH programs are popular, increasing, geographically dispersed, and drawing talented students interested in trans-disciplinary public health social work practice. Challenges for these programs include the need for greater institutional support, particularly funding, and a general lack of best practices for MSW/MPH education. While findings from this study suggest graduates appear especially well-prepared for leadership and practice in the new health environment, additional research is needed to assess their particular contributions and career trajectories.

Breastfeeding social marketing: lessons learned from USDA's "Loving Support" campaign.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael

2012-10-01

Social marketing involves the application of commercial marketing principles to advance the public good. Social marketing calls for much more than health communications campaigns. It involves four interrelated tasks: audience benefit, target behavior, essence (brand, relevance, positioning), and developing the "4Ps" (product, price, place, promotion) marketing mix. The ongoing U.S. Department of Agriculture "Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work" campaign was launched in 1997 based on social marketing principles to increase breastfeeding initiation rates and breastfeeding duration among Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants. Since then there have been improvements in breastfeeding duration in the country, and the majority of WIC women now initiate breastfeeding. Breastfeeding in public places is still not well accepted by society at large, and any and exclusive breastfeeding durations remain exceedingly low. Lessons learned from "Loving Support" and other campaigns indicate that it is important to design social marketing campaigns to target the influential societal forces (e.g., family and friends, healthcare providers, employers, formula industry, legislators) that affect women's decision and ability to breastfeed for the recommended amount of time. This will require formative research that applies the social-ecological model to different population segments, taking and identifying the right incentives to nudge more women to breastfeed for longer. Any new breastfeeding campaign needs to understand and take into account the information acquisition preferences of the target audiences. The vast majority of WIC women have mobile devices and are accessing social media. The Brazilian experience indicates that making breastfeeding the social norm can be done with a solid social marketing strategy. This is consistent with the recently released "Six Steps to Achieve Breastfeeding Goals for WIC Clinics," which identifies

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.

Role of social support in lifestyle-focused weight management interventions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verheijden, M.W.; Bakx, J.C.; Weel, van C.; Koelen, M.A.; Staveren, van W.A.

2005-01-01

Social support is important to achieve beneficial changes in risk factors for disease, such as overweight and obesity. This paper presents the theoretical and practical framework for social support, and the mechanisms by which social support affects body weight. The theoretical and practical

Role of social support in lifestyle-focused weight management interventions.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verheijden, M.W.; Bakx, J.C.; Weel, C. van; Koelen, M.A.; Staveren, W.A. van

2005-01-01

Social support is important to achieve beneficial changes in risk factors for disease, such as overweight and obesity. This paper presents the theoretical and practical framework for social support, and the mechanisms by which social support affects body weight. The theoretical and practical

Social Support and Successful Aging in Assisted Living Residents

Science.gov (United States)

Howie, Laura Odell; Troutman-Jordan, Meredith; Newman, Ann M.

2014-01-01

Successful aging has been associated with adequate social support. However, impaired functionality, increased dependence, multiple comorbidities, and reduced social interactions place older assisted living community (ALC) residents at risk for poorer social support and less successful aging. This cross-sectional descriptive study used the revised…

The Role of Social Support in Mediating Stress and Depression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prashanth Talwar

2017-05-01

Full Text Available As important as it is to fully comprehend the relationship between stress and depression among university students, it is also vital to ascertain the role of perceived social support as an essential psychosocial factor for effectively delimiting the deleterious impact of stress exposure. As such, the current study aimed to examine whether perceived social support functioned as a mediating factor in the relationship between stress and depression among university students. Data was collected from undergraduate students of a public university in Sarawak, Malaysia. Information on demographics, depression, stress and perceived social support were collated through self-report questionnaires. Results revealed significant gender differences for perceived social support, wherein female students reported lower levels of social support compared to their counterparts. Mediation analysis portrayed that the association between stress and depression was partially accounted for, by the mediating role of perceived social support.

Social support in the workplace for physicians in specialization training.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikkola, Leena; Suutala, Elina; Parviainen, Heli

2018-12-01

When becoming a specialist, learning-through-service plays a significant role. The workplace affords good opportunities for learning, but the service-learning period may also impose stress on phycisians in specialization training. In medical work, social support has proved to be a very important factor in managing stress. Social support may afford advantages also for learning and professional identity building. However, little was known about how social support is perceived by doctors in specialization training. This study aimed to understand the perceptions of physicians in specialization training regarding social support communication in their workplace during their learning-through-service period. The study was conducted qualitatively by inductively analyzing the physicians' descriptions of workplace communication. The dataset included 120 essays, 60 each from hospitals and primary healthcare centres. Physicians in specialization training explained the need of social support with the responsibilities and demands of their clinical work and the inability to control and manage their workloads. They perceived that social support works well for managing stress, but also for strengthening relational ties and one's professional identity. A leader's support was perceived as being effective, and both senior and junior colleagues were described as an important source of social support. Also co-workers, such as the individual nurse partner with whom one works, was mentioned as an important source of social support. The results of this study indicate that social support works at the relational and identity levels, which is due to the multi-functional nature of workplace communication. For example, consultation functions as situational problem-solving, but also the tone of social interaction is meaningful. Thus, strengthening one's professional identity or collegial relationships requires further attention to workplace communication. Abbreviations PiST: Physician in

Social support in the workplace for physicians in specialization training

Science.gov (United States)

Mikkola, Leena; Suutala, Elina; Parviainen, Heli

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT When becoming a specialist, learning-through-service plays a significant role. The workplace affords good opportunities for learning, but the service-learning period may also impose stress on phycisians in specialization training. In medical work, social support has proved to be a very important factor in managing stress. Social support may afford advantages also for learning and professional identity building. However, little was known about how social support is perceived by doctors in specialization training. This study aimed to understand the perceptions of physicians in specialization training regarding social support communication in their workplace during their learning-through-service period. The study was conducted qualitatively by inductively analyzing the physicians’ descriptions of workplace communication. The dataset included 120 essays, 60 each from hospitals and primary healthcare centres. Physicians in specialization training explained the need of social support with the responsibilities and demands of their clinical work and the inability to control and manage their workloads. They perceived that social support works well for managing stress, but also for strengthening relational ties and one’s professional identity. A leader’s support was perceived as being effective, and both senior and junior colleagues were described as an important source of social support. Also co-workers, such as the individual nurse partner with whom one works, was mentioned as an important source of social support. The results of this study indicate that social support works at the relational and identity levels, which is due to the multi-functional nature of workplace communication. For example, consultation functions as situational problem-solving, but also the tone of social interaction is meaningful. Thus, strengthening one’s professional identity or collegial relationships requires further attention to workplace communication. Abbreviations Pi

Lessons from the Social Innovation Fund: Supporting Evaluation to Assess Program Effectiveness and Build a Body of Research Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Zandniapour, Lily; Deterding, Nicole M.

2018-01-01

Tiered evidence initiatives are an important federal strategy to incentivize and accelerate the use of rigorous evidence in planning, implementing, and assessing social service investments. The Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, adopted a public-private partnership approach to tiered…

Sources of Social Support After Patient Assault as Related to Staff Well-Being.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Erin L; Fenwick, Karissa M; Brekke, John S; Novaco, Raymond W

2017-10-01

Patient assault is a serious issue for the well-being of staff in psychiatric hospitals. To guide workplace responses to patient assault, more information is needed about social support from different sources and whether those supports are associated with staff well-being. The present study examines social support after patient assault from work-based and nonwork-based sources, and whether inpatient psychiatric staff desires support from them and perceive the support received as being effective. Received support across sources was examined in relations to staff well-being (physical health, mental health, anger, sleep quality) and perceptions of safety. Survey data was collected from 348 clinical staff in a large public forensic mental hospital. Among the 242 staff who reported an assault in the last year, 71% wanted support and 72% found effective support from at least one source. Generally, effective support from supervisors, coworkers, and their combination was associated with better well-being. Support from nonwork sources was related to less concerns about safety, but not to other well-being measures. However, 28% of staff did not receive effective support from any source postassault. Gaps in support as reported in this study and as found by other investigators call for systematic programming by hospital organizations to enhance the well-being of clinical staff, which in turn has implications for patient care.

Linear units improve articulation between social and physical constructs: An example from caregiver parameterization for children supported by complex medical technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Bezruczko, N.; Stanley, T.; Battle, M.; Latty, C.

2016-11-01

Despite broad sweeping pronouncements by international research organizations that social sciences are being integrated into global research programs, little attention has been directed toward obstacles blocking productive collaborations. In particular, social sciences routinely implement nonlinear, ordinal measures, which fundamentally inhibit integration with overarching scientific paradigms. The widely promoted general linear model in contemporary social science methods is largely based on untransformed scores and ratings, which are neither objective nor linear. This issue has historically separated physical and social sciences, which this report now asserts is unnecessary. In this research, nonlinear, subjective caregiver ratings of confidence to care for children supported by complex, medical technologies were transformed to an objective scale defined by logits (N=70). Transparent linear units from this transformation provided foundational insights into measurement properties of a social- humanistic caregiving construct, which clarified physical and social caregiver implications. Parameterized items and ratings were also subjected to multivariate hierarchical analysis, then decomposed to demonstrate theoretical coherence (R2 >.50), which provided further support for convergence of mathematical parameterization, physical expectations, and a social-humanistic construct. These results present substantial support for improving integration of social sciences with contemporary scientific research programs by emphasizing construction of common variables with objective, linear units.

The impact of social media-based support groups on smoking relapse prevention in Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Onezi, Hamidi Al; Khalifa, Mohamed; El-Metwally, Ashraf; Househ, Mowafa

2018-06-01

Tobacco smoking remains a major preventable cause of mortality and morbidity across the globe. People who attempt to quit smoking often experience episodes of relapse before finally quitting. Understanding the part that social networking sites and social media can play in smoking cessation and prevention of relapse is important to aid the development of novel techniques to curb the smoking epidemic. This study investigated the use of extra-treatment provided outside of the formal healthcare setting, bolstered by online social support in order to prevent smoking relapse in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study included 473 smokers taking part in smoking cessation intervention programs run by the Riyadh branch of King Abdul-Aziz Medical City and PURITY, a Saudi anti-smoking association. Only subjects who expressed an interest in quitting smoking, and those attempting to quit, were considered for inclusion. The sample was divided into three groups: subjects who subscribed to support groups on Twitter (n = 150), and WhatsApp (n = 150), and a control group of subjects who had not subscribed to any social media support groups (n = 173). A significant difference was found between the mean average numbers of people who quit smoking among the three groups, with social media support proving to be more effective than other traditional methods. Our findings imply that Twitter and WhatsApp users found it easier to quit smoking than those who did not take part in these social media groups. Social media provides a good platform to discuss smoking cessation treatment, and thus reduce smoking relapses. Our findings support the suggestion that more social media support groups should be developed to help people to effectively cease smoking after abstinence. Individuals who struggle to quit smoking should be encouraged to join support groups on their social media platform of choice to increase their likelihood of quitting. Future studies should assess the effectiveness

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: AN INTERVENTION TO PROMOTE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marilyn Campbell

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Children and adolescents with intellectual disability have higher rates of mental health problems compared with there typically developing peers. Social support has been identified as an important protective factor for psychological well - being. In this paper we discuss the benefits of social support networks, and consider approaches for promoting children’s perceptions of the availability of social support. We describe an evidence-based intervention that has been specially adapted and implemented for students with intellectual disability in school settings. In a randomised controlled trial, the Aussie Optimism Resilience Skills Program was associated with improved perceptions of social support following a 10-week intervention. Educators need to be aware of the increased vulnerability of students with intellectual disability to the development mental health problems and the proactive ways in which they can promote psychological well - being within their classrooms.

Social support moderates caregiver life satisfaction following traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

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-ecological influences on interpersonal support in people with physical disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Devereux, Paul G; Bullock, Charles C; Gibb, Zebbedia G; Himler, Heidi

2015-10-01

People with physical disability report lower amounts of emotional and informational social support compared with other populations but it is unclear how influences at the broader societal level impact support in this population. To address this question, Berkman and Glass's social-ecological model was used to examine the influence of upstream factors on interpersonal support in people with physical disability. It was predicted that these factors would influence support even after controlling for the traditional measures linked to social support. 331 adult participants with physical disability (43% female; mean age = 42.7; 88% White) completed an online cross-sectional survey measuring types and sources of social support, social integration, disability impact in social domains, environmental barriers, and relevant psychosocial variables such as depression. A hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that level of disability, perceived tangible support, social integration, depressive symptoms, environmental barriers, occupational independence, and having family or friends as primary support sources were significantly associated with perceived support at the final step (R(2) = .60, F(22, 255) = 17.68, p disability than typical measures studied in the literature. Improving environmental factors will help improve social support. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural mechanisms in the exchange of social support among Puerto Ricans after a natural disaster.

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Rivera, Fernando I

2012-06-01

In this study, I uncovered the dynamics involved in the exchange (or lack) of social support among a group of Puerto Ricans who experienced a natural disaster. I coded and analyzed 12 semistructured qualitative interviews. My analysis of the interviews revealed that a reported high degree of need was not associated with any type of help seeking from the respondents' social support networks. Relevant issues that arose in explaining the lack of social support exchanges were level of comfort in help seeking and cultural issues. My findings point to the importance of culture in shaping patterns of help-seeking behavior in the aftermath of a disaster. Two of the most salient cultural explanations as to why disaster victims were reluctant to ask for help from family and friends were the issues of confianza (trust) and pena (embarrassment). I discuss the results with reference to how they might help in planning and establishing programs to maximize help seeking among Latinos/as in an emergency situation.

Perceived social support predicts increased conscientiousness during older adulthood.

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Hill, Patrick L; Payne, Brennan R; Jackson, Joshua J; Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth A L; Roberts, Brent W

2014-07-01

This study examined whether perceived social support predicted adaptive personality change in older adulthood, focusing on the trait of conscientiousness. We tested this hypothesis both at the broad domain level and with respect to the specific lower order facets that comprise conscientiousness: order, self-control, industriousness, responsibility, and traditionalism. A sample of 143 older adults (aged 60-91) completed measures of conscientiousness and social support during 2 assessments 7 months apart. Social support and conscientiousness were positively correlated among older adults. Moreover, older adults who perceived greater social support at baseline were more likely to gain in conscientiousness over time. The magnitude of this effect was relatively similar across the order, self-control, and industriousness facets. Perceived social support provides multiple benefits later in life, and the current results add to this literature by showing that it also promotes conscientiousness. As conscientiousness is linked to a variety of positive outcomes later in life, including health, future research should examine whether conscientiousness change may be an important mechanism through which social support enhances resilience in older adulthood. © The Author 2013. 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.

Directive and nondirective social support in the workplace - is this social support distinction important for subjective health complaints, job satisfaction, and perception of job demands and job control?

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Johnsen, Tone Langjordet; Eriksen, Hege Randi; Indahl, Aage; Tveito, Torill Helene

2018-05-01

Social support is associated with well-being and positive health outcomes. However, positive outcomes of social support might be more dependent on the way support is provided than the amount of support received. A distinction can be made between directive social support, where the provider resumes responsibility, and nondirective social support, where the receiver has the control. This study examined the relationship between directive and nondirective social support, and subjective health complaints, job satisfaction and perception of job demands and job control. A survey was conducted among 957 Norwegian employees, working in 114 private kindergartens (mean age 40.7 years, SD = 10.5, 92.8% female), as part of a randomized controlled trial. This study used only baseline data. A factor analysis of the Norwegian version of the Social Support Inventory was conducted, identifying two factors: nondirective and directive social support. Hierarchical regression analyses were then performed. Nondirective social support was related to fewer musculoskeletal and pseudoneurological complaints, higher job satisfaction, and the perception of lower job demands and higher job control. Directive social support had the opposite relationship, but was not statistically significant for pseudoneurological complaints. It appears that for social support to be positively related with job characteristics and subjective health complaints, it has to be nondirective. Directive social support was not only without any association, but had a significant negative relationship with several of the variables. Nondirective social support may be an important factor to consider when aiming to improve the psychosocial work environment. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02396797. Registered 23 March 2015.

Personality traits and perceived social support among depressed older adults.

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Cukrowicz, Kelly C; Franzese, Alexis T; Thorp, Steven R; Cheavens, Jennifer S; Lynch, Thomas R

2008-09-01

The contribution of personality traits and social support to mental health is well established, but to our knowledge there have been no longitudinal investigations of the relation between personality and social support in depressed older adults. In the current study, we examined a repeated measures multi-level mixed model of change in perceived social support to determine whether personality traits and depressive symptoms were associated with changes in perceived social support over the 3 year study interval in a sample of depressed older adults. Results suggest that Conscientiousness and Extraversion were personality traits that were significantly predictive of changes in perceived social support over this time interval. Based on these results it appears that, among depressed older adults, those with conscientious or extraverted personality traits are more likely to resist impulses to withdraw from relationships. In addition, these traits may lead to more satisfying interactions and greater perceived social support over time. The implications of these results are discussed.

The Father Friendly Initiative within Families: Using a logic model to develop program theory for a father support program.

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Gervais, Christine; de Montigny, Francine; Lacharité, Carl; Dubeau, Diane

2015-10-01

The transition to fatherhood, with its numerous challenges, has been well documented. Likewise, fathers' relationships with health and social services have also begun to be explored. Yet despite the problems fathers experience in interactions with healthcare services, few programs have been developed for them. To explain this, some authors point to the difficulty practitioners encounter in developing and structuring the theory of programs they are trying to create to promote and support father involvement (Savaya, R., & Waysman, M. (2005). Administration in Social Work, 29(2), 85), even when such theory is key to a program's effectiveness (Chen, H.-T. (2005). Practical program evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications). The objective of the present paper is to present a tool, the logic model, to bridge this gap and to equip practitioners for structuring program theory. This paper addresses two questions: (1) What would be a useful instrument for structuring the development of program theory in interventions for fathers? (2) How would the concepts of a father involvement program best be organized? The case of the Father Friendly Initiative within Families (FFIF) program is used to present and illustrate six simple steps for developing a logic model that are based on program theory and demonstrate its relevance. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ethnicity, social support, and depression among elderly chilean people

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Gallardo-Peralta, Lorena; Sánchez-Moreno, Esteban; Barrón López de Roda, Ana; Arias Astray, Andrés

2014-01-01

Recent evidence regarding the relationship between social support and depression in elderly people shows the important role of ethnicity. This research describes the characteristics of social support in a sample of elderly people aged 60 and above living in northern Chile (n = 493), and analyzes the differences in the relationship between social support and depression between an indigenous group (Aymara population, n = 147) and a nonindigenous group (white, Caucasian, mestizo, n = 346). Vario...

Hearing loss and social support in urban and rural communities.

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Hay-McCutcheon, Marcia J; Hyams, Adriana; Yang, Xin; Parton, Jason

2018-04-19

Perceived social support and hearing handicap were assessed in adults with and without hearing loss who lived in different geographical regions of Alabama. The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA) assessed emotional and social consequences of hearing loss. The Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social Support Survey and the Social Functioning, Role Emotional and Mental Health scales of the SF-36 were administered. Data were collected from 71 study participants with hearing loss and from 45 adults without hearing loss. Degree of hearing loss and outcomes from the HHIA did not differ between adults who lived in rural or urban settings. Tangible support was poorer for adults with hearing loss who lived in rural settings compared to those who lived in urban settings. For adults without hearing loss, residency was not associated with tangible support. For these adults, income was associated with other types of social support (i.e. informational support, affection, positive social interaction). Adults with hearing loss living in rural areas had poor perceived tangible support. The provision of support to address a hearing loss could be worse for these adults compared to adults who lived in urban settings.

Understanding older adults' motivators and barriers to participating in organized programs supporting exercise behaviors.

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Biedenweg, Kelly; Meischke, Hendrika; Bohl, Alex; Hammerback, Kristen; Williams, Barbara; Poe, Pamela; Phelan, Elizabeth A

2014-02-01

Little is known about older adults' perceptions of organized programs that support exercise behavior. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 39 older adults residing in King County, Washington, who either declined to join, joined and participated, or joined and then quit a physical activity-oriented program. We sought to explore motivators and barriers to physical activity program participation and to elicit suggestions for marketing strategies to optimize participation. Two programs supporting exercise behavior and targeting older persons were the source of study participants: Enhance(®)Fitness and Physical Activity for a Lifetime of Success. We analyzed interview data using standard qualitative methods. We examined variations in themes by category of program participant (joiner, decliner, quitter) as well as by program and by race. Interview participants were mostly females in their early 70s. Approximately half were non-White, and about half had graduated from college. The most frequently cited personal factors motivating program participation were enjoying being with others while exercising and desiring a routine that promoted accountability. The most frequent environmental motivators were marketing materials, encouragement from a trusted person, lack of program fees, and the location of the program. The most common barriers to participation were already getting enough exercise, not being motivated or ready, and having poor health. Marketing messages focused on both personal benefits (feeling better, social opportunity, enjoyability) and desirable program features (tailored to individual needs), and marketing mechanisms ranged from traditional written materials to highly personalized approaches. These results suggest that organized programs tend to appeal to those who are more socially inclined and seek accountability. Certain program features also influence participation. Thoughtful marketing that involves a variety of messages and mechanisms is

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

Marital status, childlessness, and social support among older Canadians.

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Penning, Margaret J; Wu, Zheng

2014-12-01

Despite evidence of increasing diversification of family structures, little is known regarding implications of marital and parental status for access to social support in later life. Using data from Statistics Canada's 2007 General Social Survey, this study assessed the impact of marital and parental status intersections on social support among adults aged 60 and older (n = 11,503). Two-stage probit regression models indicated that among those who were currently married or separated/divorced, childless individuals were more likely to report instrumental (domestic, transportation) and emotional support from people outside the household. Conversely, among never-married or widowed older adults, being childless was associated with reduced domestic support but without differences in other support domains. Findings suggest that marital and parental status intersections are not uniformly positive, neutral, or negative regarding implications for extra-household social support. Future work should address complexities of these relationships in order to better understand rapidly changing family structures.

Types of Workplace Social Support in the Prediction of Job Satisfaction

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Harris, J. Irene; Winskowski, Ann Marie; Engdahl, Brian E.

2007-01-01

Research on social support and job satisfaction has yielded mixed results, partly because studies have rarely examined different types of workplace social support, such as collegial support, task support, coaching, and career mentoring. This study identified the relative contributions of different types of social support to job satisfaction and…

Stress, Social Support, and Psychosocial Functioning of Ethnically Diverse Students

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Farrell, Michelle; Langrehr, Kimberly J.

2017-01-01

This study examined the stress-buffering role of social support on indicators of psychosocial functioning among a combined and split sample of ethnically diverse college students. Although high social support significantly moderated 2 relationships in the combined sample, high and low levels of social support significantly reduced the effect of…

Effects of social support and conflict on parenting among homeless mothers.

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Marra, Jaime V; McCarthy, Elissa; Lin, Hsiu-Ju; Ford, Julian; Rodis, Eleni; Frisman, Linda K

2009-07-01

Research has shown that having a supportive social network is generally beneficial for individuals, particularly those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. However, conflict within these networks may diminish the positive effects of social support on well-being, and these effects may be felt acutely within a vulnerable population with multiple needs. This study examined the impact of conflict and social support on parenting behaviors in a sample of mothers who are homeless and were involved in a study of case management interventions of varying intensity. We found that women who reported high emotional and instrumental social support self-reported greater improvements in parenting consistency over time than those who reported lower levels of support. However, three-way interactions showed that conflict in support networks was a risk factor for harsh parenting practices among participants who reported lower levels of instrumental social support. Results suggest that social support may enhance homeless mothers' ability to provide consistent parenting, but that these benefits may be undermined if conflict occurs in combination with limited levels of instrumental social support.

Online Social Support for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Thematic Analysis of Messages Posted to a Virtual Support Community

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Masoumeh Abbasi Shavazi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Currently with the emergence of the Internet, patients have an opportunity to exchange social support online. However, little attention has been devoted to different dimensions of online social support exchanged in virtual support communities for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS. Methods: To provide a rich insight, the aim of this qualitative study was to explore and categorize different dimensions of online social support in messages exchanged in a virtual support community for patients with MS. A total of 548 posted messages created during one year period were selected using purposive sampling to consider the maximum variation sampling. Prior-research-driven thematic analysis was then conducted. In this regard, we used the Cutruna and Suhr’s coding system. The messages that could not be categorized with the used coding system were thematically analyzed to explore new additional social support themes. Results: The results showed that various forms of social support including informational, emotional, network, esteem and tangible support were exchanged. Moreover, new additional social support themes including sharing personal experiences, sharing coping strategies and spiritual support emerged in this virtual support community. Conclusion: The wide range of online social support exchanged in the virtual support community can be regarded as a supplementary source of social support for patients with MS. Future researches can examine online social support more comprehensively considering additional social support themes emerging in the present study.

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.

The effect of the support program on the resilience of female family caregivers of stroke patients: Randomized controlled trial.

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İnci, Fadime Hatice; Temel, Ayla Bayik

2016-11-01

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of a support program on the resilience of female family caregivers of stroke patients. This is a randomized controlled trial. The sample consisted 70 female family caregivers (34 experimental, 36 control group). Data were collected three times (pretest-posttest, follow-up test). Data were collected using the demographical data form, the Family Index of Regenerativity and Adaptation-General. A significant difference was determined between the experimental and control group's follow-up test scores for relative and friend support, social support and family-coping coherence. A significant difference was determined between the experimental group's mean pretest, posttest and follow-up test scores in terms of family strain, relative and friend support, social support, family coping-coherence, family hardiness and family distress. These results suggest that the Support Program contributes to the improvement of the components of resilience of family caregivers of stroke patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptability and Life Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Social Support.

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Zhou, Mi; Lin, Weipeng

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of social support in the relationship between adaptability and life satisfaction. Data were collected from 99 undergraduate freshmen in a Chinese university using a lagged design with a 1-month interval. Results demonstrated that social support moderated the relation between adaptability and life satisfaction, such that the positive relation between adaptability and life satisfaction was stronger for individuals with higher levels of social support than for individuals with lower levels of social support. The theoretical and practical implications of this result are discussed.

[Depression in older adults with extreme poverty belonging to Social Program in City Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico].

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Flores-Padilla, Luis; Ramírez-Martínez, Flor Rocío; Trueba-Gómez, Rocío

2016-01-01

To identify depression in older adults living in extreme poverty beneficiaries of social program in City Juarez, Chihuahua. Analytical study in 941 adults > 60 years, studied variables: age, sex, marital status, education and work, extreme poverty, place of residence, asylum. Yesavage Geriatric scale was used. X², IC poverty depression is greater than that reported in the literature. The support granted by the Mexican Government to social programs that benefit older adults should be planned strategically with aims on improving the long-term health.

Is overprotection a different construct of social support?

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Victoria Permuy

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to contribute to a better definition of the overprotection construct. More specifically, it aims at establishing whether or not it can be considered just an excess of social support. To do this, two instruments, OPSA and UCLA-SSI, developed from different perspectives on the issue, were translated and adapted from English into Spanish. Analysis performed on a diverse sample of 436 subjects show a good reliability of scores obtained with the Spanish versions, as much on the OPSA test (α = .82 with the full format and α = .81 with the short one as on the two selected subscales of the UCLA-SSI test (α = .88 with Need/ Want Support subscale, and α = .90 with the Support Received subscale. The relationship among the different measurements was analyzed in a typical sample of 50 recent myocardial infarction patients, as usual in this field. Results suggest that overprotection differs both in quality and quantity from given social support, but it is however related to needed social support. This new finding seems to indicate that those individuals who are more in need of social support could indeed be the more overprotected ones. Clinical and educational implications of the results are discussed.

Perceived social support in African American breast cancer patients: Predictors and effects.

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Thompson, Tess; Pérez, Maria; Kreuter, Matthew; Margenthaler, Julie; Colditz, Graham; Jeffe, Donna B

2017-11-01

Social support plays an important role in quality of life and health outcomes after breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. To examine changes in perceived social support in African American women during the two years following a new breast cancer diagnosis. This secondary analysis uses data collected from 2009 to 2015 from 227 newly diagnosed, African American women with breast cancer (mean age 56 [SD = 10], 59% household income social support (measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey) as well as correlates of baseline levels of social support and predictors of change in individuals' social support. Additional analyses examined whether change in social support over the first year affected depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) and general health perceptions (RAND SF-36 subscale) at two years. Being married, reporting greater spirituality, and reporting fewer depressive symptoms at baseline were significantly associated with higher initial levels of perceived social support. Women whose social support declined during the first year after diagnosis reported more severe depressive symptoms and worse general health perceptions at two years. Clinicians should periodically assess perceived social support among African American women with breast cancer to help find support resources for those who have low initial social support and for those whose support declines in the first year after diagnosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social support as a factor of well-being in childhood and adolescence

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Dmitry V. Lifintsev

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The overview and theoretical study of social support for children and adolescents is presented. The issues of social development of children and adolescents in terms of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Kahn’s and Antonucci’s Convoy Model of Social Relations are discussed. The sources, forms and types of social support for the early, pre-school, primary school and adolescents are analyzed. The paper specifies the following issues: the parent-child relationships and characteristics of social support in early childhood can affect the development of the structure and quality of human social relations network throughout his/her life. Social networks and the organization of social support for adolescents are detailed. The patterns of social support of adolescents may affect their psychosocial well-being. The social support systems used by modern adolescents are described. The controversial issues of seeking social support as the leading coping strategy are raised. Various ways of seeking social support for adolescence are analyzed. The importance of parents, teachers and peers in providing social support for children and adolescents is shown. The author’s view of social support as one of the resources of the child’s autonomy, which can be developed only in certain respects, i.e. respect for personal boundaries and accepting differences in individual values and needs, the independence aspiration supported by respect and interest, unpunished by shame or the threat of rejection.

Health Literacy, Social Support, and Health Status among Older Adults

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Lee, Shoou-Yih D.; Arozullah, Ahsan M.; Cho, Young Ik; Crittenden, Kathleen; Vicencio, Daniel

2009-01-01

The study examines whether social support interacts with health literacy in affecting the health status of older adults. Health literacy is assessed using the short version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Social support is measured with the Medical Outcome Study social support scale. Results show, unexpectedly, that rather…

Social Support Among Substance Using Women with Criminal Justice Involvement

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Majer, John M.; Salina, Doreen D.; Jason, Leonard A.

2016-01-01

Social support types (abstinence, appraisal, belonging, tangible) were analyzed among a sample of women with criminal justice involvement and substance use disorders (n = 200). Hierarchical linear regression was conducted to examine social support types in relation to changes in abstinence self-efficacy while controlling for incarceration histories. Only abstinence social support and tangible social support predicted significant increases in abstinence self-efficacy, with tangible support accounting for more variance in the analytic model. Findings suggest women with criminal justice involvement who have substance use disorders have basic needs that if met would have an indirect effect on their recovery. Implications for treatment and research are discussed. PMID:26949443

Factors Related to Social Support in Neurological and Mental Disorders

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Kamenov, Kaloyan; Cabello, Maria; Caballero, Francisco Félix; Cieza, Alarcos; Sabariego, Carla; Raggi, Alberto; Anczewska, Marta; Pitkänen, Tuuli; Ayuso-Mateos, Jose Luis

2016-01-01

Despite the huge body of research on social support, literature has been primarily focused on its beneficial role for both physical and mental health. It is still unclear why people with mental and neurological disorders experience low levels of social support. The main objective of this study was to explore what are the strongest factors related to social support and how do they interact with each other in neuropsychiatric disorders. The study used cross-sectional data from 722 persons suffering from dementia, depression, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, stroke, and substance use disorders. Multiple linear regressions showed that disability was the strongest factor for social support. Extraversion and agreeableness were significant personality variables, but when the interaction terms between personality traits and disability were included, disability remained the only significant variable. Moreover, level of disability mediated the relationship between personality (extraversion and agreeableness) and level of social support. Moderation analysis revealed that people that had mental disorders experienced lower levels of support when being highly disabled compared to people with neurological disorders. Unlike previous literature, focused on increasing social support as the origin of improving disability, this study suggested that interventions improving day-to-day functioning or maladaptive personality styles might also have an effect on the way people perceive social support. Future longitudinal research, however, is warranted to explore causality. PMID:26900847

Factors Related to Social Support in Neurological and Mental Disorders.

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Kaloyan Kamenov

Full Text Available Despite the huge body of research on social support, literature has been primarily focused on its beneficial role for both physical and mental health. It is still unclear why people with mental and neurological disorders experience low levels of social support. The main objective of this study was to explore what are the strongest factors related to social support and how do they interact with each other in neuropsychiatric disorders. The study used cross-sectional data from 722 persons suffering from dementia, depression, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, stroke, and substance use disorders. Multiple linear regressions showed that disability was the strongest factor for social support. Extraversion and agreeableness were significant personality variables, but when the interaction terms between personality traits and disability were included, disability remained the only significant variable. Moreover, level of disability mediated the relationship between personality (extraversion and agreeableness and level of social support. Moderation analysis revealed that people that had mental disorders experienced lower levels of support when being highly disabled compared to people with neurological disorders. Unlike previous literature, focused on increasing social support as the origin of improving disability, this study suggested that interventions improving day-to-day functioning or maladaptive personality styles might also have an effect on the way people perceive social support. Future longitudinal research, however, is warranted to explore causality.

Low perceived social support predicts later depression but not social phobia in middle adolescence

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V??n?nen, Juha-Matti; Marttunen, Mauri; Helminen, Mika; Kaltiala-Heino, Riittakerttu

2014-01-01

Social phobia and depression are common and highly comorbid disorders in adolescence. There is a lack of studies on possible psychosocial shared risk factors for these disorders. The current study examined if low social support is a shared risk factor for both disorders among adolescent girls and boys. This study is a part of the Adolescent Mental Health Cohort Study's two-year follow-up. We studied cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of perceived social support with social phobia, ...

An employee assistance program for caregiver support.

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Mains, Douglas A; Fairchild, Thomas J; René, Antonio A

2006-01-01

The Comprehensive Caregiver Choices Program provided support for employee caregivers of elderly people for employees at a hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Key informant interviews and focus groups provided direction for program development and implementation. A full-time MSW and professionals with expertise in gerontology/geriatrics provided education and care coordination services to caregivers. Approximately 4% of the hospital's workforce participated in the program. Attendees evaluated educational sessions and follow-up interviews were conducted with program participants. Caregiver support programs must continue to seek innovative and creative marketing and service delivery methods to reach out and assist working caregivers in need of support.

Promoting recovery through peer support: possibilities for social work practice.

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Loumpa, Vasiliki

2012-01-01

The Recovery Approach has been adopted by mental health services worldwide and peer support constitutes one of the main elements of recovery-based services. This article discusses the relevancy of recovery and peer support to mental health social work practice through an exploration of social work ethics and values. Furthermore, it provides an exploration of how peer support can be maximized in groupwork to assist the social work clinician to promote recovery and well-being. More specifically, this article discusses how the narrative therapy concepts of "retelling" and "witnessing" can be used in the context of peer support to promote recovery, and also how social constructionist, dialogical, and systemic therapy approaches can assist the social work practitioner to enhance peer support in recovery oriented groupwork. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Parenting Beliefs, Parental Stress, and Social Support Relationships

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Respler-Herman, Melissa; Mowder, Barbara A.; Yasik, Anastasia E.; Shamah, Renee

2012-01-01

The present study built on prior research by examining the relationship of parental stress and social support to parenting beliefs and behaviors. A sample of 87 parents provided their views concerning the importance of parenting characteristics as well as their level of parental stress and perceived social support. These parents completed the…

Social networking site (SNS) use by adolescent mothers: Can social support and social capital be enhanced by online social networks? - A structured review of the literature.

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Nolan, Samantha; Hendricks, Joyce; Ferguson, Sally; Towell, Amanda

2017-05-01

to critically appraise the available literature and summarise the evidence relating to adolescent mothers' use of social networking sites in terms of any social support and social capital they may provide and to identify areas for future exploration. social networking sites have been demonstrated to provide social support to marginalised individuals and provide psycho-social benefits to members of such groups. Adolescent mothers are at risk of; social marginalisation; anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms; and poorer health and educational outcomes for their children. Social support has been shown to benefit adolescent mothers thus online mechanisms require consideration. a review of original research articles METHOD: key terms and Boolean operators identified research reports across a 20-year timeframe pertaining to the area of enquiry in: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline, Scopus, ERIC, ProQuest, PsychINFO, Web of Science, Health Collection (Informit) and Google Scholar databases. Eight original research articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. studies demonstrate that adolescent mothers actively search for health information using the Internet and social networking sites, and that social support and social capital can be attributed to their use of specifically created online groups from within targeted health interventions. Use of a message board forum for pregnant and parenting adolescents also demonstrates elements of social support. There are no studies to date pertaining to adolescent mothers' use of globally accessible social networking sites in terms of social support provision and related outcomes. further investigation is warranted to explore the potential benefits of adolescent mothers' use of globally accessible social networking sites in terms of any social support provision and social capital they may provide. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alone? Perceived social support and chronic interpersonal difficulties in suicidal elders.

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Harrison, Katrin E; Dombrovski, Alexandre Y; Morse, Jennifer Q; Houck, Patricia; Schlernitzauer, Maryann; Reynolds, Charles F; Szanto, Katalin

2010-05-01

Social networks may protect depressed elders against suicidal behavior. However, conflict in important relationships may undermine the sense of social support, potentially negating the protective effects. Thus, we investigated the role of chronic interpersonal difficulties and perceived social support in depressed elders with and without suicidal thoughts and attempts. 106 individuals aged 60 years and older participated in this cross-sectional, case-control study. They were placed in three groups: suicidal depressed, non-suicidal depressed and non-depressed. Following a detailed clinical characterization, we assessed perceived social support (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List), and chronic interpersonal difficulties (Inventory of Interpersonal Problems). Using general linear models, we explored the relationship between suicidal thoughts/attempts, social support, and chronic interpersonal difficulties. We also examined whether lower perceived social support explained the relationship between chronic interpersonal difficulties and suicidal thoughts/attempts. Suicidal depressed elders reported the lowest levels of perceived social support (belonging, tangible support, and self-esteem) and higher levels of chronic interpersonal difficulties (struggle against others and interpersonal hostility), compared to both non-suicidal depressed and non-depressed elders. The relationship between chronic interpersonal difficulties and suicidal behavior was partially explained by low perceived social support. The experience of strong affects, interpersonal struggle, and hostility in relationships may undermine the sense of social support in depressed elders, possibly leading them to contemplate or attempt suicide. Depressed elders with a history of interpersonal difficulties need to be carefully monitored for suicidal behavior.

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.

Sense of social support in chonic pain patients

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Ancane G.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Statistical data show that one in five adults of the European citizen suffer from some type of chronic pain. One of the most common types of chronic pain is chronic low back and neck pain. Emotional factors are currently viewed as important determinants in pain perception and behaviour. The perceived social and emotional support have impact to the individual’s adaptation to chronic disease (Cohen, Wills, 1985. The material: 110 chronic low back pain (CLBP patients (48 male and 62 female; in age from 24 to 60 years, mean: 44.2±8, 0 and pilot study of 23 chronic neck pain (CNP patients (19 female and 4 male; in age from 35 to 60 years, mean: 48, 1 ±6. The assessment methods: structured interview; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS. SF-36 ® Health Survey: assessment of emotional and social support. Results and conclusions: CLBP patients in presence of symptoms of depression and elevated level of anxiety matched for socio-demographic features had less sense of social support and marked pain impact to daily activities, lower self rating health relating quality of life. In CLBP patients the sense of social and emotional support had relevant interaction with level of participation in daily activities both in patients with and without mental health problems. This fact has to be considered in process of rehabilitation and in managing of health care of CLBP patients. The results of CNP patients pilot study revealed interesting trend that chronic back and neck pain patients seems to be quite different according to sense of social and emotional support, therefore sense of social and emotional support in different chronic pain patients need further research to improve the process and results of rehabilitation in these patients.

Directive and nondirective social support in the workplace – is this social support distinction important for subjective health complaints, job satisfaction, and perception of job demands and job control?

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Johnsen, Tone Langjordet; Eriksen, Hege Randi; Indahl, Aage; Tveito, Torill Helene

2017-01-01

Aims: Social support is associated with well-being and positive health outcomes. However, positive outcomes of social support might be more dependent on the way support is provided than the amount of support received. A distinction can be made between directive social support, where the provider resumes responsibility, and nondirective social support, where the receiver has the control. This study examined the relationship between directive and nondirective social support, and subjective health complaints, job satisfaction and perception of job demands and job control. Methods: A survey was conducted among 957 Norwegian employees, working in 114 private kindergartens (mean age 40.7 years, SD = 10.5, 92.8% female), as part of a randomized controlled trial. This study used only baseline data. A factor analysis of the Norwegian version of the Social Support Inventory was conducted, identifying two factors: nondirective and directive social support. Hierarchical regression analyses were then performed. Results: Nondirective social support was related to fewer musculoskeletal and pseudoneurological complaints, higher job satisfaction, and the perception of lower job demands and higher job control. Directive social support had the opposite relationship, but was not statistically significant for pseudoneurological complaints. Conclusions: It appears that for social support to be positively related with job characteristics and subjective health complaints, it has to be nondirective. Directive social support was not only without any association, but had a significant negative relationship with several of the variables. Nondirective social support may be an important factor to consider when aiming to improve the psychosocial work environment. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02396797. Registered 23 March 2015. PMID:28820017

Informal and Formal Social Support and Caregiver Burden: The AGES Caregiver Survey

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Shiba, Koichiro; Kondo, Naoki; Kondo, Katsunori

2016-01-01

Background We examined the associations of informal (eg, family members and friends) and formal (eg, physician and visiting nurses) social support with caregiver’s burden in long-term care and the relationship between the number of available sources of social support and caregiver burden. Methods We conducted a mail-in survey in 2003 and used data of 2998 main caregivers of frail older adults in Aichi, Japan. We used a validated scale to assess caregiver burden. Results Multiple linear regression demonstrated that, after controlling for caregivers’ sociodemographic and other characteristics, informal social support was significantly associated with lower caregiver burden (β = −1.59, P support was not (β = −0.30, P = 0.39). Evaluating the associations by specific sources of social support, informal social supports from the caregiver’s family living together (β = −0.71, P social support was associated with lower caregiver burden only if it was from family physicians (β = −0.56, P = 0.001). Compared to caregivers without informal support, those who had one support (β = −1.62, P supports (β = −1.55, P support. Conclusions Social support from intimate social relationships may positively affect caregivers’ psychological wellbeing independent of the receipt of formal social support, resulting in less burden. PMID:27180934

Adaptability and Life Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Social Support

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Zhou, Mi; Lin, Weipeng

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of social support in the relationship between adaptability and life satisfaction. Data were collected from 99 undergraduate freshmen in a Chinese university using a lagged design with a 1-month interval. Results demonstrated that social support moderated the relation between adaptability and life satisfaction, such that the positive relation between adaptability and life satisfaction was stronger for individuals with higher levels of social support than for individuals with lower levels of social support. The theoretical and practical implications of this result are discussed. PMID:27516753

Effects of rehabilitation services on anxiety, depression, care-giving burden and perceived social support of stroke caregivers.

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Karahan, Ali Yavuz; Kucuksen, Sami; Yilmaz, Halim; Salli, Ali; Gungor, Tayfun; Sahin, Muhammed

2014-01-01

Few data are available on the specific care giving-related problems of stroke patient's caregivers and factors that influence the burden of these caregivers. To study the influences of the active rehabilitation process on anxiety, depression, care burden and perceived social support level of stroke patients caregivers. A prospective clinical trial. Patients and caregivers entering a rehabilitation program at a university hospital in Turkey. Ninety patients with a first episode of stroke and 90 caregivers responsible for their care were recruited for our study. Patients and caregivers were assessed before and after the active rehabilitation process. The functional disability level of the patients was assessed by Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS) and the Beck Depression Scale (BDS) were used for anxiety and depression assessment, the Zarit Care Burden Scale (ZCBS) for care burden assessment and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MDSPSS) for perceived social support assessment. A statistically significant rise is observed in the special person sub-assessment of MDSPSS in both female and male caregivers. Also, a significant decrease in care burden, anxiety and depression levels of caregivers was noted after the rehabilitation program (p social support in addition to the support provided by family and friends. Also, our positive results were associated with an improvement in the patients' functional level and an increase in the acquisition of knowledge and skill required of caregivers in order to provide care during rehabilitation. The rehabilitation team should be aware of the fact that the perceived care burden may be greater due to the lack of knowledge concerning available resources and due to the inability to cope with stress effectively.

Social Networking and Social Support in Tourism Experience: The Moderating Role of Online Self-Presentation Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Jeongmi; Tussyadiah, Iis

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of how tourists' self-presentation is managed on social networking sites (SNS). Specifically, the study investigated the effects of SNS use on social support and tourism experience and the moderating role of the different tourists' self......-presentation strategies. The results emphasize the importance of SNS use for tourists to seek support from their social network while traveling. The study clarifies the importance of SNS use for tourism experience, in that the more tourists are engaged in social activities through SNS while traveling, the more social...... support they will get, which will contribute positively to their tourism experience. Also, it is argued that social support does not always directly result from the intense SNS use, but rather moderated by tourists' self-presentation strategies....

Social Support and Work Stress: A Mixed Method Analysis

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Vânia Lúcia Pereira de Andrade

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Occupational stress and coping strategies have increasingly become the focus of research for their applied feature. The aim of this study was to investigate how social support has helped people deal with stressful situations in the workplace. In order to reach this aim an exploratory mixed method embedded research design was conducted. Study 1, quantitative, described the level of satisfaction with social support and perceived organizational support by employing a scale that summarized factors of the perceived organizational support. Study 2, a qualitative one, sought to describe the stressors in the workplace environment, to whom the workers resorted to, and the kind of perceived social support. The group interview script was based on the dimensions proposed by Folkman e Lazarus (1985 model. Fifty-one volunteer workers participated in the study. Results showed a lack of social support in the workplace: incivility of colleagues and managers, psychological contract breach and conflict of values. Investments in personal development that stimulate urbanity in organizations and a listening space for employees are suggested actions that can benefit affective dimensions of work.

Perceived psychosocial needs, social support and quality of life in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Subjects with late-stage HIV infection reported a lower social adjustment to the disease, a lower quality of life and more severe lifestyle changes. Satisfaction with social support correlated significantly with quality of life and social adjustment. It is therefore concluded that the higher the level of satisfaction with social support, ...

The roles of social support and psychological distress in lung transplant candidacy.

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Phillips, Kristin M; Burker, Eileen J; White, Hayley C

2011-09-01

Social support appears to be an important component in lung transplantation. However, the relationship between social support, psychological distress, and listing status has not been evaluated in lung transplant candidates. To evaluate the relationships between depression, anxiety, and social support in patients with end-stage lung disease being evaluated for transplantation and determine (1) relationships between social support, depression, anxiety, and coping via seeking emotional and instrumental support; (2) whether social support explains a significant proportion of the variance in depression and anxiety; and (3) whether these factors were associated with whether a patient was listed for transplant. For this observational study, patients completed self-report questionnaires after their pretransplant evaluations. Listing status was subsequently obtained from medical records. Participants were patients with end-stage lung disease evaluated for transplantation at a major hospital. Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, COPE Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Social support was associated with depression, anxiety, and seeking support (P values social support explained a significant proportion of the variance in depression (9%), state anxiety (8%), and trait anxiety (7%; all P values anxiety, trait anxiety, or availability of social support. Results highlight the important role that coping via seeking support plays in transplant candidacy.

Course of social support and relationships between social support and life satisfaction in spouses of patients with stroke in the chronic phase

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adriaansen, Jacinthe J. E.; van Leeuwen, Christel M. C.; Visser-Meily, Johanna M. A.; van den Bos, Geertrudis A. M.; Post, Marcel W. M.

2011-01-01

Objective: To describe the course of social support in spouses of patients with stroke, and to examine direct and indirect relationships between social support and life satisfaction over time. Methods: Prospective cohort study (N = 180) with measurements at 2 months after discharge from inpatient

Elements of Social Learning Supporting Transformative Change

African Journals Online (AJOL)

sound, ontologically congruent methodology to support their social-learning ..... role in strengthening democratisation of the decision-making of the participants. ... powers of the contextual social structures and cultural systems (Lindley, 2014). ... participatory practice in integrated water resource management in South Africa.

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 Investigation of Social Problem Solving Abilities of University Students in Terms of Perceived Social Support

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Tras, Zeliha

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to analyze of university students' perceived social support and social problem solving. The participants were 827 (474 female and 353 male) university students. Data were collected Perceived Social Support Scale-Revised (Yildirim, 2004) and Social Problem Solving (Maydeu-Olivares and D'Zurilla, 1996) translated and…

The impact of social activities, social networks, social support and social relationships on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults: a systematic review.

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Kelly, Michelle E; Duff, Hollie; Kelly, Sara; McHugh Power, Joanna E; Brennan, Sabina; Lawlor, Brian A; Loughrey, David G

2017-12-19

Social relationships, which are contingent on access to social networks, promote engagement in social activities and provide access to social support. These social factors have been shown to positively impact health outcomes. In the current systematic review, we offer a comprehensive overview of the impact of social activities, social networks and social support on the cognitive functioning of healthy older adults (50+) and examine the differential effects of aspects of social relationships on various cognitive domains. We followed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines, and collated data from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), genetic and observational studies. Independent variables of interest included subjective measures of social activities, social networks, and social support, and composite measures of social relationships (CMSR). The primary outcome of interest was cognitive function divided into domains of episodic memory, semantic memory, overall memory ability, working memory, verbal fluency, reasoning, attention, processing speed, visuospatial abilities, overall executive functioning and global cognition. Thirty-nine studies were included in the review; three RCTs, 34 observational studies, and two genetic studies. Evidence suggests a relationship between (1) social activity and global cognition and overall executive functioning, working memory, visuospatial abilities and processing speed but not episodic memory, verbal fluency, reasoning or attention; (2) social networks and global cognition but not episodic memory, attention or processing speed; (3) social support and global cognition and episodic memory but not attention or processing speed; and (4) CMSR and episodic memory and verbal fluency but not global cognition. The results support prior conclusions that there is an association between social relationships and cognitive function but the exact nature of this association remains unclear

Health organizations providing and seeking social support: a Twitter-based content analysis.

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Rui, Jian Raymond; Chen, Yixin; Damiano, Amanda

2013-09-01

Providing and seeking social support are important aspects of social exchange. New communication technologies, especially social network sites (SNSs), facilitate the process of support exchange. An increasing number of health organizations are using SNSs. However, how they provide and seek social support via SNSs has yet to garner academic attention. This study examined the types of social support provided and sought by health organizations on Twitter. A content analysis was conducted on 1,500 tweets sent by a random sample of 58 health organizations within 2 months. Findings indicate that providing informational and emotional support, as well as seeking instrumental support, were the main types of social support exchanged by health organizations through Twitter. This study provides a typology for studying social support exchanges by health organizations, and recommends strategies for health organizations regarding the effective use of Twitter.

Classroom Practices and Academic Outcomes in Urban Afterschool Programs: Alleviating Social-Behavioral Risk

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Cappella, Elise; Hwang, Sophia H. J.; Kieffer, Michael J.; Yates, Miranda

2018-01-01

Given the potential of afterschool programs to support youth in urban, low-income communities, we examined the role of afterschool classroom ecology in the academic outcomes of Latino and African American youth with and without social-behavioral risk. Using multireporter methods and multilevel analysis, we find that positive classroom ecology…

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.