Social Support Flashcards
What is social support ?
Information from others that one is :
- loved and cared for
- esteemed and valued
- part of a network of communication and mutual obligations
Helps reduce stress, cope better, and live positively
Types of social support
Material support
Informational support
Emotional support
Invisible support
Relationship between social relationships/ social support and mortality
Relationships are an important predictor of longevity/ mortality
Health regulation model of marital satisfaction and weight
Supportive relationships regulate healthy behaviors
Happy marriage = healthier weight profile over time
Mating market model of marital satisfaction and weight
Weight maintenance is motivated by wanting to attract a mate
Unhappy marriage = healthier weight profile over time
Biopsychosocial pathways linking social support and health :
How social support affects cortisol responses?
Social support decreases cortisol responses to stress
Biopsychosocial pathways linking social support and health :
How social networks affect immune function ?
Social support helps with better immune functioning
Protect against colds
Biopsychosocial pathways linking social support and health :
Neural activity?
Social support lowers physiological and neuroendocrine responses to stress
Modifies brains responses to stress
Reduce pain
Activate reward regions in the brain
Behaviors associated with oxytocin
Affiliation
Social contact/ proximity
Generosity
Reproductive behaviors
Effective kinds of social support
Good marriage
Familial support
Support from the community
Matching support to the stressor
Matching hypothesis
Support that meets the needs of a stressful event is the most effective support
Ineffective kinds of social support
Support that is not useful
When the person from whom one is seeking support is not perceived to be responsive to one’s needs
Threats to social support
Stressful events
Intrusive social contact
Controlling or directive support
Family based systems
Family support:
- enhances patients physical and emotional functioning
- promotes adherence to treatment
- improves course of illness
Community based systems
Support groups
- are low cost, convenient treatment option
- can be initiated by a therapist or patient led
- provide opportunity to share experiences with others confronting similar problems
