the role of social support in coping with stress (family, friends, community)

Question 1

What does social support refer to ?

Answer 1

the psychological and material resources provided by a social network to help individuals cope with stress.

Question 2

define social integration

Answer 2

is the participation in various social relationships (romantic partnerships to friendships).

This integration involves emotions and a sense of belonging to
different social groups (family, religious, and social activity).

Question 3

Stroebe (2000) - Social support buffers the effects of stress in five different ways:

Answer 3

1. Esteem support
2. emotional support
3. appraisal support
4. informational support
5. instrumental support

Question 4

Strobe (2000)
1:esteem support

Answer 4

when the individual feels that sources of support value them. This makes
the individual feel valued and more competent in dealing with the stressor.

Question 5

Strobe (2000)
2: Emotional support:

Answer 5

warmth and nurturance provided by sources of social support. It
makes the individual feel that they can depend on others for sympathy and understanding.
This type of support can be particularly important during times of stress or when people
are feeling lonely (Pejner et al., 2012).

Question 6

Strobe (2000)
3:Appraisal support

Answer 6

others help the individual to assess the stressor and its effects. This
helps in establishing a realistic view of the situation.

Question 7

Strobe (2000)
4: Informational support

Answer 7

others give information and guidance on how to deal with the
stressful situations or feedback on the strategies used. Such support can be important
when making decisions or big changes in one’s life (Ko et al., 2013).

Question 8

Strobe (2000)
5: Instrumental support

Answer 8

it can be indirect such as helping out in order for the individual to
have more time and energy to deal with the stressor or direct such as lending money if the
stressor is financial difficulties. Such support is important when people have immediate
needs that must be addressed (Morelli et. Al, 2015).

Question 9

Social support

Stachour (1998)

Answer 9

investigated the influence of the quantity and the quality of social support.
The quantity was measured by the number of interactions; the quality was measured by
questionnaires measuring the emotional, esteem and instrumental support. The results show
that quality was related to better health but not quantity.

Question 10

Social support

Dickinson et al (2011)

Answer 10

Increase in social opportunities is beneficial — Dickinson et al (2011) suggest that this may be a
major consideration for older people. Their reduced social contact may be an important factor
in their ill health.

Question 11

Social support

Evaluation and Evidence

Answer 11

• The way social support helps combat stress is not fully understood, it may be that it helps the individual in many way, e.g., feeling more competent in dealing with the stressor or reappraising the stressor “putting the stressor in perspective”.
• Men and women use social support in different ways; women have smaller social networks but they are more willing than men to use them for support when facing stressful situations.
• Most of the research is ethnocentric as it was done in individualist cultures, collectivist cultures have different social networks as they live in extended families and work more as
  groups than in individualist cultures. This influences the social support they get from their social network.
• The importance of social support can be questioned. For example, Kobassa et al (1985) conducted a study on the effects of hardiness on stress. They found that social support was the least important factor in reducing stress levels, and hardiness the most important. The findings from Kabassa’s study contradict the original findings into the positive effects of social support on coping with stress therefore lowering the reliability of the research.
• Participation in social groups has a normative influence on behaviours. Not only does social support help people feel less stressed, but it can also actually improve your health and
  decrease their mortality risk (Holt-Lunstad, 2010).