Social support is a complex process with far-reaching implications for social work practice.
This article presents a practice model of the social supportprocess, detailing its four components
(i. e., provider, recipient, interaction, and outcomes), and a measure of the social support process
based on the practice model and developed for clinical use. The model and clinical assessment
instrument should facilitate understanding the support process and developing client interven tion strategies.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Albrecht, T.L., & Adelman, M.B. (1987). Rethinking the relationship between communication and social support : An introduction. In T. L. Albrecht & M. B. Adelman (Eds.), Communicating social support (pp. 13-16). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2.
Austin, B.A. (1983). Factorial structure of the UCLA Loneliness Scale . Psychological Reports, 53, 883-889.
3.
Barrera, M., Sandler, I., & Ramsay, T. (1981). Preliminary development of a scale of social support: Studies on college students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 435-447.
4.
Broadhead, W., Kaplan, B., James, S., Wagner, E., Schoenbach, V., Grimson, R., Heyden, S., Tibblin, G., & Gehlbach, S. (1983). The epidemiologic evidence for a relationship between social support and health. American Journal of Epidemiology , 117, 521-537.
5.
Bruhn, J., & Phillips, B. (1984). Measuring social support: A synthesis of current approaches. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 7, 151-169.
6.
Burton, H., Kline, S., Lindsay, R., & Heidenheim, P. (1988). The role of support in influencing outcome of end stage renal disease. General Hospital Psychiatry, 10, 260-266.
7.
Caplan, G. (1974). Support systems and community mental health. New York: Behavioral Publications.
8.
Caplan, R., Cobb, S., French, J., Harrison, R., & Pinneau, S. (1980). Job demands and worker health. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
9.
Carmines, E.G., & Zeller, R.A. (1979). Reliability and validity assessment. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
10.
Cherniss, C. (1980). Staff burnout: Job stress in the social services . Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
11.
Cobb, S. (1976). Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 38, 300-314.
12.
Cobb, S. (1979). Social support and health through the life course . In M. W. Riley (Ed.), Aging from birth to death: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 93-106). Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science .
13.
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis . Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310-357.
14.
Conn, M., & Peterson, C. (1989). Social support: Seek and ye shall find. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 6, 345-358.
15.
Conrad, C. (1990). Strategic organizational communication: An integrated perspective (2nd ed.). New York : Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
16.
Constantine, L. (1986). Family paradigms: The practice of theory in family therapy. New York: Guilford.
17.
Cutrona, C.E. (1982). Transition to college: Loneliness and the process of social adjustment. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (pp. 291-309). New York: Wiley.
18.
Dean, A., & Ensel, W. (1982). Modeling social support, life events, competence, and depression in the context of age and sex. Journal of Community Psychology, 10, 392-408.
19.
Dean, A., Lin, N., & Ensel, W.M. (1981). The epidemiological significance of social support systems in depression. Research in Community and Mental Health , 2, 77-109.
20.
Dunkel-Schetter, C., & Wortman, C. (1981). Dilemmas of social support: Parallels between victimization and aging. In S. B. Kiesler , J. N. Morgan, & V. K. Opperheimer (Eds.), Aging: Social change (pp. 349-381). New York: Academic Press.
21.
Dunst, C., Trivette, C., & Cross, A. (1986). Mediating influences of social support: Personal, family, and child outcomes. Interpersonal issues in health care (pp. 69-100). New York: Academic Press.
22.
Etzion, D. (1984). Moderating effects of social support on the stress-burnout relationship. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 615-622.
23.
Ganster, D.C., & Victor, B. (1988). The impact of social support on mental and physical health. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 61, 17-36.
24.
Gladow, N., & Ray, M. (1986). The impact of informal support systems on the well being of low income single parents. Family Relations: Journal of Applied Family and Children Studies, 35, 113-123.
25.
Gore, S. (1978). The effect of social support in moderating the health consequences of unemployment. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 157-165.
26.
Gottlieb, B. (1978). The development and application of a classification scheme of informal helping behaviors. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 10(2), 105-115.
27.
Gottlieb, B. (1983). Social support strategies: Guidelines for mental health practice. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
28.
Hardy, C.J., Richman, J.M., & Rosenfeld, L.B. (1991). The role of social support in the life stress/injury relationship. Sport Psychologist , 5, 128-139.
29.
Hasian, J. (1990). Validity and reliability assessment of the Social Support Behaviors Survey. Unpublished master's thesis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
30.
Heitzmann, C., & Kaplan, R. (1988). Assessment of methods for measuring social support . Health Psychology, 7, 75-109.
31.
Helmstadter, G.C. (1964). Principles of psychological measurement. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
32.
Henderson, S., Byrne, D.G., Duncan-Jones, P., Adcock, S., Scott, R., & Steele, G.P. (1978). Social bonds in the epidemiology of neurosis: Apreliminary communication. British Journal of Psychiatry , 132, 463-466.
33.
Henderson, S., Duncan-Jones, P., Byrne, D.G., & Scott, R. (1980). Measuring social relationships : The Interview Schedule for Social Interaction. Psychological Medicine, 10, 723-734.
34.
Hirsch, B.J. (1980). Natural support systems and coping with major life changes. American Journal of Community Psychology, 8, 159-172.
35.
Hojat, M. (1982). Psychometric properties of the UCLA Loneliness Scale: A study with Iranian college students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 42, 917-925.
36.
Holahan, C., & Moos, R. (1981). Social support and psychological distress: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90, 365-570.
37.
House, J. (1981). Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
38.
House, J., & Kahn, R. (1985). Measures and concepts of social support. In S. Cohen & S. L. Syme (Eds.), Social support and health (pp. 83-108). New York: Academic Press.
39.
House, J., & Wells, J. (1978). Occupational stress, social support, and health In A. McLean, G. Black, & M. Colligan (Eds.), Reducing occupational stress: Proceedings of a conference (DHEW [NIOSH] Publication No. 78-140, pp. 8-29). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources.
40.
Jayaratne, S., & Chess, W. (1984). The effects of emotional support on perceived job stress and strain. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science , 20, 141-153.
41.
Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, F.P. (1987). Joining together: Group theory and group skills (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall.
42.
Jones, W., & Moore, T. (1987). Loneliness and social support. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 2, 145-156.
43.
Joubert, C.E. (1986). Social interest, loneliness, and narcissism. Psychological Reports, 58, 870.
44.
Kahn, R., & Antonucci, T. (1980). Convoys over the life course: Attachment, roles and social support. In P. B. Baltes & O. Brim (Eds.), Life span development and behavior (Vol. 3, pp. 253-286). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
45.
Knight, R.G., Chisholm, B.J., Marsh, N.V., & Godfrey, H. (1988). Some normative, reliability, and factor analytic data for the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 203-206.
46.
LaRocco, J., House, J., & French, J. (1980). Social support, occupational stress, and health . Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 202-218.
47.
LaRocco, J., & Jones, A. (1978). Co-worker and leader support as moderators of stress-strain relationships in work situations. Joumal of Applied Psychology, 63, 629-634.
48.
Leavy, R. (1983). Social support and psychological disorder: A review . Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 3-21.
49.
Litwak, E., & Messeri, P. (1989). Organizational theory, social supports and mortality rates: A theoretical convergence. American Sociological Review , 54, 49-66.
50.
McIntyre, E. (1986). Social networks: Potential for practice. Social Work, 31, 421-426.
51.
Milardo, R.M. (1992). Comparative methods for delineating social networks . Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 9, 447-461.
52.
Nadler, N. (1983). Personal characteristics and help seeking. In B. M. DePaulo, A. Nadler, & J. Fisher (Eds.), New directions in helping: Help seeking (pp. 303-340). New York: Academic Press.
53.
Norbeck, J., Lindsey, A., & Carrieri, V. (1981). The development of an instrument to measure social support. Nursing Research, 30, 264-269.
54.
Norbeck, J., Lindsey, A., & Carrieri, V. (1983). Further development of the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire: Normative data and validity tests. Nursing Research, 32, 4-9.
55.
Perlman, D., & Peplau, L.A. (1981). Toward a social psychology of loneliness. In S. Duck & R. Gilmour (Eds.), Personal relationships in disorder. London: Academic Press.
56.
Pines, A.M., Aronson, E., & Kafry, D. (1981). Burnout. New York: Free Press.
57.
Plas, J., Hoover-Dempsey, K., & Wallston, B. (1985). A conceptualization of professional women's interpersonal fields: Social support, reference groups, and persons-to-be-reckoned-with . In I. G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research and applications (pp. 187-204). Boston: Martinus Nijhoff.
58.
Richman, J.M. (1989a). Groupwork in a hospice setting. Social Work With Groups, 12, 171-184.
59.
Richman, J.M. (1989b). Social support for hospice teams: Strategies for effective groups. Home Health Care Nurse, 8(4), 8-10.
60.
Richman, J.M., Hardy, C.J., Rosenfeld, L.B., & Callanan, R. (1989). Strategies for enhancing social support networks in sport: A brainstorming experience. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 1, 150-159.
61.
Richman, J.M., & Rosenfeld, L.B. (1987). Stress reduction for hospice workers: A support group model. Hospice Journal, 3, 205-221.
62.
Rook, K.S. (1992). Detrimental aspects of social relationships: Taking stock of an emerging literature. In H. Veiel & U. Baumann (Eds.), The meaning and measurement of social support (pp. 157-169). New York: Hemisphere.
63.
Rosenfeld, L.B., Richman, J.M., & Hardy, C.J. (1989). An examination of social support networks among athletes: Description and relationship to stress. Sport Psychologist , 3, 23-33.
64.
Rounds, K., Galinsky, M., & Stevens, S. (1991). Linking people with AIDS in rural communities: The telephone group. Social Work, 36, 13-18.
65.
Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (1992). The practice of social research (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
66.
Russell, D., & Cutrona, C. (1984, August). The provisions of social support and adaptation to stress. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto.
67.
Russell, D., Peplau, L.A., & Cutrona, C.E. (1980). The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480.
68.
Russell, D., Peplau, L.A., & Ferguson, M.L. (1978). Developing a measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 42, 290-294.
69.
Sandier, I., & Barrera, M. (1984). Towards a multimethod approach to assessing the effects of social support. American Journal of Community Psychology , 12, 37-52.
70.
Sarason, I., Johnson, J.H., & Siegal, J.M. (1978). Assessing the impact of life changes: Development of the Life Experiences Survey. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 932-946.
71.
Sarason, I.G., Levine, H., Basham, R., & Sarason, B. (1983). Concomitants of social support: The social support questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 44,127-139.
72.
Sarason, I.G., Sarason, B., & Pierce, G. (1990). Social support: The search for theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9, 133-147.
73.
Sarason, I.G., Sarason, B.R., & Shearin, E.N. (1986). Social support as an individual difference variable: Its stability, origins, and relational aspects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 845-855.
74.
Sarason, I.G., Sarason, B.R., Shearin, E.N., & Pierce, G.R. (1987). A brief measure of social support: Practical and theoretical implications. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 44, 127-139.
75.
Schaefer, C., Coyne, J., & Lazarus, R. (1981). The health-related functions of social support . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4, 381-406.
76.
Schultz, B.J., & Saklofske, D.H. (1983). Relationship between social support and selected measures of psychological well-being. Psychological Reports, 53, 847-850.
77.
Schwarzer, R., & Leppin, A. (1991). Social support and mental health: A theoretical and empirical overview. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 8, 99-127.
78.
Shumaker, S.A., & Brownell, A. (1984). Toward a theory of social support: Closing conceptual gaps. Journal of Social Issues, 40, 11-36.
79.
Solomon, Z., Mikulincer, M., & Hobfall, S.E. (1986). Effects of social support and battle intensity on loneliness and breakdown during combat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1269-1276.
80.
Stokes, J. (1983). Predicting satisfaction with social support from social network structure. American Journal of Community Psychology , 11, 141-152.
81.
Stokes, J. (1985). The relation of social network and individual difference variables to loneliness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 981-990.
82.
Strahan, R., & Gerbasi, K.C. (1972). Short, homogeneous versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology , 28,191-193.
83.
Streeter, C., & Franklin, C. (1992). Defining and measuring social support: Guidelines for social work practitioners. Research on Social Work Practice , 2, 81-98.
84.
Tardy, C. (1988). Social support: Conceptual clarification and measurement options. In C. H. Tardy (Ed.), A handbookfor the study of human communication: Methods and instruments for observing, measuring, and assessing communication processes (pp. 347-364). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
85.
Tracy, E. (1990). Identifying social support resources of at-risk families. Social Work, 35, 252-258.
86.
Vaux, A. (1988a). Social and emotional loneliness: The role of social and personal characteristics. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14, 722-734.
87.
Vaux, A. (1988b). Social and personal factors in loneliness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 6, 462-471.
88.
Veiel, H., Crisand, M., Stroszeck-Somscher, H., & Herrie, J. (1991). Social support networks of chronically strained couples: Similarity and overlap. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 8, 279-292.
89.
Wellman, B. (1985). From social support to social network. In I. G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research and applications (pp. 205-222). Boston: Martinus Nijhoff.
90.
Wilcox, B. (1981). Social support, life stress, and psychological adjustment: A test of the buffering hypothesis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 371-385.
91.
Yukl, G. (1989). Leadership in organizations (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall.
92.
Yukl, G., & Van Fleet, D.D. (1982). Cross-cultural, multimethod research on military leader effectiveness. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 30, 87-108.
