Social support and physical health.

Abstract

Human adult literature on social support and physical health is reviewed considering studies of illness onset, stress, utilization of health services, adherence to medical regimens, recovery, rehabilitation, and adaptation to illness. Only studies with actual or proxy outcome measures of physical, as opposed to psychological, health are considered. Research evidence supporting a direct link between social support and physical health is more modest than previous reviews have claimed. More complex models including clearer multidimensional conceptualizations of social support are suggested as a basis for future research. Support measures should be directly relevant to the conceptualization and outcome of interest. A framework delineating stages at which social support can mediate health outcomes is presented. Processes may differ at each stage. Social support is more than an environmental variable; person characteristics as they affect access to, development of, and utilization of social support must be considered. There is sufficient evidence to warrant further research attention by health psychologists to social support.Numerous reviews exist linking social support with many aspects of health and illness (e.g.,

Social network characteristics in fibromyalgia or rheumatcid arthritis

“…Individuals experience these psychosocial needs in a personal way. Studies about the role that social factors play have generally concluded that naturally occurring social support is beneficial in terms of recovery, rehabilitation, and adaptation to chronic disease [6]. Recently, a prospective study in which a community cohort of 282 persons with RA was followed for up to 9.5 years has demonstrated that rates of progression in functional disability are higher in unmarried patients than in married patients.…”

“…What seems to differ, however, are the distributions of family members and friends, in terms of the number of personal and empathy ties. Whereas in the general population, [6][7][8][9][10][11] intimates seem to be part of a network [5], in the patient networks, the intimates are restricted to the spouse and, in case of the fibromyalgia patients, the physician, as expressed in the high weight of the tie for these members. Actually, in most patient networks intimate friends are lacking or restricted to only one person.…”

rôle du soutien social dans la capacité d'autonomisation des femmes âgées de 55 ans et plus atteintes de multimorbidité /

“…Selon Wallston et al (1983), la théorie qui affirme que le soutien social jouerait directement un rôle sur l'état de santé des individus est beaucoup trop simplifiée. Le modèle d'atténuation du stress (Cohen, Gottlieb & Underwood, 2000), tel qu'il est présenté par la figure Pour une meilleure compréhension de ce modèle, nous expliquerons tout d'abord quels sont les effets du stress sur les individus.…”

“…En ce sens, il n'est pas surprenant de constater que les participantes qui se sentent responsables du bien-être des autres et qui procurent des soins à certains membres de leur famille envisagent difficilement le fait de recevoir elle-même du soutien. Wallston et al (1983) Or, dans le cadre théorique privilégié pour la présente étude, l'on retrouve la notion de réciprocité des interactions au coeur du principe ÔL interactionnisme (Wormer et al, 2007), qui explique comment chaque personne participant à un échange est affectée par les actions des autres. Ainsi, lorsque les participantes reçoivent du soutien, la personne à l'origine de ce soutien est influencée elle aussi lors de cette interaction.…”

Assessment of psychological outcomes and quality of life in the rheumatic diseases

“…In some cases, the actual amount and type of social support appears to be less important than a person's perception of the adequacy of social support, and there is wide variability across persons as to how much social support is perceived as adequate. Positive social support has been shown to result in improved adherence to medical regimens and better rehabilitation outcomes (56). In contrast, poor social support has been linked to decreased psychological adjustment and less effective coping for persons with RA (16).…”