Week 7
Social support as a community resource
M. Visser
Page | 1
Social support:
o Mutually beneficial exchange of resources between individuals
o Protective factor where individuals are “cushioned” from harmful psychological
+ physiological consequences in times of crisis or stress
o Forms part of social patterns + contributes to a sense of community
[relevance to Community Psychology – links individual + social systems of
which he is part of]
o Empowers + mobilizes people
Many view satisfaction or dissatisfaction with social relationships as major
determinant of overall life satisfaction
Enhancing social support = community resources + welfare can be improved
Social support can also contribute to development of therapeutic environment in
situations where people experience stress/psychological problems
Conceptual perspectives on social support
Collection of social, emotional, cognitive + behavioural processes occurring within
interpersonal relationships that provide aid + promote adaptive coping
Social support conceptualized in 3 dimensions:
1. Structural dimensions
2. Functional dimensions
3. Experienced/perceived support
Support groups: Theory & Understanding
, Week 7
SOCIAL EMBEDDEDNESS OR STRUCTURAL DIMENSION
General sense of being integrated into a group of people, of belonging,
acceptance + care
Refers to quantitative measures of social support: Page | 2
• Number of connections individual has in social network
• Frequency of contact with members in social network
• Degree demographic similarity/differences of members in network [age, class,
gender etc]
• Density of interconnectedness of networks [number people in social network
that know each other]
• Degree of reciprocity in supportive transactions [extent that people are
supporters + receivers of support]
Tolsdorf: classifies relationships in terms of intensity
More number of content areas are in relationship = more important that relationship
is for participants
▪ Example under bullet points page 143
Similarity to Bronfenbrenner’s theory:
• Closest to the centre – relationships most important to the person [people who
are most supportive]
• Further from the centre – relationships linked to person’s current roles
[neighbours, co-workers] > can easily change over time as roles change
BUT need to remember that those closest to the individual may not actually be
supportive when person needs it
Support groups: Theory & Understanding
, Week 7
ENACTED SUPPORT/FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION
Actions people perform when they provide support
Page | 3
Main functions of social support:
o Instrumental/material support – provision of goods + services to help solve
problems [doing chores, lending money etc]
o Emotional support – encouragement, caring trust + empathy that comfort
person + help them believe he/she is respected + loved > feeling that others
are available who can provide care + security [support often unconditional]
o Esteem support/encouragement – builds self-esteem + contributes to a
feeling or being valued + accepted despite shortcomings [person’s sense of
competence dealing with specific problem is enhanced]
o Cognitive/informational support – giving information, advice or guidance to
solve problem > includes providing information/cognitive framework for the
person to understand/assess their situation
o Companionship – spending time with others in leisure + recreational
activities, fulfilling a need for affiliation + contact with others + distract person
from worrying about problems
The actual support people receive – analyzed in terms of:
1. How many people in the network actually provide support, advice or feedback
2. How balanced the providing + receiving of support in social network is –
supporting others + receiving support from them
PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT
Person’s cognitive appraisal of the support that he/she receives from others
Experience of how available + appropriate the support really is
Person’s expectation + perception of support are the most important factors in
person’s experiences of a situation + play role in psychological well-being
Support groups: Theory & Understanding
Social support as a community resource
M. Visser
Page | 1
Social support:
o Mutually beneficial exchange of resources between individuals
o Protective factor where individuals are “cushioned” from harmful psychological
+ physiological consequences in times of crisis or stress
o Forms part of social patterns + contributes to a sense of community
[relevance to Community Psychology – links individual + social systems of
which he is part of]
o Empowers + mobilizes people
Many view satisfaction or dissatisfaction with social relationships as major
determinant of overall life satisfaction
Enhancing social support = community resources + welfare can be improved
Social support can also contribute to development of therapeutic environment in
situations where people experience stress/psychological problems
Conceptual perspectives on social support
Collection of social, emotional, cognitive + behavioural processes occurring within
interpersonal relationships that provide aid + promote adaptive coping
Social support conceptualized in 3 dimensions:
1. Structural dimensions
2. Functional dimensions
3. Experienced/perceived support
Support groups: Theory & Understanding
, Week 7
SOCIAL EMBEDDEDNESS OR STRUCTURAL DIMENSION
General sense of being integrated into a group of people, of belonging,
acceptance + care
Refers to quantitative measures of social support: Page | 2
• Number of connections individual has in social network
• Frequency of contact with members in social network
• Degree demographic similarity/differences of members in network [age, class,
gender etc]
• Density of interconnectedness of networks [number people in social network
that know each other]
• Degree of reciprocity in supportive transactions [extent that people are
supporters + receivers of support]
Tolsdorf: classifies relationships in terms of intensity
More number of content areas are in relationship = more important that relationship
is for participants
▪ Example under bullet points page 143
Similarity to Bronfenbrenner’s theory:
• Closest to the centre – relationships most important to the person [people who
are most supportive]
• Further from the centre – relationships linked to person’s current roles
[neighbours, co-workers] > can easily change over time as roles change
BUT need to remember that those closest to the individual may not actually be
supportive when person needs it
Support groups: Theory & Understanding
, Week 7
ENACTED SUPPORT/FUNCTIONAL DIMENSION
Actions people perform when they provide support
Page | 3
Main functions of social support:
o Instrumental/material support – provision of goods + services to help solve
problems [doing chores, lending money etc]
o Emotional support – encouragement, caring trust + empathy that comfort
person + help them believe he/she is respected + loved > feeling that others
are available who can provide care + security [support often unconditional]
o Esteem support/encouragement – builds self-esteem + contributes to a
feeling or being valued + accepted despite shortcomings [person’s sense of
competence dealing with specific problem is enhanced]
o Cognitive/informational support – giving information, advice or guidance to
solve problem > includes providing information/cognitive framework for the
person to understand/assess their situation
o Companionship – spending time with others in leisure + recreational
activities, fulfilling a need for affiliation + contact with others + distract person
from worrying about problems
The actual support people receive – analyzed in terms of:
1. How many people in the network actually provide support, advice or feedback
2. How balanced the providing + receiving of support in social network is –
supporting others + receiving support from them
PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT
Person’s cognitive appraisal of the support that he/she receives from others
Experience of how available + appropriate the support really is
Person’s expectation + perception of support are the most important factors in
person’s experiences of a situation + play role in psychological well-being
Support groups: Theory & Understanding
