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Joint Commission Journal on Quality and... Sep 2022
Topics: Humans; Peer Group; Social Support
PubMed: 35842285
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2022.05.001 -
Behavior Therapy May 2021Relationship quality is a strong predictor of health outcomes, and individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) report increased interpersonal impairment. However,...
Relationship quality is a strong predictor of health outcomes, and individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) report increased interpersonal impairment. However, there are few studies testing the effect of SAD on friendships and it is thus unclear whether there are behavioral differences that distinguish friendships in which a target individual has SAD from friendships in which the target individual does not have SAD. We tested for differences in the provision and receipt of support behaviors as a function of having a SAD diagnosis and accounting for comorbid depressive symptoms. Participants with SAD (n = 90) and their friends engaged in support conversations that were coded using the Social Support Interaction Coding System. Structural equation modeling revealed some differences between participants and friends when accounting for depression. Specifically, friends of participants with SAD and comorbid depression engaged in fewer positive helper behaviors than the friends of participants who did not have SAD or comorbid depression. Additionally, dyads in which the primary participant had SAD engaged in more off-task behaviors. Results suggest that SAD does not result in global interpersonal impairment, but that receipt of positive support behaviors from friends may differ as a function of SAD and comorbid depression. Interpersonal interventions aimed at increasing adaptive friendships and aspects of CBT that target subtle avoidance (e.g., safety behaviors) may be useful in facilitating more satisfactory relationships for these individuals.
Topics: Anxiety; Friends; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Phobia, Social; Social Behavior; Social Support
PubMed: 33990245
DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2020.09.003 -
International Journal of Environmental... May 2022Continuing to study abroad brings challenges, apart from academic demands. International students are prone to acculturation stress as a consequence of cultural... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Continuing to study abroad brings challenges, apart from academic demands. International students are prone to acculturation stress as a consequence of cultural differences. Many research reports show that social support is a great buffer against experienced stress, but there has thus far been no study that analyzes the real effect of social support on acculturation stress. This meta-analysis study aims to investigate the true effect of social support on acculturation stress of international students based on studies reporting it. A meta-analysis was performed following PRISMA. The electronic databases used were Science-Direct, ERIC, ProQuest, Google Scholar (only for ETD), and opengrey.edu, with the article year limitations being 2009-2019. Eight (8) studies were involved in the meta-analysis. There were three instruments of acculturation stress and five instruments of social support that were used in the different studies. The effect size analysis showed that there was no difference in the effects of eight studies (z = -0.553; SE = 0.497; 95% CI = -1.248--0.699; = 0.580). Furthermore, there was no statistically significant moderator variable, the instruments used were quite diverse. The role of a moderator, other than gender, was not used because of limited information from the studies used. Social support plays a major role in reducing acculturation stress in international students. However, studies involving moderator and confounding roles need to be conducted.
Topics: Acculturation; Humans; Social Support; Stress, Psychological; Students
PubMed: 35682152
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19116568 -
British Journal of Hospital Medicine... Jul 2023As part of the NHS long-term strategy to meet the medical and non-medical needs of patients, there is growing acceptance that the traditional model of service delivery...
As part of the NHS long-term strategy to meet the medical and non-medical needs of patients, there is growing acceptance that the traditional model of service delivery can no longer meet current challenges. This has led to the co-creation of services with patients and other stakeholders such as the voluntary and community sector to help deliver these. Social prescribing, which is now available through the NHS, is one such option that allows individual patients with a social need to access local health resources and social support outside the NHS.
Topics: Humans; Social Support; Health Promotion
PubMed: 37490444
DOI: 10.12968/hmed.2023.0121 -
Journal of Geriatric Oncology Mar 2022Insufficient social support is associated with increased mortality among older adults. Lung cancer is primarily a disease of older adults and is the leading cause of all...
BACKGROUND
Insufficient social support is associated with increased mortality among older adults. Lung cancer is primarily a disease of older adults and is the leading cause of all cancer deaths. We assessed the association of social support with outcomes among older adults with lung cancer.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Adults age 65 and older with lung cancer with a completed geriatric assessment (GA) were assessed. Emotional social support (ES) and tangible (material, instrumental) support (TS) measures and patient characteristics were obtained from the GA. The electronic health record was used to extract clinical variables. Simple linear regression models evaluated the association between social support scales with patient and clinical factors.
RESULTS
79 adults were assessed. White race was positively associated with ES score (p=.04), while higher BMI (p=.03), depression (p=.03) and anxiety (p=.02) were associated with worse ES. Higher BMI was associated with higher/better TS score (p=.02) while living alone was associated with lower/worse TS score (p=.03). Completion of platinum-based doublet chemotherapy with immunotherapy as planned was associated with higher ES scores (p=.02) and higher TS scores (p=.02). Disease progression was associated with lower ES scores (p=.03).
CONCLUSION
Social support may influence clinical outcomes in older adults with lung cancer. As lung cancer often portends to poor prognosis, social support may be an important prognostic indicator.
Topics: Aged; Geriatric Assessment; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Prognosis; Social Support
PubMed: 34629320
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgo.2021.09.009 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022Greater understanding how relationships that can facilitate or impede type 2 diabetes (T2D) management and control among older American Indian people is an overlooked,...
OBJECTIVE
Greater understanding how relationships that can facilitate or impede type 2 diabetes (T2D) management and control among older American Indian people is an overlooked, yet urgently needed strategy. Thus, we examined social support among older American Indian people in relation to their T2D management.
METHODS
During the fall 2015, we conducted qualitative interviews with 28 participants aged ≥ 60 years who were members of a federally-recognized tribe. Drawing upon the buffering and direct effects theoretical models of how social support affects health, we examined transcribed audio recordings of the interviews with a systematic text analysis approach. We used a low-inference qualitative descriptive design to provide a situated understanding of participants' life experiences using their naturalistic expressions.
RESULTS
The mean age of our participants was 73.0 ± 6.4 years with a mean HbA1c of 7.3 ± 1.5. Main social support sources were family, clinicians/formal services, community/culture, and spiritual/God. All four common social support types were represented, namely emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support with most being instrumental in nature. A prominent gender difference was seen with respect to men receiving more instrumental support family/friends support than women.
DISCUSSION
Value orientations among American Indian people often reflect extended social systems and interdependence. A deeper understanding is needed of how social relationships can be better leveraged to aid in effective T2D management among older American Indian people. The development and implementation of evidence-based social network interventions with an assets-based orientation that build upon the cultural value of reciprocity hold promise to improve T2D outcomes of older American Indian people.
Topics: Aged; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Female; Humans; Male; Social Support; American Indian or Alaska Native
PubMed: 35801247
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.780851 -
Journal of Behavioral Medicine Aug 2022Perceived social support has been linked to lower rates of morbidity and mortality. However, more information is needed on the biological mechanisms potentially... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Perceived social support has been linked to lower rates of morbidity and mortality. However, more information is needed on the biological mechanisms potentially responsible for such links. The main aim of this paper was to conduct a meta-analytic review of the association between perceived social support and awake ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) which is linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The review identified 12 studies with a total of 3254 participants. The omnibus meta-analysis showed that higher perceived social support was not significantly related to lower ABP (Zr = -0.052, [ -0.11, 0.01]). In addition, there was evidence of significant bias across several indicators. Future research will be needed to explore the boundary conditions linking social support to ABP and its implications for theoretical models and intervention development.
Topics: Blood Pressure; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; Humans; Hypertension; Social Support
PubMed: 35034219
DOI: 10.1007/s10865-021-00273-3 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022Reduced physical function and reduced social networks place older adults with hypertension at high risk for medication-related harm. Medication literacy is one of the...
BACKGROUND
Reduced physical function and reduced social networks place older adults with hypertension at high risk for medication-related harm. Medication literacy is one of the preventable factors that affect the success of drug therapy for hypertension. However, little is known about the level of medication literacy and its influencing factors in older adults with hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of social support and medication literacy, and the association between them in older Chinese adult patients with hypertension.
METHODS
A total of 362 older adult patients with hypertension were investigated using a demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Chinese Medication Literacy Scale for Hypertensive Patients (C-MLSHP) and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Pearson correlation analysis, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and hierarchical linear regression were used to analyse the relationship between social support and medication literacy.
RESULTS
Our results showed that the mean scores for the C-MLSHP and the SSRS for older adult patients with hypertension were 23.89 (SD = 4.66) and 39.22 (SD = 5.53), respectively. The results of the Pearson correlation analysis suggested that the score for social support was positively correlated with the score for medication literacy ( = 0.431, < 0.01). The results of CCA demonstrate that older adult patients with hypertension who had more subjective ( = 0.682) and objective support ( = 0.817) performed better in knowledge ( = 0.633), skills ( = 0.631) and behavior literacy ( = 0.715). Hierarchical linear regression indicated that two dimensions of subjective support ( = 0.252, < 0.001) and objective support ( = 0.690, < 0.001) in social support were found to be independent predictors of medication literacy ( = 0.335 = 19.745, < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Social support is positively associated with medication literacy in older Chinese adult patients with hypertension. The study highlights the importance of social support in promoting medication literacy among older adult patients with hypertension.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Middle Aged; Aged; Literacy; Social Support; Social Networking; Hypertension; Asian People
PubMed: 36419989
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.987526 -
PloS One 2022A dynamical model linking stress, social support, and health has been recently proposed and numerically analyzed from a classical point of view of integer-order...
A dynamical model linking stress, social support, and health has been recently proposed and numerically analyzed from a classical point of view of integer-order calculus. Although interesting observations have been obtained in this way, the present work conducts a fractional-order analysis of that model. Under a periodic forcing of an environmental stress variable, the perceived stress has been analyzed through bifurcation diagrams and two well-known metrics of entropy and complexity, such as spectral entropy and C0 complexity. The results obtained by numerical simulations have shown novel insights into how stress evolves with frequency and amplitude of the perturbation, as well as with initial conditions for the system variables. More precisely, it has been observed that stress can alternate between chaos, periodic oscillations, and stable behaviors as the fractional order varies. Moreover, the perturbation frequency has revealed a narrow interval for the chaotic oscillations, while its amplitude may present different values indicating a low sensitivity regarding chaos generation. Also, the perceived stress has been noted to be highly sensitive to initial conditions for the symptoms of stress-related ill-health and for the social support received from family and friends. This work opens new directions of research whereby fractional calculus might offer more insight into psychology, life sciences, mental disorders, and stress-free well-being.
Topics: Calculi; Entropy; Humans; Nonlinear Dynamics; Social Support; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 36223401
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275364 -
PloS One 2022Social relationships are important predictors of a range of individual outcomes, such as wellbeing and health. These social relationships are conceptualised in different...
Social relationships are important predictors of a range of individual outcomes, such as wellbeing and health. These social relationships are conceptualised in different ways, such as (inter-personal) forms of social support, identification with groups, or social capital. What is the overlap among these concepts and in what ways do they differ? The present work aims to clarify this with empirical evidence from two panel studies (N = 3934; N = 2912). The studies include central measures of social relationships (group identification, group membership, social support and social capital). Empirical differences and overlap were studied by evaluating the factor structure of the data with both confirmatory factor analyses and bi-factor analyses. Results showed that the different concepts had a large amount of empirical overlap (together accounting for over 60% of common variance). Surprisingly, results also revealed that subcomponents were identifiable based on who they target and not based on their conceptualisation. For example, items about identification with neighbourhood factored together with support items from the neighbourhood, and not with other identification items. Accordingly, we conclude that in addition to a general factor, it is possible to meaningfully distinguish components of social relations based on which group is targeted by the items (e.g. neighbourhood or family and friends). For future research on the relationship between social relations and health, the present measures are unlikely to be sufficiently precise to disentangle whether health effects are caused by identification, support or capital. Differences between targets appear to be more important than differences between these concepts for understanding the relationship between social relations and health and wellbeing.
Topics: Interpersonal Relations; Residence Characteristics; Social Capital; Social Support; Socioeconomic Factors
PubMed: 35421128
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266499