SOCIAL SUPPORT: TYPES, LEVELS, IMPORTANCE AND INFLUENCE - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The social support is the perception and the reality that there are people who care about us and that we are part of a social group can lend us their help and resources. It is a field studied by different disciplines such as sociology and psychology due to its great importance.

Because one of our basic needs is to have a group of people we can count on, social support is essential for the well-being of people. Numerous studies have linked it to a multitude of benefits, such as increased self-esteem or even faster recovery after illness.

However, although we all need a certain degree of social support, consistent differences have been found between different groups, based on factors such as race or sex. These differences could be based on both social (for example, education received) and biological aspects.

Types

Social support can be categorized in different ways. Next we will see the most important of them.

Depending on the type of support received

This is the most common classification applied to social support. Depending on the resources obtained from our social circle, we can speak of emotional, tangible, informational, and companionship support.

Emotional Support

The first type of social support has to do with the recognition of our emotions by others, in addition to the show of affection and concern on the part of other people.

Some of the most common ways to show this type of support are through empathy, acceptance, encouragement, or simply displays of affection.

The main function of emotional support is to let the person know that they are appreciated and valued by others, in a way that increases their self-esteem and confidence.

Tangible support

This second type refers to the provision of material goods, services or financial aid by another person.

Also known as instrumental support, it encompasses all those actions that directly and specifically help the recipient.

Informational support

Informational support has to do with the action of advising, guiding, suggesting or providing useful information to another person.

The idea is that this information is of help to the other, in such a way that it benefits him when solving his problems.

Companion support

The last type of support has to do with the feeling of belonging to a social group. It can be something as simple as the existence of people with whom we can share activities, or something as complex as affiliation with an ideology or a political party.

Perceived support vs. Support received

Another of the most common classifications of types of social support has to do with the perception of support versus what we are actually receiving.

Perceived support has to do with the subjective belief that a person has about the amount of help they will receive in case of need.

On the other hand, the support received is related to the concrete actions (such as direct help or the proportion of advice) that the social group to which the individual belongs provides them in difficult moments.

Depending on the sources

Social support can come from a large number of sources, such as family, friends, partner, political or religious groups, or even online communities.

These sources of support can appear naturally (like friends and family) or in a structured way (like a psychologist or a helping organization).

Understanding where a person's social support comes from is crucial, as different sources have been shown to have different effects on people's emotional and physical health.

Levels

Social support cannot be measured binary, but is always on a continuum. With very rare exceptions, everyone has at least minimal levels of support from their close circles or community.

Studies seem to indicate that the higher levels of social support, the healthier the person will be in every way.

However, depending entirely on others to feel good about yourself can be dangerous. Therefore, it is advisable to combine good levels of support with a certain degree of independence.

Importance of social support

Numerous investigations have linked this factor to all kinds of benefits for physical and mental health. For example, it has been found that people with clinical depression show significantly lower levels of social support than those without this problem.

Some of the problems most related to the lack of social support are anxiety, stress, substance abuse or, in the most serious cases, even schizophrenia and senile dementia. So actively building a support network can be tremendously beneficial for anyone.

That said, some sources of support have been found to be especially important to our well-being. For example, everything seems to indicate that men who have a stable partner enjoy a better state of mind than those who are single; But these are better than those who remain in a toxic relationship.

Influence

Due to our great need for the support of other people, since humans are fundamentally social beings, the influence of our circle can be very important. This can lead to both positive and negative consequences.

On the positive side, our sources of support can become a source of self-esteem, well-being, and pleasant emotions.

Having a good social network that we can trust will encourage us to take risks, be more creative and get out of our comfort zone.

On the other hand, the search for social support can also lead us to take actions that harm us in the long term.

For example, seeking approval from a group prompts many teens to binge drink or start smoking, actions that can lead to many problems in the future.

References

1. "Social Support" in: Here to Help. Retrieved on: April 27, 2018 from Here to Help: heretohelp.bc.ca.
2. "Social Support" in: University of Minnesota. Retrieved on: April 27, 2018 from University of Minnesota: takingcharge.csh.umn.edu.
3. "Social Support" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: April 27, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "Relations Between Social Support and Physical Health" in: Personality Research. Retrieved on: April 27, 2018 from Personality Research: personalityresearch.org.
5. "Social Support" in: Psikipedia. Retrieved on: April 27, 2018 from Psikipedia: psikipedia.com.