Social Support and Illness

Abstract It is well documented that social support protects an individual from the health-damaging effects of illnesses and enhances health. Social support is defined as the functions performed for an individual by social ties with the intention to bring beneficial consequences – for example, emotional sustenance, information provision, and instrumental assistance. It has been operationalized in various ways, including perceived support, enacted support, expressive support, instrumental support, routine support, and crisis support. Social relationships are the structural carriers of supportive resources and are considered as the structural aspect of social support. Three aspects of support structure have been examined, including social integration, social networks, and confiding relationships. These three aspects constitute a hierarchically structured environment that influences the provision of different types of support functions. The health benefits of social relationships are largely mediated by support functions. While social relationships are the conduits of supportive resources, the negative health impacts of social ties are also observed. Further, access to social support and its health effects are found to vary across social groups, subsequently contributing to health inequalities. A recent development in social support research is a call for attention to the mechanisms linking between social support and health outcomes.