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A person's social interactions and relationship networks are often considered in evaluating one's health and well being. Many studies have shown increases in mental and physical health to be strongly related to the amount of social support available in a given situation. An often used definition or theory of social support comes from the work of Cobb who thought of "Social support as information that would lead a person to believe that he or she is cared for and loved; that he or she is esteemed and valued; and that he or she belongs to a network of communication and mutual obligation" (1976). Among this definition social support includes structural aspects of relationships, the existence of social ties and their interconnections.
Social ties include, marital status, the number of relationships we have, the number of groups and organizations we have memberships in, and the amount of contact we have with family and friends. The above aspects of social support effects our well-being both positively and negatively. For instance, doctors are both the greatest source of distress and the most important source of support; they discover our health problems and yet they support us by listening or supplying us with antibiotics. Furthermore, while social support enhances our well-being to a point where there is an optimal level beyond which benefits diminish and may become negative, creating dependency.
Also, social support can be reciprocal on one's health. Lack of social support could cause ill health while at the same time, ill health could cause a decline in social support. Sometimes support is offered with the best of intentions and yet somehow the recipient finds the support unhelpful. This situation occurs commonly in crisis events, such as the loss of a loved one. I have experienced the above, when my grandmother past on, she had Alzheimer's. There were many people who offered their support and said that her death was a blessing because she was no longer suffering.
Though the statement was made with a helpful intent and yet I was left feeling misunderstood, as though my feelings were insignificant or unjustified. Perhaps outsiders are disillusioned to the recovery process of one who is recently bereaved and, because of their misconceptions, will often fail to offer helpful support to one in need. The difference between what is experienced as helpful versus what is unhelpful seems to then lie in the administration of the support. Different situations call for different support; "the right kind of social support must be given under the right circumstances and at the right time" (Orford, 1992, p. 72).
For example, Lehman et al. (1986) notes that informational support is usually perceived as helpful only when coming from a professional source, whereas emotional support is usually readily accepted from anyone. The above characteristics of social support have a great impact and influences on the well-being of a person. To expand on the possibility that social support has both positive and negative effects on health and well-being, I will pay special attention to the varying nature and importance of social supports during childhood and adulthood as well as to the changing roles of family, friends, spouses, and children at different points in the life cycle. There is not a direct relationship between social support and health when examining the importance of life transitions. Therefore, the aspects of social networks or features of social support need to be examined to evaluate the relation to health outcomes when addressing a life-course perspective. The network size and frequency of contact remain relatively stable across the life span depending on the occurrence of life events.
Largely, it is suggested that over time people sift through acquaintances and friends, and retain primarily those who are most valued. A diverse social network is therefore a valuable asset to individuals experiencing events during their life, such as being widowed. In order to elaborate on social support and how it effects one's well-being across the life course the following will be discussed: social support and family relations and children; social support and health in the middle-years: work and family; and social support and health of the elderly. The effect of social support on the health and well-being of children is an area to be explored. The social determinants of disease and disability are as important to the childhood years as they are to later stages in the human cycle. Interactive social support emerges from a child's earliest experiences in the context of its family and that such support, and its meaning to the child, is prominently the maintenance of health and the progression of their normal development.
Families appear to serve as a principal source of social support in children's lives. Social support is defined here as the "resources (affective, cognitive, and instrumental) provided to the child through relationships and social interactions" (Cohen & Syme, 1985, p. 153). From this definition the argument can be raised that families represent the primary social context from which children's experience of social support is derived. Family determinants of health can be explained in terms of family competence, disorganization, structural characteristics such as size, and qualitative aspects of the family's internal and external relationships (Cohen & Syme, 1985, p. 153). Another determinant of health in relation to the social support of children is the effect of broader social connections such as the connection between a child and its peers or its parents' peers. Although, it is argued that a child's most important support for its well-being is the attachment between the child and their mother.
This attachment is formed early for the infant and it forms the basis of all social relationships and security for the course of its life. The behaviours involved in mother-infant attachment suggest that this relationship functions as a psychological anlage in the child's developing capacity for social interaction (Cohen & Syme, 1985, p. 156). However, it is increasingly clear that a child's social and intellectual development are not solely determined by the mother-infant relationship. Outside relationships have both direct and indirect effects on the child's health and development. For example, fathers can directly affect their children through father-child activities and patterns of interaction but may also have indirect effects through their influences in the marital relationship (Cohen & Syme, p. 157). Also, the father's emotional and economic support to the well-being of the mother-child relationship.
By providing both emotional and economic support to his wife, a father may effect his child's development and health (Lynn, 1974). Additionally, a child's sense of security in its family's home produces a strong effect on its adaptation in peer relations, long-term intellectual and language skill outcomes, and emotional and biological health in later life. For example, separation from a parent due to parental divorce, strongly predicts psychological impairment in adulthood. Also, residential mobility and lack of family routine would have harmful effects on a child's health. Divorce is the primary cause for personal, familial and social loss for a child. Depression, mental disorders, aggressive behaviour problems, developmental regression and delinquency are among the emotional and behavioural disturbances found among children from broken homes (Cohen & Syme, 1985, p. 165).
Divorce is one of the most disruptive life events children experience and that such events may be associated with alterations in biological and mental health. I am indirectly experiencing how divorce can disrupt a child's life. My roommate comes from a home of parental divorce and she has suffered from an eating disorder since she was thirteen. She has recently confided her situation in me and has explained that part of her disorder was caused by her neglect from her parents once they were divorced. Since she has confided in me, I have been her social support and her health is improving gradually. However, I have felt that maybe my support will directly effect my health in that I might become too occupied with her problems and forget mine.
In personally experiencing the above, it is safe to conclude that a child's strong and successful attachment to its family appears to be among the important determinants of social, developmental, and biological outcomes, both in childhood and in later life. In essence, family members have a mutual obligation to provide emotional and material support, on a day to day basis as well as in times of critical events. These critical events greatly take place when a person reaches their middle years in adult life. Critical events include work setting and family relationships, family members' role transitions, and overall marital relationships. The family is a source of support for the above events by serving to communicate three types of support functions identified by Cobb: affection and caring, self-esteem, and group solidarity (Dean & Tausig, 1986, p. 118). Firstly, the extent to which stresses in the work setting influence or overwhelm family relationships so that the family's capacity for social support is diminished and the daily impact of the demanding job situation becomes cumulative, shall be examined.
This effect is crucial for understanding the health effects of stressful work conditions. It has been suggested that changes in jobs that represented richer job content and greater control were followed by greater participation in network relationships, such as voluntary associations, trade unions, and political groups (Levi et al. , 1982). When observing the family and their relationship between a wife and a man who works, the health of the wife is sometimes diminished by her role of supporting her husband. The male has a tendency to report emotional exhaustion by complaining about work problems, and coming home upset. This can diminish the quality of family life. The majority of wives view their roles in relation to their husband's jobs as supportive and derived their sense of security from their husbands.
On the other hand, men feel that in the process of trying to build up their careers, they strive to maintain distance between their wives and the place of work. The role that women play in supporting their husbands can have broad consequences, such as lower marital satisfaction; fewer good friends, lower emotional support from neighbours, and a lesser sense of belonging to a supportive social network; strong sense of keeping problems to herself; and feelings of depression, guilt and isolation (Burke, Weir, & Doors, 1979). Not only do women support their husbands emotionally but also the rest of their family, children, siblings and parents. This social support environment can have a negative impact on women. They sacrifice...
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Research essay sample on How Social Support In Relationships Affects One Health
