Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications

Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications
Author: I.G. Sarason
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9400951159

"No one is rich enough to do without a neighbor." Traditional Danish Proverb This bit of Danish folk wisdom expresses an idea underlying much of the current thinking about social support. While the clinical literature has for a long time recognized the deleterious effects of unwholesome social relationships, only more recently has the focus broadened to include the positive side of social interaction, those interpersonal ties that are desired, rewarding, and protective. This book contains theoretical and research contributions by a group of scholars who are charting this side of the social spectrum. Evidence is increasing that maladaptive ways of thinking and behaving occur disproportionately among people with few social supports. Rather than sapping self-reliance, strong ties with others particularly family members seem to encourage it. Reliance on others and self-reliance are not only compatible but complementary to one another. While the mechanism by which an intimate relationship is protective has yet to be worked out, the following factors seem to be involved: intimacy, social integration through shared concerns, reassurance of worth, the opportunity to be nurtured by others, a sense of reliable alliance, and guidance. The major advance that is taking place in the literature on social support is that reliance is being -placed less on anecdotal and clinical evidence and more on empirical inquiry. The chapters of this book reflect this important development and identify the frontiers that are currently being explored.

Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults

Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2020-05-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309671035

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

Social Support and Physical Health

Social Support and Physical Health
Author: Bert N. Uchino
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2004-01-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0300127987

This book will change the way we understand the future of our planet. It is both alarming and hopeful. James Gustave Speth, renowned as a visionary environmentalist leader, warns that in spite of all the international negotiations and agreements of the past two decades, efforts to protect Earth's environment are not succeeding. Still, he says, the challenges are not insurmountable. He offers comprehensive, viable new strategies for dealing with environmental threats around the world. The author explains why current approaches to critical global environmental problems - climate change, biodiversity loss, deterioration of marine environments, deforestation, water shortages, and others - don't work. He offers intriguing insights into why we have been able to address domestic environmental threats with some success while largely failing at the international level. Setting forth eight specific steps to a sustainable future, Speth convincingly argues that dramatically different government and citizen action are now urgent. If ever a book could be described as essential, this is it.

The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology

The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology
Author: Philip J. Corr
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 580
Release: 2020-07-31
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781108417099

Research on personality psychology is making important contributions to psychological science and applied psychology. This second edition of The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology offers a one-stop resource for scientific personality psychology. It summarizes cutting-edge personality research in all its forms, including genetics, psychometrics, social-cognitive psychology, and real-world expressions, with informative and lively chapters that also highlight some areas of controversy. The team of renowned international authors, led by two esteemed editors, ensures a wide range of theoretical perspectives. Each research area is discussed in terms of scientific foundations, main theories and findings, and future directions for research. The handbook also features advances in technology, such as molecular genetics and functional neuroimaging, as well as contemporary statistical approaches. An invaluable aid to understanding the central role played by personality in psychology, it will appeal to students, researchers, and practitioners in psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and the social sciences.

Social Support Measurement and Intervention

Social Support Measurement and Intervention
Author: Sheldon Cohen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2000-10-19
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0190284404

Surgery and pharmaceuticals are not the only effective procedures we have to improve our health. The natural human tendency to care for fellow humans, to support them with social networks, has proven to be a powerful treatment as well. As a result, the areas of application for social support intervention have expanded dramatically during the past 20 years. As these areas have expanded, so too has the literature on the theory and measurement of social support. Yet, the literature has focussed on very particular areas. Investigators in the social sciences have mainly focused on the protection that social support confers in the context of stressful life events and transitions, whereas studies in the health sciences have concentrated on the effects of social networks and supports on population mortality and morbidity. Although no single theoretical framework has been widely accepted, there is consensus that both the psychological sense of support and actual expressions of support play critical roles in maintaining health and well being. This book is a state-of-the-art resource for the selection and development of strategies for social support assessment and intervention. Designed for use by behavioral and medical scientists conducting studies of physical illness, psychological adjustment, and psychiatric illness in human populations, this volume presents a broad conceptual framework addressing the role of social support in mental and physical health. The book is divided into four sections. The first provides some historical context as well as a conceptual overview of how social support might influence mental and physical health. The second discusses techniques for measuring social networks and support, and the third addresses the design of different types of support interventions. The final section presents some general comments on the volume and its implications for social support research and intervention. This resource is meant to aid researchers in understanding the conceptual criteria on which measurement and intervention decisions should be made when studying the relations between social support and health. Furthermore, the information provided on both measurement and intervention will be valuable to practitioners interested in designing and evaluating prevention and treatment initiatives. Sponsored by the Fetzer Institute as a follow up to their successful 1995 publication, Measuring Stress, this book will provide the most up to date research on the effects of social support interventions on physical and mental health.

Stress and Trauma

Stress and Trauma
Author: Patricia A. Resick
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2014-01-02
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317821939

Stress and Trauma provides a well-written, accessible overview of traumatic stress studies. It reviews the full range of clinical disorders that may result from extreme stress, with particular emphasis on the most common disorder - post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The book reviews research on the prevalence of trauma and the prevalence of relevant disorders following trauma. It goes on to look at psychological theories of stress and trauma, the biology of stress and trauma reactions, and the factors prior to, during and after traumatic events that place people at particular risk for the development of psychological problems. The book goes on to look at treatment of trauma-related psychological problems, and covers the use of medication and a range of psychological treatments. Different types of therapy are described and research findings on these approaches are reviewed. Stress and Trauma will provide a valuable overview of the area for advanced undergraduates, early post-graduate training, and mental health professionals seeking an update of recent developments.

Research Anthology on Usage, Identity, and Impact of Social Media on Society and Culture

Research Anthology on Usage, Identity, and Impact of Social Media on Society and Culture
Author: Management Association, Information Resources
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 1378
Release: 2022-06-10
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1668463083

Much of the world has access to internet and social media. The internet has quickly become a new hub for not only communication, but also community development. In most communities, people develop new cultural norms and identity development through social media usage. However, while these new lines of communication are helpful to many, challenges such as social media addiction, cyberbullying, and misinformation lurk on the internet and threaten forces both within and beyond the internet. The Research Anthology on Usage, Identity, and Impact of Social Media on Society and Culture is a comprehensive resource on the impact social media has on an individuals’ identity formation as well as its usage within society and cultures. It explores new research methodologies and findings into the behavior of users on social media as well as the effects of social media on society and culture as a whole. Covering topics such as cultural diversity, online deception, and youth impact, this major reference work is an essential resource for computer scientists, online community moderators, sociologists, business leaders and managers, marketers, advertising agencies, government officials, libraries, students and faculty of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Advances in Signal Processing and Intelligent Recognition Systems

Advances in Signal Processing and Intelligent Recognition Systems
Author: Sabu M. Thampi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2020-04-30
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9811548285

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Advances in Signal Processing and Intelligent Recognition Systems, SIRS 2019, held in Trivandrum, India, in December 2019. The 19 revised full papers and 8 revised short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 63 submissions. The papers cover wide research fields including information retrieval, human-computer interaction (HCI), information extraction, speech recognition.