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A revised conceptualization of social support
Author(s) -
GIBSON CHERYL H.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.1992.tb00085.x
Subject(s) - conceptualization , operationalization , social support , psychology , process (computing) , social psychology , sociology , epistemology , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , operating system
Summary• Very few people can live without some kind of social relationship with others. The need for social support is universal–to deal not only with day‐to‐day events but also with times of crisis, change, or transition. • A critical component of nursing practice is to provide support to promote health and wellness functioning in individuals, families, and the community at large. • To date, there is no unified conceptualization and operationalization of social support and its relation to health‐related outcomes. Furthermore, an understanding of the process of social support remains elusive (Heller et al. , 1986). • This paper is a description of the concept of social support based on a selected review of the literature on social support. • A brief overview of the interest in the concept of social support is highlighted and the functional, structural, interactional, and other components of the concept arc described. Finally, a revised conceptualization of social support is discussed along with directives for future research.