Benefits of Social Support on Health

Social support is the perception and assurance that someone has when that they have help available to them from their friends or colleagues, and sometimes it’s the feeling that one gets when they know that someone out there cares for them deeply. Social support is the perception that one is involved in a broader social platform that supports each other. There are two kinds of social support; received support and perceived comfort. Received support occurs during times of need, and it is a specific support action that providers offer. An example of received support is advice. On the other hand, perceived support is a prejudgment from a recipient that a caregiver will help him or her when the need arises. These two support systems have unique benefits to a recipient, especially when it comes to their mental health and physical health. Research has proven that people who have low social support in their life are vulnerable to a wide range of diseases, and those who have high social support stand a chance of experiencing good health. This state of affairs is because social support helps to boost the immune system of the recipient. Social support has four primary functions, including informational help, friendship support, emotional support, and tangible support. Studies have shown that social support is in terms of practical support and structural support (Gerteis & Schwerdtfeger, 2016). Functional support focuses on what a recipient can provide to his or her social network. In contrast, structural support shows how much a recipient is attached to his or her social network. For instance, when it comes to friendships and family connections.

 Socio-demographic and clinical variables 

Socio-demographic and clinical variables have the most significant influence on patients who undergo lower social support. Some of the socio-demographic factors that included when observing a recipient are age brackets, gender, level of education, job description, and marital status (Ates, B. 2016). On the other hand, clinical factors include the prescribed medication that a patient receives and the duration of the disorder. Different patients respond differently to these variables because the surroundings and the disease affecting the patients differ from one to another. 

For instance, recipients who get support from their spouses have shown a positive change in their health behaviors and get to experience emotional support like love and empathy. Such a recipient will have better adjustments to their disorder (Vungkhanching, Tonsing, & Tonsing, 2017). Positive family support has a significant impact on women whose coping mechanisms are mostly dependent on their emotions. Men do respond well to social support when medical professionals have provided it since they focus primarily on tangible help that they can get. Health care providers have proven to be of great help to patients in offering them perceived support. Patients with precarious socio-demographic and clinical variables do not adjust well to any treatment whatsoever. 

References

Ates, B. (2016). Perceived Social Support and Assertiveness as a Predictor of Candidates Psychological Counselors' Psychological Well-Being. International Education Studies, 9(5), 28-39. 

Gerteis, A. K. S., & Schwerdtfeger, A. R. (2016). When rumination counts: Perceived social support and heart rate variability in daily life. Psychophysiology, 53(7), 1034-1043. 

Vungkhanching, M., Tonsing, J. C., & Tonsing, K. N. (2017). Psychological distress, coping and perceived social support in social work students. British Journal of Social Work, 47(7), 1999-2013.