Toward a Theory of Social Support: Closing Conceptual Gaps

TLDR

Social support is defined as an exchange of resources between two individuals perceived to enhance the recipient’s well‑being, and the authors examine its assumptions, implications, and gaps in the literature. The study investigates the costs and benefits of supportive exchanges for both providers and recipients, the dual and possibly incongruent perceptions of support, the role of non‑network sources, the health‑sustaining versus health‑compensating functions, factors influencing support effects, and the dimensions of support relative to contextual variables.

Abstract

We define social support as “an exchange of resources between two individuals perceived by the provider or the recipient to be intended to enhance the well‐being of the recipient.” We then discuss the assumptions and implications of this definition and address several gaps in the support literature. Specifically, we consider the costs and benefits of supportive exchanges for both participants, the dual and possibly incongruent perceptions of support held by the provider and the recipient, and the importance of non‐network sources of support. In addition, we distinguish between the health‐sustaining versus health‐compensating functions of support and how these functions link with the resources provided in supportive exchanges. We next address the factors that can influence support effects and suggest a broad range of outcomes for both the provider and the recipient. Finally, we distinguish the dimensions of support from the contextual variables that can influence its quality and effectiveness.