Understanding the Links Between Social Support and Physical Health: A Life-Span Perspective With Emphasis on the Separability of Perceived and Received Support

TLDR

Social support has been reliably linked to physical health outcomes, yet the conceptual basis of these links requires further development. The article argues for a life‑span perspective on social support and health that incorporates distinct antecedent processes and mechanisms linked to support measures over time. This perspective emphasizes distinguishing perceived and received support and their specific links to disease types and developmental stages, offering new research directions and intervention possibilities.

Abstract

Social support has been reliably related to physical health outcomes. However, the conceptual basis of such links needs greater development. In this article, I argue for a life-span perspective on social support and health that takes into account distinct antecedent processes and mechanisms that are related to measures of support over time. Such a view highlights the need to distinguish measures of perceived and received support and its links to more specific diseases (e.g., chronic, acute) and stages of disease development (e.g., incidence). I discuss both the novel implications of these theoretical arguments for research on social support and physical health, as well as the potential intervention approaches that are apparent from this perspective.