Victims' perceptions of social support: What is helpful from whom?

TLDR

Research shows social interactions influence psychological well-being, yet little is known about which specific actions victims of stressful events find helpful or unhelpful, despite prior work indicating they often face rejection, withdrawal, and communication problems from close contacts. The study aimed to identify which specific actions cancer patients found helpful or unhelpful from various support providers. Fifty‑five cancer patients were interviewed about perceived helpful or unhelpful actions from spouses, family, friends, acquaintances, fellow patients, physicians, and nurses. The Wortman and Dunkel‑Schetter victimization model fit better for interactions with friends and acquaintances than with close family, and the helpfulness of specific actions varied by source, indicating that support effectiveness depends on who provides it.

Abstract

Although research has demonstrated that social interactions influence psychological well-being, little is known about what specific actions victims of stressful life events experience as helpful or unhelpful. Wortman and Dunkel-Schetter (1979) previously suggested that victims frequently experience rejection, withdrawal, and communication problems with those close to them. To address these issues, 55 cancer patients were interviewed concerning the specific actions they found to be helpful or unhelpful from several potential support providers: spouse, other family members, friends, acquaintances, others with cancer, physicians, and nurses. The data indicated that the Wortman and Dunkel-Schetter victimization model applied better to interactions with friends and acquaintances than to interactions with close family members. In addition, support was found to be partially dependent on the source: Particular actions were perceived to be helpful from some but not other network members. Implications for theory and research on social support are discussed.