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Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion pp 315–327Cite as

Social Support: Health Promotion and the Prevention of Illness

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Introduction

Social support has been connected with a wide variety of mental and physical health benefits (Barrera, 2000; Holt-Lunstad, Smith, & Layton, 2010; Strine, Chapman, Balluz, & Mokdad, 2008). According to a study using data from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Surveillance System, 8.6 % of Americans report that they rarely or never receive social or emotional support (Strine et al., 2008). The same study confirmed an association between decreased social support and self-reported engagement in harmful health behaviors, increased mental and physical distress, less satisfaction with life, and poorer general health.

While the effect of social relationships on health is a widely researched phenomenon that may be familiar to mainstream audiences, technical definitions of social support vary, and the term is sometimes used interchangeably with related terms such as social connectedness or social capital. Social supportcan be split into functional and structural measures of support...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social Science Research Institute, Office for Evaluation and Needs Assessment, University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Saunders Hall, Suite 704 2424 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Gina Cardazone

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  1. Gina Cardazone
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Correspondence to Gina Cardazone .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, New London, CT, USA

    Thomas P. Gullotta

  2. University of Connecticut, West Hartford, USA

    Martin Bloom

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Cardazone, G. (2014). Social Support: Health Promotion and the Prevention of Illness. In: Gullotta, T.P., Bloom, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5999-6_327

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5999-6_327

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