scholarly journals The Value of Companion Dogs as a Source of Social Support for Their Owners: Findings From a Pre-pandemic Representative Sample and a Convenience Sample Obtained During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bowen ◽  
Antonio Bulbena ◽  
Jaume Fatjó
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Companion Dogs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Crisis ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
Dog Owners ◽  
Key Aspects

Dogs are a source of companionship and comfort for their owners, but the degree to which this might translate into real emotional and social support has not been quantified. Emotional and social support are essential to help people to get through personal crises such as bereavement. In this study we characterize the social support owners obtain from their dogs, provide evidence of how widespread this social support is amongst dog-owners, and show how social support from dogs can increase during a crisis (using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example). We collected data from a representative population-based sample of Spanish dog-owners and found that most respondents said that their dogs helped them to get through tough times. They got comfort from physical contact with their dogs, shared activities with them and treated them as confidants in a similar way to friends and family. These are all key aspects of social support, and dogs offer the advantage of being more available than human sources of support. It would be expected that the support that dogs provide would be increased during a time of personal crisis and when we looked at data collected from a convenience sample of Spanish dog-owners during the COVID-19 confinement that is what we found; during the confinement owners engaged in more shared activities with their dogs, hugged them more often and turned to them more as a source of companionship and comfort (p < 0.0001 in all cases). However, although owners did confide more in their dogs (p < 0.0001), the effect was not as great as for other aspects of social support. We suspect that this is because people were able to use telecommunications such as video conferencing to maintain their human confidant relationships. Our findings indicate that dogs can substitute for humans as sources of some kinds of social support when conventional sources are unavailable. Our conclusion is that where a dog is present in a household, it should be regarded as an important resource for social support. This should be considered when designing clinical interventions and when public health decisions are being made.

scholarly journals Social support from the perspective of adolescent victims of domestic violence

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 610-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diene Monique Carlos ◽  
Maria das Graças Carvalho Ferriani ◽  
Michelly Rodrigues Esteves ◽  
Lygia Maria Pereira da Silva ◽  
Liliana Scatena
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
Adolescent Victims

Objective: Assess the understanding of adolescents regarding the social support received in situations of domestic violence. Method: A qualitative study with data collection carried out through focus groups with 17 adolescent victims of domestic violence, institutionally welcomed in Campinas-SP, and through semi-structured interviews with seven of these adolescents. Information was analyzed by content analysis, thematic modality. Results: Observing the thematic categories it was found that social support for the subjects came from the extended family, the community, the Guardianship Council, the interpersonal relationships established at the user embracement institution and from the religiosity/spirituality. Conclusion: The mentioned sources of support deserve to be enhanced and expanded. With the current complexity of the morbidity and mortality profiles, especially in children and adolescents, the (re)signification and the (re)construction of health actions is imperative.



scholarly journals Associations Between Social Support, Social Networks, and Financial Exploitation in Older Adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 990-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott R. Beach ◽  
Richard Schulz ◽  
Rodlescia Sneed
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
Financial Exploitation ◽  
The Social

Social support and social networks are important correlates of elder mistreatment. This study tests hypothesized associations between perceived social support, social network size, and financial exploitation (FE). A population-based survey of 903 older adults (60+) in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) found that lower perceived social support and larger social networks were simultaneously associated with higher risk for FE since age 60, controlling for known risk factors. The same associations were found for FE in the last 6 months. Older adults with larger social networks combined with lower perceived social support were most likely to report FE. When it comes to the role of social relationships and risk for FE, “more may not always be better.” Encouragement to widen the social network by “making new friends” should be stressed less than making sure these new network members will truly be supportive of the older adult.

Social Support and Happiness in Immigrant Women in Spain

2012 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 977-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Dominguez-Fuentes ◽  
María Isabel Hombrados-Mendieta
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Immigrant Women ◽  
Instrumental Support ◽  
Informational Support ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Sources Of Support

The association between perceived social support and happiness was investigated in women who are members of various associations in Malaga (Spain) that work with immigrant women. Based on the Social Convoy model, the association between sources of support, frequency of support, satisfaction with support, and happiness reported by women were examined. The main social support predictor of happiness was satisfaction with the support received. Thus, the best predictors of happiness were emotional support from the family and instrumental support from the indigenous population and associations. The best predictor of frequency of support was the frequency of informational support received from social services. These results may prove useful for developing lines of action or interventions centred on the social network and the functions that social support can fulfil among immigrant women.

Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Social Support Among Brazilian Adults

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 871-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inacio Crochemore Mohnsam da Silva ◽  
Mario Renato Azevedo ◽  
Helen Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Leisure Time ◽  
Leisure Time Physical Activity ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Socioeconomic Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Support Scale ◽  
Received Social Support

Objective:To explore the association between family and friends’ social support and leisure-time physical activity (PA) in adults.Methods:Cross-sectional population-based study, conducted in Pelotas, Brazil. Leisure-time PA was measured with the long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Those who reported PA practice ≥ 150 minutes on the week before the interview were considered active. Social support was evaluated through the Social Support Scale for PA and classified according to the type of PA. For analyzing the association between social support and PA, Poisson regression model was used. Analyses were stratified by sex and interactions with socioeconomic level and age were explored.Results:Men and women who received social support from family and friends simultaneously were about 3 times more active than their counterparts. Friends’ social support presented, in all analyses, stronger associations with PA than family support. Interactions with socioeconomic level and age were observed.Conclusion:Interventions targeting individuals and their social environment are likely to have greater effectiveness than those targeted on one of these aspects only.

Sources of Support in a Sample of HIV-Affected1 Older Minority Caregivers

1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 491-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia C. Poindexter ◽  
Nathan L. Linsk
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hiv Disclosure ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Helping Professions ◽  
Hiv Diagnosis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sources Of Support

Since more and more family caregivers of persons with HIV disease are parents and grandparents, older persons may be responsible for the well-being of ill or orphaned family members at a time when they may be at risk for their own health and social losses. Re searchers conducted qualitative interviews with twenty older minority informal caregivers of HIV-infected persons to explore their experiences with seeking and receiving informal social support. There were two sources of social support: support from family and friends external to the care dyad and support from the relationship with the HIV-positive care recipient. There was very little support sought or received outside the family of the caregivers; this was primarily because their decisions about disclosing the HIV diagnosis precluded their asking for social support specific to the HIV caregiving. From the caregivers' perspective the most common source of support was not “social” or human; rather, it was strength that came from their spiritual and religious lives or from within themselves. These findings highlight the social isolation of this population, suggesting the need for more awareness and aggressive outreach from the helping professions. More research is needed to determine how decisions regarding HIV disclosure are made, how caregivers sustain support sources that are not specific to HIV caregiving, and how the strong mutual relationship with the HIV-infected care recipient affects coping and bereavement.

Sources of Social Support and Attachment Styles among Israeli Arab Students

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adital Ben-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Instrumental Support ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Patterns Of Utilization ◽  
Arab Students ◽  
Sources Of Support

This study identifies patterns of utilization of social support among Israeli Arab students.The sample consisted of 64 Arab students. Findings show that Arab students distinguish between emotional and instrumental support and allocate sources of support accordingly. Emotional support is sought within the social network and instrumental support is sought within the family.

scholarly journals The driving factors of the social commerce intention of Saudi Arabia’s online communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 184797901989974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Adnan Al-Tit ◽  
Anis Omri ◽  
Tarek Bel Hadj
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Driving Factors ◽  
Social Commerce ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
The Social ◽  
Twitter Users

This study investigates the driving factors of the social commerce intention of online communities in Saudi Arabia by building a model that comprises two exogenous variables (social support and social commerce constructs (SCCs)), a mediating variable (trust), and one endogenous variable (social commerce intention). The study population comprises Facebook and Twitter users in the kingdom. A convenience sample of 500 social media users was chosen. Data were gathered via a questionnaire-based online survey. Our findings indicate that social support had a significant relationship with trust and social commerce intention. This relationship was significantly mediated by trust. SCCs also had a significant relationship with emotional as well as informational support and social commerce intention. Unexpectedly, the relationship between SCCs and social support dimensions was significantly mediated by trust. Consequently, it was concluded that social support, trust, and SCCs are key drivers of social commerce intention. These results invite social media retailers to consider such factors to increase social media users’ intention to purchase.

scholarly journals Social Support Mechanisms among Athletes with Disabilities

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Martin ◽  
Carol A. Mushett
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Sport Expertise ◽  
The Social ◽  
Athletes With Disabilities ◽  
Secondary Support ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
Support Mechanisms

The purpose of this investigation was to describe social support mechanisms of swimmers with disabilities and examine relationships among social support, self-efficacy, and athletic satisfaction. Results indicated that athletes felt satisfied with the social support they received. Mothers and friends provided primary support in a variety of areas requiring non-sport-related knowledge. Additionally, there were important secondary sources of support in areas requiring sport-specific knowledge. Coaches were primary sources of support in areas that required sport expertise. Fathers were also important sources of secondary support in areas that required both sport expertise and nonsport expertise. Correlational results suggested that athletes who were supported by being listened to and by being challenged to become better athletes and people also reported strong self-efficacy.

scholarly journals I Need Somebody to Lean on

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikaël De Clercq ◽  
Christelle Devos ◽  
Assaad Azzi ◽  
Mariane Frenay ◽  
Olivier Klein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Supervisor Support ◽  
Doctoral Persistence ◽  
Joint Influence ◽  
The Social ◽  
Intention To Persist ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. In the literature, social support is depicted as an important determinant of whether someone completes their doctoral process. However, few studies actually test the impact of social support in sound quantitative designs. The present study provides an incremental understanding of the social support effect by (a) assessing the joint influence of three sources of social support (supervisor, academic peers, and relatives) on the emotions of doctoral students, their perceived progress and intention to persist; and (b) testing the interactions between these three sources of support and the doctoral stage of advancement. To this end, we carried out a longitudinal three-wave study with 446 doctoral students from two Belgian universities. The hierarchical regressions showed that (1) only supervisor support significantly predicted the outcomes of doctoral students and (2) the influence of social support on intention to persist was moderated by the stage of advancement in the doctoral journey. We discuss these results and their implications for further work on social support in light of existing literature on doctoral persistence.

Does the Social Support Hypothesis Lack Support?

1983 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 450-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Price
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
The Social
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