10 - A test of the social support hypothesis

Summary

Background to the social support study

The study we undertook was part of a larger programme of research on childhood antecedents of adult psychosocial difficulties and psychiatric disorders (some of which has been discussed by Champion and by Brewin in this volume). We were particularly interested in the behaviour and attitudes of parents towards their children and the consequences of this for the children. It is, therefore, relevant to outline the prior stages of the research programme as well as describing the models which guided our thinking. Accordingly, the general question of social networks and social support; the measurement of these; attachment theory and related research, which are discussed in earlier chapters, will be mentioned briefly first, followed by the findings which prompted our intervention study, the study itself and the results.

Social networks and social support

Social network

What is a ‘social network’ and who should be included in any measurement of it? How are the positive and negative aspects of the various relationships to be weighted, and how do these relate to the concept of ‘social support’ and to the question of morbidity? In spite of intensive research and theoretical speculation these questions remain difficult to answer.

The social network of any individual may be held to comprise those with whom the person has regular face-to-face interaction and some degree of commitment (Broom & Selznick, 1973). From this group, the individual is thought to obtain certain basic supplies defined by Weiss (1974), including attachment, as discussed earlier.