The process of providing support to recently divorced single mothers

Social support is a combination of a person's perceptions of support, the belief that the support is personally satisfying, and the actual provision of services. Although the literature is replete with the work of researchers who have addressed the components of support, there is a notable limitation--the perspective of the providers of support. This perspective is important for clinicians who work with a person's natural support system to enhance its effectiveness. In this descriptive study, 252 people identified by recently divorced women with children as providing their most significant support were interviewed. The authors' purpose in conducting the study was to identify the underlying processes involved in social support based on interviews with the women's significant support people. In the qualitative portion of the study the data analysis yielded eleven processes: deliberating, withdrawing, continuing, understanding, availing, anchoring, distancing, protecting, nurturing, valuing, and intruding. Each of these processes is described in this paper.