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Social support and social structure: a descriptive epidemiology
1Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Ontario.
Journal of Health and Social Behavior
|September 1, 1994
Summary
Social support significantly impacts health, but its distribution across social factors like class and marital status is unclear. Findings link social support patterns to social structures, but largely discount it as a primary cause for mental health variations.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Social support is vital for health and well-being.
- Limited understanding of how social support is distributed across different social strata.
- Potential link between social support disparities and mental health variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the distribution of social support across social class, marital status, age, and gender.
- Understand how social structures influence social support.
- Assess if social support differences explain mental health epidemiology.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data on social support distribution.
- Examination of perceived social support in relation to psychological distress.
- Comparison of social support patterns across demographic variables.
Main Results:
- Epidemiology of perceived social support closely mirrors psychological distress.
- Women report highest social support and psychological distress, an exception to the general trend.
- Social support variations correlate with social structure positions.
Conclusions:
- Social support is a significant adaptive resource linked to social structure.
- Social support is a potential target for health interventions.
- Except for marital status, social support differences do not largely explain mental health distribution.