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Conceptualizing and Assessing Social Support in the Context of the Family

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Handbook of Social Support and the Family

Abstract

Social support and family researchers have made enormous strides in documenting the many links between the supportive elements within family relationships, on one hand, and important personal outcomes, such as psychological adjustment, on the other. These efforts have contributed to a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of the social support construct and to recognition that the impact that supportive relationships have on personal outcomes is complex and requires attention to a broad range of pertinent variables. Despite these impressive developments, several topics—topics that lie at the heart of research on social support and the family—still need to be addressed. This chapter examines some of these topics and seeks to offer a new perspective from which to examine them.

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Pierce, G.R., Sarason, B.R., Sarason, I.G., Joseph, H.J., Henderson, C.A. (1996). Conceptualizing and Assessing Social Support in the Context of the Family. In: Pierce, G.R., Sarason, B.R., Sarason, I.G. (eds) Handbook of Social Support and the Family. The Springer Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1388-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1388-3_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1390-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1388-3

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