Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T09:21:14.887Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seeking Social Support: An Observational Instrumental and Illustrative Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Derek Milne  and
Penny Netherwood
Derek Milne
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, Morpeth
Penny Netherwood
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

l“Social support” refers to the informal provision of emotional, informational and practical help to those in distress. Its importance as a buffer against stressors is gaining in acceptance, but most measures of social support are based on self-report. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to develop an observational tool with which to record objectively the duration, subject matter and form of client utterances, relating these to corresponding helper responses. This yields their respective speech profiles, together with an analysis of the contingencies. The potential value of this approach is illustrated in terms of clients attending hairdressing salons in a psychiatric hospital (N = 20) and in the local town (N = 19). Clear and predicted differences in the support elicitation skills of these two groups provided evidence of the instrument's validity, and good inter-rater reliability was also demonstrated. Applications for the instrument are outlined.

Type
Clinical Section
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , April 1997 , pp. 173 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barrera, M. & Ainlay, S. (1983). The structure of social support: A conceptual and empirical analysis. Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 133–143.3.0.CO;2-L>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cowen, E.L. (1982). Help is where you find it. Four informal helping groups. American Psychologist, 37 (4), 385–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, M., O'Driscoll, C., Dayson, D., Wills, W., & Leff, J. (1990). The TAPS Project. 4: An observational study of the social life of long stay patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 842–848.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gormly, A. (1988). Hairdressers as informal psychotherapists? An observational study of the nature and direction of social support. Unpublished undergraduate dissertation, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.Google Scholar
Greenblatt, M., Becerra, R., & Serafetinnides, E. (1982). Social networks and mental health: An overview. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 977–984.Google Scholar
Hardy, G. & Shapiro, D. (1984). Therapist response modes in prescriptive vs exploratory psychotherapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 24, 235–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrop, A., Daniels, M., & Foulked, C. (1990). The use of momentary time sampling and partial interval recording in behavioural research. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 18, 121–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lazare, A. & Eisenthal, S. (1977). Patient requests in a walk-in clinic. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 165, 330–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leavy, R. (1983). Social support and psychological disorder: A review. Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 3–21.3.0.CO;2-E>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindsay, W.R. (1982). Some normative goals for conversation training. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 10, 253–272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, D. (1992). Prompting mental health through social support. In Trent, D.R. (Ed.), Promotion of mental health. Aldershot: Avebury.Google Scholar
Milne, D. & Mullin, M. (1987). Is a problem shared a problem shaved? An evaluation of hairdressers and social support. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 26, 69–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Milne, D.L., Jones, R.Q., & Walters, P. (1989). Anxiety management in the community: A social support model and preliminary evaluation. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 17, 221–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milne, D., Cowie, I., Gormly, A., White, C., & Hartley, J. (1992). Social supporters and behaviour therapists: Three studies on the form and function of their help. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 20, 343–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, R.O. & Hayes, S.C. (1986). Conceptual foundations of behavioural assessment. London: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Newcomb, M.D. (1990a). Social support and personal characteristics: A developmental and interactional perspective. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9, 54–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newcomb, M.D. (1990b). Social support by many other names: Toward a unified conceptualization. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 479–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orford, J. (1992). Community psychology: Theory and practice. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Pierce, G.R., Sarason, B.R., & Sarason, I.G. (1990). Integrating social support perspectives: Working models, personal relationships and situational factors. In Duck, S. (Ed.), Personal relationships and social support. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Procidano, M.E. (1992). The nature of perceived social support: Findings from meta-analytic studies. Advances in Personality Assessment, 4, 1–26.Google Scholar
Schaefer, C., Coyne, J., & Lazarus, R. (1981). The health-related functions of social support. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 4, 381–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sarason, I.G., Pierce, G.R., & Sarason, B.R. (1990). Social support and interactional processes: A triadic hypothesis. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 7, 495–506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarason, I.G., Sarason, B.R., & Pierce, G.R. (1994). Social support: Global and relationship-based levels and analysis. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 11, 295–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whalan, G.S. & Musket, G. (1990). Service requests of acute in-patients and perceived pattern of provision at discharge. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 63, 311–381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willems, E.P. (1972). The interface of the hospital environment and patient behaviour. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 03, 115–122.Google Scholar
Winefield, H.R. (1984). The nature and elicitation of social support: Some implications for the helping professions. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 12, 318–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.