Patterns of Nonverbal Adaptation in Supportive Interactions

This study seeks initial evidence for the patterns of nonverbal adaptation predictive of emotional improvement after a troubles talk conversation. A total of 128 dyads composed of two unacquainted individuals engaged in a 5-minute conversation about a stressful event, and the nonverbal behaviors of both the supportive listener and discloser were coded for immediacy. We detected a general pattern of matching between interlocutors, which was positively associated with disclosers’ reported emotional improvement above and beyond listener immediacy. Importantly, we found primary support for a discloser-matching model whereby emotional improvement is a function of disclosers matching highly immediate listeners but no support for a listener-matching model whereby emotional improvement is a function of listeners matching disclosers to signal empathy.     

Recipients' criteria for evaluating the skillfulness of comforting communication and the outcomes of comforting interactions

This paper reports on a two-part investigation of people's criteria for evaluating (a) how skillful comforting behavior is, and (b) the outcomes of comforting interactions for distressed persons. In Study 1, individuals were interviewed regarding their experiences in comforting interactions. These interviews, along with previous comforting message research, were used to generate items representing "skillful" comforting behavior and possible outcomes from comforting interactions. These items comprised the questionnaire used in the second study. In Study 2, participants reported on an interaction in which they had been comforted by a friend. Participants rated the comforting behaviors of their friends and the outcomes they experienced following the interaction. In terms of skillfulness of the comfort providers' behavior, five factors emerged: Other Orientation, Problem Solving, Relating, Refraining from General Negativity, and Different Perspective. Three distinct criteria emerged in evaluations of the outcomes of comforting interactions: the recipients' Positive Mood following the comforting, the Empowerment they experienced, and the degree to which they had Stopped Rumination about their problem. Multiple regression analyses revealed the utility of the skillfulness criteria in predicting the outcomes experienced by distressed persons. The results are discussed in terms of theories and research on coping, social support, and comforting messages.     

Social support within an on-line cancer community: an assessment of emotional support,perceptions of advantages and disadvantages,and motives for using the community from a communication perspective

This study investigated an on-line cancer support community emphasizing communication concerns important to the community administrators. The researcher conducted an on-line survey of participants (N v = v 103) focused on their on-line communication activities and social support. The results indicate a modest negative correlation between emotional support received on-line and perceived stress, differences in emotional support scores based on perceptions of disadvantages of on-line support groups, and different motives for using the community between people with cancer and family members. The study also describes suggestions based on the results that were made to community administrators and which could be used by other on-line support communities.     

Influence of Social Identity on Self-Efficacy Beliefs Through Perceived Social Support: A Social Identity Theory Perspective

While much research documents the influence of self-efficacy on enactment of health behaviors, relatively less attention has been given to the factors that influence self-efficacy. To enhance our understanding of the various sources of self-efficacy, this study integrated social identity theory into this context and proposed and tested a model, which describes a process through which social identity can influence self-efficacy of engaging in health-related behaviors. Consistent with the proposed meditational model, the findings showed that individuals who had stronger social identity with a given social group perceived greater social support from the group, which in turn predicted higher self-efficacy of engaging in a health-related behavior advocated by the group, and ultimately predicted greater behavioral intention. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Use of social networking sites by research scholars of the University of Delhi: A study

The main purpose of the paper is to explore how research scholars of University of Delhi integrated Social Networking Sites (SNSs) into their daily communication for research work. A structured questionnaire was designed and personally distributed 160 respondents. Most used SNSs for “lurking” while few used such sites for promoting one’s research. Additionally, most respondents preferred the SNS Facebook and ResearchGate for academic purposes. Collaborative and peer-to-peer learning were common benefits from SNSs while some expressed concern regarding cyber-bullying and privacy. Finally, a majority of respondents said using SNSs may be a waste of time.     

Esteem Support Messages Received during the Job Search: A Test of the CETESM

The current study extends research on the Cognitive-Emotional Theory of Esteem Support Messages (CETESM) and examines the role of esteem support during the job search. Unemployed, underemployed, and/or displaced job seekers (N=197) recalled an esteem support message they had received during their job search. Messages were coded using a scheme derived from the CETESM. Results indicate that helpful messages (i.e., those that enhanced state self-esteem related to the job search) were significantly more likely than unhelpful messages to contain message features predicted by the CETESM. Helpful messages were also associated with greater job search activity than were unhelpful messages. Theoretical implications, as well as pragmatic implications for those who wish to support job seekers, are discussed.     

推荐一种新方法 强化期刊社会效益

提出了质量功能扩展方法与编辑系统相结合的方法,即质量功能扩展系统方法,并给出强化系统功能的简单表达式。表达式中以“效益”作为功能强化因子,而因子为系统接受系统外部环境的信息,即用“读者要求”协调和强化编辑系统功能。通过逐层和逐级系统功能的扩展,使刊物社会功能尽量与实际情形相符合。     

Cultural Differences of Social Network Influence on Romantic Relationships: A Comparison of the United States and South Korea

This study examined the association between social network support and relationship quality of romantic partners among American and Korean college students. As predicted, findings indicated that Americans involve their family and friends more in their romantic relationships and, accordingly, get more support from them for their relationships than Koreans do. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that Koreans would perceive social network support as more important for their romantic relationships. Instead, network importance negatively mediated the effects of social network on relationship quality only for Americans. The positive associations between network support and relationship quality were not differential between the two samples. Implications for culture and close relationships are discussed.     

社会化网络环境下数字信息资源的开放存取

介绍了社会化网络的内涵与特点及其对数字信息资源开放存取的影响,构建了基于社会化网络的数字信息资源开放存取的结构框架。     

An Investigation of the Support Process: Decision,Enactment, and Outcome

This study examines factors influencing the effectiveness and relational consequences of emotional support through three phases: decision, enactment, and outcome. Participants (N = 428) completed a questionnaire asking them to identify a time they faced a traumatic event, to identify whom they turned to for support, to complete measures of trust and solidarity before and after the support episode, and to complete measures assessing the efficacy of the support exchange. Analyses revealed the type of event influenced selection of a support target, severity of event was correlated with pre-episode trust and solidarity levels, and females provided more effective support than did males. Trust and solidarity levels after the support episode were predicted, in part, by the efficacy of the support episode. Implications of the phasic model for future research on support following a traumatic event are discussed.     

A Measure of Weak-Tie/Strong-Tie Support Network Preference

This article reports two studies designed to develop and test a weak-tie/strong-tie support network preference scale. A theoretical framework for developing the measure and empirical tests of the underlying dimensions in two distinct populations is presented along with an assessment of the scale's validity and reliability, and hypotheses are tested regarding the support network preferences of the two populations. The application and utility of the four subscales comprising the W/STS is discussed along with the scale's implications for the study and advancement of applied research concerning social support networks.     

电子政务社会化服务的隐性信息资源诉求

社会化服务引发了电子政务信息资源的全新定位。本文以社会化服务为导向,从电子政务的实践发展,用户需求和信息资源共享等几方面论述了社会化服务对电子政务隐性信息资源的迫切需求。认为以政府优秀决策为标的物的隐性信息资源开发、共享与利用是电子政务社会化服务职能实现的突破口。电子政务隐性信息资源是体现政府在社会化服务中“做了什么”,“怎样做的”和“为什么这样做”的极具社会应用价值的信息资源。     

Patterns of Social Support Communicated in Response to Expressions of Uncertainty in an Online Community of Young Adults with Cancer

In order to develop more effective ways of helping adolescents and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors cope with cancer-related uncertainty, it is important to understand how AYAs respond communicatively to each other's uncertainty. We designed this project to gain insight into the patterns of social support that occur in response to AYAs' expressions of uncertainty. We analyzed 510 responses to posts in an AYA-focused online discussion group. Eighty-two percent of messages responding to uncertainty contained informational support. Sixty-seven percent contained multiple types of support. Among medical, personal, and social sources of uncertainty, the most typical response tended to be a combination of informational support accompanied by emotional and/or esteem support. AYAs who express uncertainty in online support groups should be advised that their posts are likely to be met with information, such as advice and referrals, which may either facilitate or impede their uncertainty management goals.     

An Erosion Model of Employee Turnover Based on Network Centrality

An Erosion Model (EM) of employee turnover is introduced to explain the previously observed negative relationship between network centrality and employee turnover. The EM hypothesizes that social support moderates the centrality–turnover relation as those more active in the organization's social network experience less job strain due to esteem provided by work peers. Three EM hypotheses were supported using meta-analytic procedures with significant relations identified between centrality and turnover (k=5, r=.29), social support and centrality (k=7, r=.23), and social support and turnover intentions (k=17, r=.35). Future research for EM expansion and practical applications are proposed.     

Intergenerational Support and the Role of Grandparents in Post-Divorce Families: Retrospective Accounts of Young Adult Grandchildren

The purpose of the current study was to examine grandparent support to grandchildren following the divorce of parents. Participants (N = 42) responded to questions focusing on the enactment of support and relationships with grandparents. Through these retrospective, self-report accounts, six categories of grandparent support were identified. Additionally, four barriers to grandparent support emerged from the responses of the grandchildren. These categories of and barriers to intergenerational social support are discussed as they relate to characteristics and expectations of provided support in post-divorce families.     

Evaluations of Supportive and Unsupportive Responses during Spousal Deployment

This study investigates helpful/unhelpful support, and reasons why responses from others are evaluated as helpful/unhelpful in terms of how they affect the ability to cope with deployment. Interviews were conducted with 26 military partners during deployment. The results offer a typology of (un)helpful responses and attributions of these responses. Furthermore, the results indicate that similar responses can be evaluated as both helpful and unhelpful, creating a support paradox. Three prominent dimensions affecting the variability in response evaluations, based in validation, understanding, and control, are discussed: in-group versus out-group, identity-confirming versus identity-disconfirming, and burden-reducing versus burden-inducing. These dimensions deepen our understanding of how support is unique within the context of deployment, specifically in terms of the paradox it can create.     

社会标注在卫生社交网络中的应用

随着Web2．0技术的发展,社会标注作为网络资源组织的重要方式,已经广泛应用于各种类型的网站。通过深入研究社会标注在卫生社交网络中的应用和存在的不足,提出了建立社会化登陆模式、构建标签库、建立标签自动分类系统、实现个性化推荐机制、进行标签语义分析、设置用户权限等促进卫生社交网络朝着更好方向发展的建议。     

The Effects of Social Support,Depression, and Stress on Drinking Behaviors in a College Student Sample

Social support research contends that supportive interactions provide a buffer wherein individuals are protected from increased risk due to negative affect. The present study investigated the relationships between social support and college students' stress, depression, and alcohol use. A total of 54 students completed questionnaires in exchange for extra course credit. Results demonstrated that stress and depression were correlated with one another and that social support was negatively correlated with each of these outcomes. Depression, but not stress, was correlated with increased drinking behavior. Overall, social support was negatively correlated with alcohol consumption; however, depression moderated the effect of social support such that support and alcohol consumption were negatively correlated for participants with higher depression whereas support and alcohol consumption were positively correlated for individuals with lower depression. These findings partially confirm existing theories of alcohol use that hypothesize differences between self-medicating drinkers and social, sensation-seeking drinkers.