Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Child and Family Studies

Major Professor

Chih-Chin Chou, Ph.D., C.R.C.

Committee Member

Marilyn Stern, Ph.D., C.R.C.

Committee Member

Nan Sook Park, Ph.D., M.S.W.

Committee Member

Svetlana Yampolskaya, Ph.D.

Keywords

adherence support, daily support, mental health support, stress

Abstract

Past research on social support has mainly focused on perceived social support. Relatively less research has been done on received social support and how it can promote positive behavior outcomes. This study examines the importance of received social support, including background on social support, social support outcomes, and a theoretical foundation overview of the social stress model. In addition to a literature review, this study investigates the association between individual characteristics (i.e., diagnosis and substance abuse including alcohol, race/ethnicity, gender, age, and marital status) and different types of received social support (i.e., daily, mental health, and adherence support). Simple linear regression analyses were used to investigate associations between each independent variable and the social support measures and three multiple regression analyses were used to identify associations between all characteristics and social support measures. Two hundred and seventy-six individuals with serious mental illness in the New York and Boston area participated in the study on received social support, and 22 were eliminated due to incomplete data sets. In general, it was found that there are associations among diagnosis, gender, and relationship status on social support measures in both the simple linear regression and multiple regression analyses. Strengths, limitations, and implications for future research and the counseling profession are further discussed.

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