Quote: "Social support is the perception and actuality that one is cared for, has assistance available from other people, and most popularly, that one is part of a supportive social network."
The importance of having strong family support systems and how to create a network of supportive family members and friends.
Definition of Family: A family comprises of two or more individuals living together, sharing possessions, and performing social, economic, and emotional functions.
Types of Families: There are different types of families which include nuclear family, extended family, single-parent family, blended family, and same-sex family.
Family Dynamics: The interaction between individuals within a family and how they affect one another.
Family Values: Shared beliefs and attitudes among family members that shape their behavior, attitudes, and actions.
Communication in families: Effective communication is essential to a healthy family structure, and it involves listening, speaking, and understanding.
Emotional Support: Family members provide emotional support to each other by providing comfort, care, and love.
Financial Support: Family members may provide financial support to each other during challenging times.
Cultural and Ethnic Diversity: Understanding diversity and cultural differences can enhance family support and the quality of life.
Parenting Issues: Parenting involves important decisions affecting children's health, education, and wellbeing; good parenting skills are essential for a healthy family.
Family Conflict Resolution: Techniques for resolving conflicts within the family, including active listening, negotiation, and compromise.
Family Systems Theory: A theoretical framework that can inform the understanding of the family, including the interdependence, communication, and boundaries among family members.
Family and Social systems: Family members interact with a broad network of social systems such as schools, the workplace, and religious institutions.
Support Networks: Families may benefit from networks of support, including friends, professionals, and other support groups.
Family Roles: Family members have different roles with varying responsibilities within the family structure.
Family Traditions: Customs and traditions are essential in maintaining family connections and communication.
Family Health: Family members' health is crucial for family support, and keeping healthy habits that involve physical activity, good sleep, and nutritious food can improve all family members' quality of life.
Family and Community: Families can be active participants in communities by volunteering and strengthening community bonds.
Family Development: Family structure changes as members' roles and responsibilities shift as family members age and reach different milestones.
Family Resilience: Families can exhibit resilience by coping with adversity effectively and bouncing back from stressful situations.
Family Support Services: Services that provide support to families in areas such as childcare, counseling, and financial assistance can be impactful.
Nuclear family: This is a traditional family structure consisting of a married couple and their children, living under one roof.
Extended family: It includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives, living in the same household or in proximity to each other. They usually provide emotional, financial, and childcare support to each other.
Single-parent family: It's a household headed by one parent, who takes care of the child(ren) alone. Often, they have to rely on community resources, government assistance, or family and friends' help to meet their needs.
Blended family: It's a family system consisting of parents and children from previous marriages or relationships, forming a new family unit.
LGBT family: It's a family where same-sex partners raise children, adopt, or use medicine to have a child. They have similar family values and support networks as traditional families, but often face unique challenges due to societal discrimination.
Foster family: It's a temporary arrangement allowing a child who cannot live with their parents to stay in a foster family's home. They offer a safe and stable environment for the child until reunification, adoption, or independent living.
Adoptive family: It's a family who legally adopts a child and raises them as their biological children. They provide love, care, and support to the child, acknowledging that the child has unique personal experiences, and they work to honor their child's individuality.
Military family: It's a family system where one or both parents serve in the military, often leading to frequent relocation, separation, or deployment. They rely on each other, other military families, and support agencies for emotional support and practical assistance.
Religious family: It's a family system that places its faith and religion at the center of its values, beliefs, and practices. They often prioritize spiritual growth, moral values, and community service.
Immigrant family: It's a family system where one or both parents or family members migrate from one country to another, often to seek better opportunities or escape violence or persecution. They experience unique challenges, such as language barriers, cultural adjustments, and legal issues. They often rely on each other and their ethnic community to provide emotional and practical support.
Quote: "These supportive resources can be emotional (e.g., nurturance), informational (e.g., advice), or companionship (e.g., sense of belonging); tangible (e.g., financial assistance) or intangible (e.g., personal advice)."
Quote: "Social support can be measured as the perception that one has assistance available, the actual received assistance, or the degree to which a person is integrated in a social network."
Quote: "Support can come from many sources, such as family, friends, pets, neighbors, coworkers, organizations, etc."
Quote: "Government-provided social support may be referred to as public aid in some nations."
Quote: "Social support is studied across a wide range of disciplines including psychology, communications, medicine, sociology, nursing, public health, education, rehabilitation, and social work."
Quote: "Social support has been linked to many benefits for both physical and mental health."
Quote: "...'social support' (e.g., gossiping about friends) is not always beneficial."
Quote: "Social support theories and models were prevalent as intensive academic studies in the 1980s and 1990s."
Quote: "Two main models have been proposed to describe the link between social support and health: the buffering hypothesis and the direct effects hypothesis."
Quote: "Gender and cultural differences in social support have been found."
Quote: "Gender and cultural differences in social support have been found in fields such as education."
Quote: "which may not control for age, disability, income and social status, ethnic and racial, or other significant factors."
Quote: "These supportive resources can be emotional (e.g., nurturance)..."
Quote: "These supportive resources can be informational (e.g., advice)..."
Quote: "These supportive resources can be companionship (e.g., sense of belonging)..."
Quote: "These supportive resources can be tangible (e.g., financial assistance)..."
Quote: "These supportive resources can be intangible (e.g., personal advice)..."
Quote: "Support can come from many sources, such as family, friends, pets, neighbors, coworkers, organizations, etc."
Quote: "...in the US and around the world."