Social support, and in particular perceived social support, has been established in past research to be related to many areas of functioning. Positive perceptions of social support have been associated with; happiness; well-being; mental health and, in children, school attainment. However, the majority of past research has been conducted in the USA, and little research has looked at perceived social support in the UK. Therefore, an in depth exploration of the perceptions of social support of children, within key stage two in the UK was undertaken to establish children’s viewpoints. This exploration indicates that children in the UK perceive social support from a wide range of sources, some of which have not been discussed in previous literature. These sources include an extensive range of family members, friends, and people in the community, as well as toys and animals. The style of support which children value is also wide ranging; it includes the desire for a sense of being seen and heard; their needs being responded to; time and attention being provided in a fun and interactive way; and having shared experiences or interests with their supporters . The exploration of perceived social support in the UK informed the development of a new scale of perceived social support (SOPSS). This scale has been initially piloted in a small group of children, appropriate adaptations have been made and a large scale pilot has been completed. The analysis of the SOPSS initially provides some good evidence that it is a reliable and valid tool. Although further refinement is required, as well as validation in a larger and more diverse population, the tool initially appears to be a valuable addition to the existing social support literature.

Background: Justice-involved populations report a higher than average number of pre-incarceration stressful life events. However, few studies have described stressful life events which occur during incarceration, explored gender differences in these events, or evaluated the effect of these events on well-being. Method: This study draws from a sample of male and female adults incarcerated in 6 prison facilities across two states (n = 160) to identify the number and type of stressful life events they experienced during incarceration, gender differences in stressful events, and the relationship between stressful life events and markers of well-being (i.e., depression, hopelessness, loneliness, suicidality). We also examined whether perceived social support would buffer the relationship between stressful events and well-being outcomes. Results: Participants on average reported experiencing 4 stressful life events during their current incarceration, the most common being relocation to another cell and being made fun of/insulted by someone in the prison. There were few gender differences in types of events experienced. Regression analyses showed that stressful life events were associated with more loneliness, as well as suicidality, but only when participants had low perceived social support. Conclusions: Stressful life events, and drawing on social support networks to cope with stress, should be addressed in the context of correctional treatments to reduce suicide risk during incarceration.

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo relacionar las variables de autoestima y apoyo social percibido en universitarios que hacían uso de las redes sociales (RS). Se utilizó las escalas de Autoestima de Rosenberg (EAR) y la Escala de Soporte Social Percibido en Facebook (ESSPEF), que para propósitos de este estudio se adaptaron para la población elegida. Se usó un muestreo no probabilístico de tipo intencional y se seleccionaron 150 estudiantes participantes, de los cuales el 45.3% eran hombres de edades comprendidas entre los 18 a 25 años. Los resultados indicaron que existían correlaciones parciales entre ambas variables, de modo que feedback (ASP) correlacionó positivamente con autoestima positiva y negativamente con autoestima negativa, conversaciones privadas (ASP) correlacionó positivamente con autoestima negativa y; atención y consideración (ASP) correlacionó positivamente con autoestima positiva y negativamente con autoestima negativa. Se concluyó que a mayor cantidad de RS que utiliza el universitario, mayor será su necesidad de apoyo social percibido posiblemente, debido a la necesidad que siente a recibir una retroalimentación positiva por parte de sus contactos. Por lo cual, es importante continuar estudiando las consecuencias que trae consigo un uso no controlado de las RS, debido a que forma parte de la rutina diaria de los individuos y sobre todo de los jóvenes desde temprana edad. / The objective of this research was to relate self-esteem and perceived social support in university students who have used social networks (SN). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem scales (RSS) and the Perceived Social Support Scale on Facebook (PSSSF) were used, whose parameters were adapted for the chosen population. For this, an intentional non-probability sampling was performed and 150 participating students were selected, of whom 45.3% were men between the ages of 18 and 25. The results indicated that there are partial correlations between both variables, so Feedback (PSSSF) positively correlated with positive self-esteem and negatively correlated with negative self-esteem, private conversations (PSSSF) positively correlated with negative self-esteem and attention and consideration (PSSSF) positively correlated with positive self-esteem and negatively correlated with negative self-esteem. It was concluded that the greater the amount of SN used by the university student, the greater will be their need for perceived social support, possibly due to the need they feel to receive positive feedback from their contacts. Therefore, it is important to continue studying the consequences of uncontrolled use of SN, because it is part of the daily routine of individuals and especially of young people from an early age. / Tesis

Helping individuals develop, foster, and maintain resilience skills is particularly important with Service members as they face multiple deployments and the stress caused by long periods of separations from home and support systems. These separations and prolonged time spent in dangerous environments with the possibility of death and injury can make soldiers more susceptible to stressors that might affect their morale and ability to perform necessary duties required in combat. This study used a quantitative research method approach to better understand how resilience influences performance outcomes among combat veterans. The study was comprised of 76 participants that have served at least one year in combat in Afghanistan or Iraq. Research instruments used to gather data included three psychometric instruments The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). In addition, participant's Army Physical Fitness Test and Weapons qualification scores, taken within a year of the study, were collected. The results of this study indicated two significant correlations exist. Results of this study revealed that increased levels of resilience and self-efficacy shared a positive correlation with greater accuracy with the M16 rifle. Findings from this study indicated that soldiers with strong problem solving skills and confidence in their abilities tend to perform at a higher level with the M-16. Findings from this study should be useful in providing military leaders, soldiers, and health care providers a better understanding of how soldier's resilience influences their ability to perform core tasks.

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The current study investigated the relationship between raising multiple children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and martial adjustment and whether perceived social support moderates this relationship. The sample (n = 115) consisted of 77 parents of a single child diagnosed with an ASD and 44 parents of 2 or more children diagnosed with an ASD. There was no significant difference in martial adjustment between the parents of single versus multiple children with ASDs and no significant relationship between number of children with an ASD within a family and marital adjustment. Although the main hypotheses were not supported, data from experimental questions indicated that a majority of participants believed their marriage was affected by their child's ASD diagnosis and most rated this effect negatively. Further, for parents of multiple children with ASDs, the rating of degree of impact upon their marital relationship after the first diagnosis was significantly positively related to their marital impact rating following the second diagnosis, suggesting that parents who view the effects of the first diagnosis as negative are likely to view the effects of the second diagnosis negatively as well. Since there was no a significant relationship between number of children with and ASD and marital adjustment, social support was not tested as a moderator. However, there was a significant positive relationship between dyadic adjustment and perceived social support. Further research examining the effects of parenting multiple children with ASDs is warranted.

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No description available.

Retirement from sport is a process that unfolds over time in which athletes have varied experiences, ranging from seamless transition to psychological distress. Researchers have sought to understand the variables (i.e., athletic identity, social support) that contribute to successful or unsuccessful transitions, with athletic identity being one of the most frequently mentioned. Athletes who strongly identify with the athlete role at the time of retirement are more at risk for adverse retirement outcomes (i.e., mental health concerns, identity concerns, substance use). To date, few studies have examined the moderating effect of coping resources, such as social support, on athletic identity at the time of retirement. The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, we found that student-athletes who graduated and retired had lower athletic identity, higher alcohol use, and less perceived social support than their peers who continued competing four months after graduation. Second, we longitudinally examined the relationship of athletic identity and social support to the psychological well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and binge drinking) of collegiate student athletes who retired from sport. Neither T1 athletic identity nor T1 social support, nor their interaction, were related to T2 life satisfaction or T2 alcohol use in the retired student-athletes after controlling for gender and the respective T1 variables. Further, being female and T1 life satisfaction were the only significant predictors for T2 life satisfaction; T1 alcohol use was the only predictor of T2 alcohol use. Implications of the findings, limitations, and future directions are discussed.