While much research has shown that being in a supportive relationship can buffer individuals from both the physical and psychological effects of stressful life events (House, Landis, & Umberson, 1988; Uchino, 2004), research concerning actual support exchanges, specifically receiving support, has been associated with negative effects (Gleason, Iida, Bolger, & Shrout, 2003; Gleason, Iida, Shrout, & Bolger, 2008). Understanding the differential effects of this process on mood and health is the focus of this study. The current paper adds to the existing literature by first, theoretically replicating previously established support transaction patterns and their effects on mood within committed couples and second, investigating the role that personality (i.e., perceived control) plays in moderating the effects of support on mood and health outcomes. In a daily diary study of 78 couples expecting their first child, I investigate the within and between-person associations between control, support, mood, and health. Couples were asked to independently complete three weeks of daily diaries at three different time points (i.e., during their third trimester, infancy, and toddlerhood). With the exception of women in their third trimester of pregnancy, we theoretically replicate previous support patterns and the effects on mood and find both state- and trait- level control to be important in this process such that the greater an individual's sense of control, the more he or she is buffered from negative influence of support transactions. Hypotheses concerning support and health are only partially supported in that receiving support and negative health symptoms are positively associated. / text

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Social support has been demonstrated to reduce cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality; however, the mechanisms by which social support reduces disease progression are still unclear. Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide commonly associated with positive social interactions. This series of studies investigated the ability of oxytocin to attenuate atherosclerosis and its putative mediators, pro-inflammatory cytokines. Oxytocin receptors were identified by Western Blot on rat adipose tissue and rat adipocytes. OT receptor mRNA was identified in human adipocyte cDNA. In primary culture of rat abdominal adipocytes, oxytocin (10 pM) decreased LPS-induced IL-6 release by 24.9% after a six hour incubation. Adipose tissue, surgically dissected from ApoE-/- mice chronically infused with OT, secreted less IL-6 than mice infused with a vehicle control. In sum, the presence of OT receptors was demonstrated on adipocytes, OT was shown to reduce IL-6 release in vitro, and chronic OT infusion decreased IL-6 release in adipose explants immediately after sacrifice. Potential mechanisms by which adipose tissue's role in the sympathetic nervous system response may affect inflammation, metabolism, and disease are discussed.

This study aimed to address gaps in the literature by taking a qualitative approach to better understand both facilitators and barriers to acquiring positive social support for first-time parent couples. An interpretative phenomenological approach was utilized to explore the lived experience of first-time parent couples as they navigated the first few months of parenthood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify potential sources of social support within and outside the couple relationship, and to better understand the role these supports played in their adaptation to the parenting role. The study revealed three super-ordinate themes central to our understanding of social support and its critical role in the positive adaptation of first-time parents: 1) predicting social support needs; preparing for the unknown, 2) assessing capacity to meet the demands of early parenthood, and 3) feeling supported as a first-time parent.

Spirituality is a multifaceted construct, and often studied as a one- or two-dimensional variable. Recent work has resulted in the development of the RiTE model of spirituality. While preliminarily supported as a useful approach to measuring spirituality, little is known regarding its associations with other outcomes. Past studies have shown inverse associations between spirituality and psychological distress, which appears to be partially a function of social support derived from spiritual beliefs or practices. As such, the present study tested the relationship between the RiTE dimensions and psychache as mediated by multiple types of social support. Parallel mediation results from an undergraduate sample (N = 1994) showed that all three RiTE dimensions were indirectly associated with psychache via multiple forms of social support. Ritualistic and existential spirituality also displayed direct associations with psychache. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of past literature, applicable theoretical constructs, and treatment considerations.

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Social support has been proven to play a major role in the well-being of an individual. Unfortunately, the conceptualisation of the construct is vague and many authors disagree about the various properties and dimensions of the construct. Seen from a health-related perspective, social support can be regarded as divided into two main spectrums, the main-effect model and the stress-buffering model. The main-effect model proposes that social support has a beneficial effect, whether or not an individual is under stress, while the stress-buffering model proposes that social support buffers an individual from potentially pathological influences. The construct is furthermore conceptualised as consisting of distinct structural, functional and perceptual dimensions. The aim of the research was to develop an instrument which would incorporate all three of these dimensions and could be proven valid and statistically reliable. A cross-sectional survey design was used. An availability sample of qualified educators in the North-West Province of South Africa was used. The Social Support Survey was developed as a measuring instrument and administered along with a biographical questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Contrary to expectation, factor analysis indicated that the four factors regarding the characteristics of the support, as well as the five factors regarding the types of support, were clustered around the source of support. This might be due to the Likert-scale matrix design of the questionnaire, which required participants to answer a wide range of questions regarding the type, importance, amount, adequacy and accessibility of support. By way of conclusion, recommendations were made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Social support has been proven to play a major role in the well-being of an individual. Unfortunately, the conceptualisation of the construct is vague and many authors disagree about the various properties and dimensions of the construct. Seen from a health-related perspective, social support can be regarded as divided into two main spectrums, the main-effect model and the stress-buffering model. The main-effect model proposes that social support has a beneficial effect, whether or not an individual is under stress, while the stress-buffering model proposes that social support buffers an individual from potentially pathological influences. The construct is furthermore conceptualised as consisting of distinct structural, functional and perceptual dimensions. The aim of the research was to develop an instrument which would incorporate all three of these dimensions and could be proven valid and statistically reliable. A cross-sectional survey design was used. An availability sample of qualified educators in the North-West Province of South Africa was used. The Social Support Survey was developed as a measuring instrument and administered along with a biographical questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Contrary to expectation, factor analysis indicated that the four factors regarding the characteristics of the support, as well as the five factors regarding the types of support, were clustered around the source of support. This might be due to the Likert-scale matrix design of the questionnaire, which required participants to answer a wide range of questions regarding the type, importance, amount, adequacy and accessibility of support. By way of conclusion, recommendations were made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

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