Social support is thought to give animals benefits from social partners, such as improved coping with challenges. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in social support in the red junglefowl (RJF) and a domestic layer strain, the White Leghorn (WL). A runway test consisting of two compartments with unfamiliar and familiar stimulus animals was used to measure social motivation before and after a stressful experience. Total number of test animals was 56 divided into four groups; male and female WL as well as male and female RJF. Results showed that females preferred to stay close to familiar conspecifics after stress treatment. Before stress treatment there was little difference between either sex of WL while RJF males and females chose different zones. Females preferred familiar conspecifics, indicating that they rely more on familiar social stimuli for social support. Males of the two breeds behaved differently towards stimulus animals. WL males showed aggression towards familiar stimulus animals while RJF males directed aggression towards unfamiliar stimulus animals. Indication of sexual behavioural dimorphism was supported while further research is needed in domestication effects on social support in chickens.

When animals are stressed they use a trait called social support to alleviate their stress responses. With domestication many traits from the ancestor red junglefowl have changed in the domesticated breed white leghorn. White leghorns are bred to be able to live in large groups where it becomes hard to recognize every chicken. They are therefore not as dependent of familiar stimuli birds for social support as red junglefowl. Our hypotheses were that red jungle males would be more interested in unfamiliar stimuli birds than white leghorn male before stress due to their territoriality. We tested total 56 chickens in an open field test. The test arena was divided in three zones and the time the focal birds spent in each zone was recorded. The focal bird was recorded in 300 seconds before being stressed by being suspended in a net and then recorded again in 300 seconds. The results showed that social support and social behaviour differs between females and males for both breeds. No significant differences were found between the breeds. There was a tendency for significant of breed (P=0.08) effects in the central zone unstressed. The two interactions before stressed between breed and sex, central zone (P<0.01) and unfamiliar zone (P<0.01) had significant effects. We observed fights between white leghorn males and familiar stimuli. Waltzing did also occur in red jungle males in front of unfamiliar. In conclusion, numeric differences can be seen but not large enough to be significant and our hypotheses are not confirmed.

Domestication has taken place over thousands of years and during that time we have bred animals on different traits. The red jungle fowl is the ancestor to all domesticated chicks, including the white leghorn which is used in egg production. The domestication of the red jungle fowl has resulted in behavioral changes between itself and domesticated breeds, such as white leghorn. In this study we examine how these two breeds handle stress and whether or not they use social support when coping and recovering from a stress experience. The study took place in a built arena with two stimuli animals on each side. There the animal was studied for 5 minutes, stressed for 3 minutes and studied again for 5 minutes. We found that the red jungle fowl males spent more time in the unfamiliar zone before stress than males of the white leghorn. Our results also showed that the females of white leghorn and red jungle fowl spent more time in the familiar zone than males after being stressed. This is an indication that they are more dependent on social support from familiar animals after stress than the males are. Aggressive behavior was also observed among the males. Red jungle fowl males acted aggressively towards the unfamiliar stimuli animals and the white leghorn towards the familiar stimuli animals. In conclusion, we found that the females where in greater need of social support than the males. / Biologi

Kvinnor har uppfattats som effektiva i ett transformativt ledarskap vilket även haft en positiv inverkan på ett effektivt samarbete i en arbetsgrupp. Ett effektivt samarbete krävde gemenskap i arbetsgruppen vilken kunde kompliceras av såväl arbetsrelaterade som relationsrelaterade konflikter. Åtta kvinnliga mellanchefer intervjuades med fokus på deras arbetssätt som chefer och deras uppfattningar om eventuella skillnader mellan manliga och kvinnliga medarbetare och kollegor i olika avseenden. Resultatet från en kvalitativ innehållsanalys visade att ett effektivt samarbete krävde såväl tydliga arbetsroller och mål som en gemenskap med och förståelse för varandra. Kvinnliga medarbetare upplevde ett behov av relationer i arbetsgruppen och ett psykosocialt stöd. Män upplevdes fokusera på arbetsuppgiften med behov av ett praktiskt stöd. Intervjudeltagarna ansåg att gemenskapen i arbetsgruppen oftast komplicerades av relationsrelaterade konflikter vilka även upplevdes problematiska att lösa. Samtliga intervjudeltagare hade erfarenhet av ett stödjande mentorskap och föredrog en kvinnlig mentor.

Syftet med föreliggande litteraturstudie var att beskriva vad som framkommer om socialt stöd och livsstilsförändringar efter hjärtinfarkt. Studien är en beskrivande litteraturstudie som innefattar tio vetenskapliga artiklar vilka har granskats av författarna och därefter kvalitetsbedömts. Resultatet visade att livsstilsförändringar inte var lätta att genomföra. Det sociala stödet var viktigt för att de olika livsstilsförändringarna skulle klaras av och att stödets utformning skulle vara anpassat efter den hjärtinfarktdrabbades behov. För mycket eller för litet stöd hade negativ inverkan på hur patienten lyckades med livsstilsförändringarna. Personalen på sjukhuset hade stor inverkan på hur lyckad livsstilsförändringarna skulle bli. Sjukvårdspersonalen behövde stödja både hjärtinfarktdrabbade och anhöriga för att rehabiliteringen skulle bli lyckad. De slutsatser som dragits från föreliggande studie är, att socialt stöd påverkar hjärtinfarktdrabbades möjlighet att genomföra livsstilsförändringar. Det sociala stödet kan få både en positiv och negativ inverkan på livsstilsförändringar. Det har visat sig vara viktigt att sjuksköterskan samarbetar med den hjärtinfarktdrabbade. Att anpassa situationen och informationen till respektive individ kan förbättra stödet från sjukvården. / The purpose of this study was to describe what is found about social support and lifestyle changes after a myocardial infarction. The study is a descriptive literature review that includes ten scientific articles that have been reviewed and qualitatively evaluated by the authors. The results showed that lifestyle changes were not easy to conduct. Social support was essential to cope with lifestyle changes and it was important that the aid was designed to match each individual. Too much or too little support had adverse effects on the lifestyle changes that needed to be made. The hospital staff had a major impact on how successful lifestyle changes would be. The hospital staff needed to support both myocardial infarction victims and relatives to make the rehabilitation a success to assure a full recovery. The conclusions drawn from this study is that social support affects myocardial infarction victims and their opportunity to conduct lifestyle changes. Social support can have both positive and negative effects on lifestyle changes. It has also proved to be of great importance that the nurse is collaborating with the myocardial infarction victim. Adjustment to the situation and information to each individual could change the support from the healthcare.

The aim of this study was to examine the relations between sense of coherence (SOC), perceived social support and mood, the study also included gender and civil status in the analysis. In the analysis mood was the dependent variable. The study included 81 respondents, all students from Växjö university, who answered a survey with three parts: SOC 13, Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), and an own constructed instrument that measured perceived social support. The result showed that those with a high SOC tended to have a greater mood. High scores on perceived social support also were related to a greater mood. No significant interaction effects was found between SOC and perceived social support. In the whole sample SOC was the strongest predictor for MACL. Women reported higher social support from friends than men, but this variable had no effect on women’s MACL. Among men the perceived social support from friends was the strongest predictor for MACL.

Previous studies suggest that the major source of pressure for inmates or drug rehabilitants is from prison or drug abuser treatment center. The objectives of this research is thus to understand the impacts of life stress, self-esteem and social support to drug rehabilitants¡¦ life adaptation in drug abuser treatment center, and be able to provide practical suggestions to treatment center in order to advance the effectiveness of drug abuse treatment. This study employs quantitative research method, and uses survey questionnaire to collect data from 260 drug rehabilitants in the Kaohsiung Drug Abuser Treatment Center. 230 drug rehabilitants completed their questionnaires. The major findings include the followings. According to one-way analysis of variance, drug rehabilitants with different socio-demographic backgrounds yield dissimilar results toward life stress, self-esteem and social support. In terms of life stress, the younger the abuser is the more life stress he/she would have. In terms of self-esteem, the older the abuser is the better self-affirmation he/she would possess. In terms of social support, the younger the offender is the less social support he/she would have. In our regression model, all three variables including life stress, self-esteem and social support reach significant level with social support most heavily weighted factor in explaining drug rehabilitants¡¦ life adaptation in drug abuser treatment center. Based upon the aforementioned findings, it is believed that the treatment center should give up the dogmas of conventional rehabilitation treatment, and adopt a more pluralistic approach in order to reduce life stress, promote self-esteem and increase social support for drug rehabilitants. The effectiveness of drug rehabilitation treatment can thus be improved.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among religious coping, acceptance of diabetes, social support, diabetes management, and quality of life among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Religious coping, acceptance of diabetes, and social support were hypothesized to encourage adherence to self - management behaviors thus enhancing quality of life. A convenience sample of 247 T2DM patients was recruited from local churches, clinics, a diabetes support group, and a diabetes education class. Participants completed a 10-page survey comprising the following reliable and valid scales: Religious Problem Solving Scale-Short Form, Ideas About Diabetes-Revised Scale (IAD-R), the PRQ2000, the Religious Support Scale, Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities-Revised, and the Diabetes Quality of Life Measure. The mean age of the respondents was 54 years, with the majority being female (68%), Caucasian (53%), and of Protestant religious affiliation (58%). Gender and ethnic differences were found for religious coping, acceptance of diabetes, and selfmanagement behaviors. African Americans and women were more religious and used more religious coping. African Americans also felt more inhibited by diabetes and women were more likely to regularly examine their feet. Gender, general social support, and feeling less inhibited by diabetes (subscale of acceptance) were significant predictors of quality of life in the multivariate (regression) analysis (F (19, 219) = 7.777, p < .001; adjusted R2 = .351). Results of this study support past research indicating the influence of gender, social support, and feeling inhibited by diabetes on respondents' quality of life. Attention to patients' level of social support and diabetes education that teaches patients how to integrate the disease into their life may be critical to improving quality of life.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which acculturative stress is associated with physical activity levels of international students, the influence of types and sources of social support on their physical activity levels, and the degree to which social support affects the relationship between their physical activity levels and acculturative stress. 215 Korean international students from Bryan-College Station, Texas, were recruited for this study. The results revealed that only the stressor of English language difficulty, one of acculturative stress, negatively influenced physical activity levels. Social support was positively associated with physical activity levels. Finally, in the role of social support between acculturative stress and physical activity levels, the support of Korean friends and American friends positively affected vigorous physical activity level. These results suggest that social support for international students is likely to be one of most important factors for their physical activity levels. Since the convenient sample of Korean international students may not be representative of international students in the United States, further study needs representative samples in order to establish the generality of international students studying in the United States. Moreover, future research is necessary to examine various sources and types of social support which influence physical activity of international students.

Student-athletes' and athletic administrators' perceptions of available and accessible social support in the athletic department are explored. Interviews were conducted with three athletic administrators whose job responsibilities are most focused on student-athlete welfare and 13 student-athletes from a NCAA Division I University from the Pacific Ten Conference in the Northwestern United States chosen from a purposive sample based on demographic characteristics and nominations. Interviews were conducted with participants until informational redundancy was achieved. The university was chosen based on diversity of student-athletes, proximity to researcher, and access granted to student-athletes for interviews. Interview questions were based on the psychosocial model of development. Data from interviews were analyzed thematically using five dimensions of social support to examine the differences and similarities between the types of support identified as available and accessible by student-athletes and athletic administrators. From the 13 student-athletes and three athletic administrators that were interviewed, 38 categories were identified in the themes of emotional support, instrumental support, informational support, appraisal support, and lack of support. Student-athletes identified 29 categories in the five themes and athletic administrators identified 19 categories in the five themes. Similarities between student-athletes and athletic administrators were found in 14 categories. Student-athletes identified 13 categories that athletic administrators did not and athletic administrators identified six categories that student-athletes did not. Implications of the results for student-athletes and athletic administrators are discussed.