Social support and resilience have been shown to reduce recovery times after major operations, as well as predict levels of post-operative pain. This study aims to determine whether social support and resilience modulate medical outcomes parameters and perceptions of recovery after a surgical intervention. Post-operative patients were recruited from an inner-city, safety net, level 1 trauma center prior to discharge. They completed questionnaires on social support (Medical Outcomes Study - Social Support Survey MOS-SSS), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale BRS), and overall health (Medical Outcomes Study – Short Form 36 MOS-SF36). Patients then completed the MOS-SF36 questionnaire approximately six and twelve weeks after surgical treatment. Preliminary results from recruited patients offer no conclusion regarding social support and outcome measures, but a significant positive relationship between resilience and patient-reported quality of life was seen (Spearman's Rho = 0.606). Resilience was also highest among patients in the surgical oncology service, relative to the other two surgical cohorts.

This study investigates the relationship between traumatic events and PTSD among police officers in KwaZulu-Natal and the mediating effects of coping and social support. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of PTSD among police officers and whether coping and social support structures act as mediating variables in the stress-illness realtionship. In order to achieve this aim an assessment battery containing Biographical Checklist, the Ways of Coping Checklist, The Index of Social Support and the Dutch Post Traumatic Stress Scale was distributed to a sample of police officers in Kwazulu-Natal. The findings indicate a high incidence of PTSD, among policemen although no significant relationship was found between exposure to traumatic events and PTSD. Further, emotion­ focused coping strategies, namely, self-blame and wishful thinking, were found to be predictive of PTSD. No significant relationship was established between the availability of social support and satisfaction with social support and PTSD. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Approximately 32% of college-aged individuals are overweight or obese, yet few weight loss programs have effectively motivated this population to adopt a healthier lifestyle. A majority of this population frequently uses the social networking site Facebook. This study examined the impact of a Facebook social support group on weight loss efforts of college students. A total of 24 students were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, which consisted of a Facebook support group, or control group after attending a one-time weight loss class. Assessments were taken at baseline and four weeks. Of participants in this study, 83.3% were Facebook users. All but two participants were female with 47.8% identifying as black, non-Hispanic and 39.1% as white, non-Hispanic. Most participants were considered obese or overweight with 39-inch median waist circumference for women and 44-inch median waist circumference for men. The primary outcome was a mean weight loss of -3.55 ± 4.25 lbs. for those in the intervention group compared to -1.61 ± 3.24 lbs. for the control group after four weeks. Though results were not statistically significant, the intervention group lost more weight than the control group. Results indicate the potential for an innovative weight loss aid that utilizes an online site already integrated into the lifestyle of college students.

Familial bereavement is recognized as a considerable life crisis (Strobe & Hanson, 2001). Furthermore, bereaved parents are more likely to be at risk for having long lasting, and intense psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and even suicide (Darbyshire, 2013; Omerove et.al, 2013). Losing a child is a devastating experience, which dramatically changes the parents’ lives (Darbyshire, 2013; Oliver, 1999; Omerove et.al, 2013). Although much research has addressed the experiences of bereaved parents, and has come up with themes related to coping experiences, the research is still restricted to the western world, and has yet not intensely addressed the cross-cultural aspect. Although limiting this study to adherents of the three Abrahamic religions in the U.S. is still restricted in some way to the western world, in other ways it opens the door to understanding parental bereavement differences across three religions. Spirituality, religiosity, perceived social support, and marital relationship have been found to be buffers to grief; yet, it is not clear how essential these variables are to the bereaved parents across different religions. The current cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship among adjustment and other factors (spirituality, religiosity, perceived social support, and marital relationship) that might influence adjustment to bereavement among Christian, Jewish, and Muslim bereaved parents. A cross-sectional online survey was launched from January to February 2016 to measure participants’ baseline adjustment, spirituality, religiosity, perceived social support, and marital relationship. A diverse group of 145 bereaved parents participated in this study, including 65 religious Christians (44.83%), 41 religious Jews (28.28%), and 39 religious Muslims (26.90%) with an average age of 44 (SD = 12.80). The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the three religious groups in terms of their adjustment, religiosity spirituality, perceived social support, and marital relationship. Muslims were found to have higher baseline rates of all study constructs more than Jewish and Christian bereaved parents. The results indicated only perceived social support and spirituality significantly predicted the adjustment level among the bereaved parents when holding all other terms constant. Whereas only perceived social support and religious involvement significantly predicted the marital relationship level among the bereaved parents when holding all other terms constant. These results shed light on some important implications for counselor educators and particularly for practitioners working with the bereaved parents populations. Limitations and recommendations for further research are also suggested.

This study attempted to determine whether perceptions of reactions to disclosure are related to psychological and physical outcomes among individuals with a history of youth sexual abuse (YSA). It was expected that receiving more hurtful responses overall would be related to higher levels of internalizing, somatic, and PTSD symptoms. It was also predicted that perceptions of response to disclosure would predict psychological and physical outcomes beyond the influence of relevant abuse characteristics. Eighty-six female undergraduates recruited from a large Midwestern university completed a series of questionnaires assessing YSA, non-sexual trauma, depression, anxiety, PTSD, somatic symptoms, disclosure, and social reactions to disclosure. Results indicated that those who reported experiencing YSA had higher levels of psychological and physical symptoms than those who reported a non-sexual traumatic event. Also, those who reported receiving more hurtful responses to disclosure overall had higher levels of PTSD and internalizing and physical symptoms. However, this relationship was only true for survivors of YSA. In addition, response to disclosure predicted internalizing and physical symptoms beyond the influence of the duration of abuse, accounting for 23 percent of the variance. These findings suggest that many survivors of YSA may need psychological services, and that an important focus of treatment may be assessing and strengthening social support.

The focus of the current study is to examine the role of parental social support in college students' career development process, specifically choosing a satisfying academic major. It is hypothesized that: 1. There is a positive correlation between overall score on the Social Support Behaviors (SS-B) and major satisfaction score, 2. The relationship between the overall SS-B score and major satisfaction is mediated by the college student's major/career exploration, and 3. The emotional support subscale explains the greatest variance in major satisfaction followed by practical assistance, advice/guidance, and financial assistance, and finally socializing. Participants consisted of traditional college students at the sophomore and junior level from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Measures include: the self and environmental exploration subscales of the Career Exploration Survey (CES; Stumpf, Solarelli, & Hartman, 1982), the Social Support Behaviors (SS-B) measure (Vaux, Riedel, & Setwart, 1987), and the Academic Major Satisfaction Scale (AMSS; Nauta, 2007). Although results of the primary hypotheses were nonsignificant, there were several relationships between modes of social support and career exploration variables. Specifically, self-exploration related positively to total social support from primary caregiver as well as practical assistance, and environmental exploration related significantly to financial support from secondary caregiver. Other exploratory results are presented and discussed related to parents' role in facilitating college students' career development. Future implications of the present study, which add to vocational literature on career satisfaction, are discussed in regard to both research and practice with a college student population.

Social support for people living with HIV in rural America remains a considerably understudied aspect of HIV/AIDS prevention. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) require extensive support in order to remain in care, and reduce their viral suppression, and other disease complications. Without support, the likelihood that PLHA will refrain from or drop out of treatment options is gravely heightened, which consequently poses a significant threat for efforts to eliminate HIV as a public health issue. Using a mixed-method approach to Social Network Analysis, this study examines the principal role that social support plays in a person’s likelihood to adhere to care and consequently, attain viral suppression. Specifically, it looks at the roles of the family, friends, partners/spouses, and healthcare providers. The study also explores how social relations serve as mediators to stigma and discrimination, especially for disproportionate groups. Closely linked to social support availability is the perceived level of significance of the type of support that is available to the subjects. The study therefore goes further to explore the subjects’ perception of the support they receive (emotional, informational, and instrumental) and their satisfaction with it. This is imperative in that it sheds light on the role that the subjects’ social relations plays in their retention in care. This research again takes an interdisciplinary approach by exploring the contribution of both communication and health communication strategies to effect behavioral change. It contributes to research on HIV/AIDS health equity, and infectious disease management. It also contributes to efforts to identify strategies to control the spread of HIV by proposing efficient ways to optimize social support through the stages of the Care Continuum and consequently, facilitate an increase in the number of people who attain viral suppression. Keywords: Social Network Analysis; Social Support; Rural HIV; PLHA; Stigma.

Parents of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often report heightened levels of parental distress. An increasing amount of attention is being directed to parental mental health and addressing the well-being of the entire family system. In order to best serve families raising children with ASDs, the present study sought to better understand the relation between social support, various risk factors, and caregiver depression. Data were collected from 60 families with children 2—7 years with ASDs through the use of extensive, in-home interviews with primary caregivers. Mothers reported the availability and helpfulness of both formal and informal supports. Similar to previous research, mothers also reported elevated levels of depression. In the present sample, more than half of mothers reported depressive symptoms at or above the cut-off for mild depressive symptomatology. Both child-related variables (autism symptomatology, atypical behavior) and service-related variables (satisfaction with the education eligibility process, satisfaction with sources of information about ASDs) were predictive of maternal depression. Social support and maternal depression were not related.

abstract: ABSTRACT This study examines the ways in which employees experience moral emotions that violate employee treatment and how employees co-construct moral emotions and subsequent expressions of dissent. This qualitative study consisted of 123 full-time employees and utilized open-coding, content analysis, constant comparison analysis, and concept mapping. The analysis revealed that employees expressed dissent laterally as a series of sensemaking processes, such as validation of feelings, moral assessments, and assessing the fear of moral transgressions. Employees also expressed dissent as a series of risk assessments that overlapped with the ways in which employees made sense of the perceived infraction. Employees' lateral dissent expression manifested as a form of social support which occasionally led to co-rumination. Employees expressed dissent upwardly when seeking a desired action or change. Circumvention was utilized as a direct reflection to the type and degree of moral transgression related to the person responsible for the mistreatment. Results indicated that experiencing moral emotions that led to expressing dissent with a designated audience was determined by where employees were situated in the cyclical model of communicating moral emotions and in relation to the co-construction of both the infraction related to employee mistreatment and the experience of moral emotions. Results contribute to the existing body of literature on dissent and emotions. A discussion synthesizing the findings and analysis is presented, in addition to the implications for future research. KEYWORDS: Emotion, Dissent, Moral Emotions, Sensemaking, Risk-Assessment, Social Support, Co-Rumination / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Communication Studies 2015

abstract: This study was designed to contribute to the existing research on the coping behaviors, social support, and mental health outcomes in parents of children with epilepsy in the United States. A questionnaire was disseminated and administered via a web-based interface. One hundred and fifty-two participants, predominantly Caucasian, married women with more than one child under the age of eighteen completed the survey. After controlling for demographic variables, mediational analysis revealed that perceived social support explained the relation between perceived child disability and depression and anxiety. Additionally, it partially explained the relation between perceived family burden and depression, anxiety, and stress. Further, parent perception of their child's disability and perceived family burden did not predict emotion-focused or social support coping. However, both emotion-focused and social support coping behaviors were related to reductions in depression in this sample. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2015