

































 
 

  

 

  

  
 

  
 
  

 
  

 

 
Introduction 

Social support profile is associated with increased psychological well-being and in response 

to important life events. Social support aids in lowering problems related to one's mental 

health. Elderly individuals who had relationships where their self-esteem was elevated were 

less likely to have a decline in their health. social support helps people reduce psychological 

distress such as anxiety or depression. Social support functions as a problem-solving and 

emotion-focused coping strategy. 

Several studies have been conducted based on social support. This paper addresses 

 a description of social support, and a discussion of eleven studies that used social support. 

 

Description of social support 

Social support is the perception and reality of being cared for, having help available from 

other people, and most commonly, that person being part of a supportive social network. 

Social support can be measured as the perception that an individual has help available, help 

already received, or the degree to which a person is integrated into a social network. 

Support can come from many sources, such as family, friends, pets, neighbors, 

co-workers, and organizations. 

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(raniaalabedhasan@gmail.com) (raniaalhasan2@gmail.com).

Utilization of Social Support: Analyzing Literature

  Author:

  Rania Wa’el Mohammad Alabed Hasan. RN, MSN;

Al-Bashir Governmental Hospital, Jordan, Amman, Ashrafieh.

(raniaalabedhasan@hotmail.com) (ranialabedhasan@hotmail.com)

mailto:raniaalabedhasan@hotmail.com
mailto:ranialabedhasan@hotmail.com
mailto:raniaalabedhasan@gmail.com
mailto:raniaalhasan2@gmail.com


  

 

Social support can be categorized and measured in several different ways. 

 There are four common functions of social support (emotional support, tangible support, 

informational support, and companionship support). Emotional support is the offering of 

empathy, concern, affection, love, trust, acceptance, encouragement, or caring. It is the 

warmth and nurturance provided by sources of social support. Tangible support is the 

provision of financial assistance, material goods, or services, also called instrumental support. 

Informational support is the provision of advice, guidance, suggestions, or useful information 

to someone. This type of information has the potential to help others problem-solving. 

Companionship support is the type of support that gives someone a sense of social belonging. 

This can be seen as the presence of companions to engage in shared social activities. 

 It is also referred to as "esteem support" or "appraisal support”. 

 

Social support is studied across a wide range of disciplines including psychology, medicine, 

sociology, nursing, public health, education, rehabilitation, and social work. Social support 

has been linked to many benefits for both physical and mental health.  

 

Social support 

  Many researchers utilized social support to guide their studies ( Wallace, Driessnack, Bohr, 

and Tripp-Reimer, 2015; Gong and Mao, 2016; Jutagir, Gudenkauf, Stagl, Carver, Bouchard, 

Lechner, Glück, Blomberg, and Antoni, 2016; Adisa, Olajide and Fakeye, 2017; 

Li, Wu, Lin, Zou, Yang, Cheng and  Guo, 2017; Shao, Liang,  Shi, Wan and Yu, 2017; Zhao, 

Mao, Li, Zhou and Shen, 2017; Kamp, Luo, Holmstrom, Given, Wyatt, 2019; Langeveldt, 

Dada, and Boshoff, 2019; Wallace, Rodriguez, Walker,  Dethlefs, Dowd, Filipi and 

Barrington, 2019; Sugiura, Nouchi, Honda, Sato, Imamura and Abe, 2020). 

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Wallace et al. (2015); Gong et al. (2016); Jutagir et al. (2016); Adisa et al. (2017); Li et al. 

(2017); Shao et al. (2017); Zhao  et al. (2017). Kamp et al. (2019). Langeveldt et al. (2019); 

Wallace et al. (2019) and Sugiura et al. (2020). were completely dependent on the social 

support. Wallace et al.'s study (2015) conducted a study to explore the feasibility of using the 

Colored Eco-Genetic Relationship Map (CEGRM) adapted for eliciting information about 

how individuals with diabetes  use their social networks through  support their self-

management efforts. However, Gong et al.'s study (2016) conducted a study to assess Health-

Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and to determine which factors, based on the Wilson and 

Cleary model, contribute to the prediction among Chinese Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis 

(RA). While, Jutagir et al.'s study (2016) conducted a study for the diagnosis and treatment of 

breast cancer (BCa) that requires psychological adjustment and often involves an escalation 

of distress through several types of social support positively correlates with psychological 

adjustment to (BCa), negative support is associated with poor adaptation. Adisa et al.'s study 

(2017) conducted a study to assess available and desirable sources of social support between 

high blood pressure and type 2 Diabetics (T2D). Li et al.'s study (2017) conducted a study to 

assess the relationships between type D personality, disease perception, social support, and to 

investigate the effect of type D personality on quality of life (QoL) in continuous ambulatory 

peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. Shao et al.'s study(2017) conducted a study to assess the 

effect of social support on glycemic control was sequentially mediated by self-efficacy and 

adherence. Zhao et al.'s study (2017) conducted a study to compare demographic 

characteristics and source of perceived emotional or social support across the frequency of 

amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use among female sex workers (FSWs). Kamp et al.'s 

study (2019) conducted a study to examine the relationship between two conceptualizations 

of social support (received and perceived availability of social support) and Inflammatory 

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Bowel Disease (IBD)-related self-management behaviors among emerging adults. Langeveldt 

et al.'s study (2019) conducted a study to measures of social support in raising a child with a 

disability through scoping review. Wallace et al.'s study (2019) conducted a study to explore 

the types and sources of social media adult support in diabetes diagnosis and self-

management Processes. On the other hand, Sugiura et al.'s study (2020) conducted a study to 

identify various types of social support in an emergency disaster situation. 

 

Wallace et al.'s study (2015) utilized social support through Diabetes Self-Management, 

using the Colored Eco-Genetic Relationship Map (D-CEGRM) that appears to be possible 

and useful in assessing social networks for adults with diabetes and how they are 

used to support tasks related to self-management. The information obtained through 

structured questions about social support in a way that may better address the research 

questions. However, Gong et al.'s study (2016) used the concept of social support to improve 

self-efficacy, relieve fatigue, delay the onset of disability, increase social support, and control 

disease activity through that improve the Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among 

Chinese Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA )of this population. While Jutagir et al.'s 

study (2016) using Perceived social support items scored on Likert through the Sources of 

Social Support Scale (SSSS) divides social support by the type of support and distinguishes 

between the sources of support within the type. Self-report emotional (listening), information 

(advice), instrumental (tangible assistance) and negative (arguing and criticism) support. The 

participants Rate each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (lots) 

Items measuring the same type of support were averaged on the subscales, with higher scores 

indicating more support. Adisa et al.'s study  (2017) does design and build tools for collecting 

data through a Question that is largely open and the closed questions are divided into five 

sections. (Section A) clarify the socio-demographic characteristics and average monthly 

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income. (Section B) assessed the participant’s opinions on the need for a social support 

system and types of social support. (Section C) consists of questions that explore information 

about sources and types of social support of the system. (Section D) contained questions that 

explored the disease medication information. (Section E) consists of 4 validated questions in 

the Morisky Adherence Predictor Scale administered in Dichotomous response options (yes / 

no). Li et al.'s study (2017) used the instrument as assessment of social support through  

applicant assessed social support status via Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), this scale 

comprised of three dimensions: objective support (behavior that directly helps the person in 

need), personal support (providing sympathy, care, love, and trust), and the degree of 

usefulness of social support (support that is given and received from a social network). Shao 

et al.'s study (2017) using Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) designed by Xiao to collect 

data on social support in China, measures three dimensions of social support as objective 

support (i.e. actual or visual support), Subjective support (i.e., experience or emotional 

support, individual's feeling of respect satisfied in the community), and use of support (i.e. 

the acceptability of assistance) and 10 items of Likert scale that actively looking for support. 

Zhao et al.'s study (2017) using the perceived social support measurement is developed based 

on the existing literature on social support between female sex workers (FSWs) and 

Qualitative Data Participants were asked to respond to 12 items that reflected the social 

support. It was emotional support measured using 10 items, tangible support was measured 

using two items indicating financial support and other material support. The participants were 

also asked about the source of each social support item. Scores were totaled under each type 

of social support, with a higher score indicating a higher level of support. Kamp et al.'s study 

(2019) considered the relationship between two structures as affects the behavior of 

individuals in self-management, social support. Among the elderly, social support has been 

shown Improving self-management behaviors for individuals with chronic diseases, but this 

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relationship has not been examined with emerging adults (ages 18-29) who have 

inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, Langeveldt et al.'s study (2019) utilize 

measures of social support and ensure its accurate measurement, the direction can be 

provided for intervention by allowing professionals to detect and address social support 

available. Wallace et al.'s  study (2019) categorizes four types of support: emotional, 

instrumental, informational, and appraisal. According to Emotional support that offers 

empathy, love, trust, and attention, Instrumental support that Provides tangible aids and 

services that directly help the needy person, Informational support that Provides advice, 

suggestions, and information that anyone can use to address problems, Appraisal support that 

provides useful information for self-assessment constructive feedback and confirmation. 

Sugiura et al.'s study (2020) used five questions, these question naire items pertaining to 

social support through Provision (helped, encouraged), and Receipt through (helped, 

encouraged, perceived) each requiring a yes or no answer, were listed as related to mutual 

support, these elements were concerned with whether the respondents assisted or encouraged 

others during the evacuation.  

 

Additionally, most of the researchers were completely depended on the social support as 

Wallace, Driessnack, Bohr, and Tripp-Reimer, (2015); Adisa, Olajide and Fakeye, (2017); 

Wallace, Rodriguez, Walker,  Dethlefs, Dowd, Filipi and Barrington, (2019). Whereas 

Wallace et al.'s study (2015), Adisa et al.'s study (2017), Wallace et al.'s study (2019) they do 

structured questions regarding social support for diabetes self-management. 

 

 

 

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Jutagir, Gudenkauf, Stagl, Carver, Bouchard, Lechner, Glück, Blomberg, and Antoni, (2016); 

Li, Wu, Lin, Zou, Yang, Cheng and  Guo, (2017). Shao, Liang,  Shi, Wan and Yu, (2017). 

they determine a scale of social support. Jutagir et al.'s study (2016) perceived social support 

items scored on Likert through the sources of social Support Scale (SSSS), Li et al.'s study 

(2017) assessed social support status via Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Shao et al.'s 

study (2017) using Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) designed by Xiao to collect data on 

social support. 

 

Gong and Mao, (2016); Jutagir, Gudenkauf, Stagl, Carver, Bouchard, Lechner, Glück, 

Blomberg, and Antoni,(2016); Zhao, Mao, Li, Zhou and Shen, (2017); Kamp, 

Luo,Holmstrom, Given, and Wyatt, (2019); Wallace, Rodriguez, Walker,  Dethlefs, Dowd, 

Filipi and Barrington,(2019); Sugiura, Nouchi, Honda, Sato and Abe, (2020).they determine 

the type of social support. Gong et al.'s study (2016) measured by using the Medical 

Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS), the multi dimensional scale consists of 

four subscales that measure tangible support, affectionate support, positive social interaction, 

and emotional-informational support. For each component, asked the patients to assess the 

availability of each type of support on 5 points. Jutagir et al.'s study (2016) divides social 

support the type of support as emotional (listening), information (advice), instrumental 

(tangible assistance), and negative (arguing and criticism) support. Zhao et al.'s study (2017) 

used the perceived social support measurement on between female sex workers (FSWs) and 

Qualitative Data Participants were asked to respond to 12 items that reflected the social 

support. It was emotional support measured using 10 items, tangible support was measured 

using two items. Kamp et al.'s study (2019) Process measure by Received Social Support for 

Socially Supportive Behaviors through Subscales a specific measurement types of support 

that received in the past four weeks: information support (guidance 14 items), emotional 

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support (14 items), tangible support (12 items), and the uses a 5-point Likert scale. Wallace et 

al.'s study (2019) determine the types of social support such as emotional support,  

automated support, informational support, evaluation support. Sugiura et al.'s study (2020) 

Provision (helped, encouraged), and Receipt through (helped, encouraged, perceived) each 

requiring a yes or no answer. 

 

Langeveldt, Dada, and Boshoff, (2019) measure the social support of primary caregivers by 

sixteen studies were included in the review. 

 

Discussion of Findings 

The eleven studies discussed previously explicitly indicate the importance of using social 

support. The researchers in the previous studies discussed the reason for choosing social 

support to guide their works. Therefore, social support provides an effective assessment 

of the needs of individuals despite their health conditions. The strong assertion was 

placed on the importance of assessment of the effect of the individual‘s social supporton 

any changes in their lives. The strong assertion was placed on the importance of 

assessment of the various social supports that can affect the individuals' to any changes in 

their lives. 

The strong points of using social support were its ability to guide the directions of the 

studies, the ability to classify different types of social support through improving the 

ability to cope with stressful situations, alleviating the effects of emotional distress, 

promoting lifelong good mental health, enhancing self-esteem, lowering cardiovascular 

risks, such as lowering blood pressure, promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors. 

      (see table 1). 

 

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Summary

Social support has greatly influenced the profession of nursing. Social support focuses on the 

concept of a healthy lifestyle and social relationships. Nurses have a unique role to promote 

health in each type of social support.Social support is one of the most frequently used that 

guides nursing research. Eleven studies that utilized social support, three studies were 

conducted for structure question, three studies were conducted for the use of social support 

scale, six studies were conducted for the type of social support, one study for the review of 

the sixteen studies.

References

Adisa, R., Olajide, O., and Fakeye, T. (2017,June). Social Support, Treatment Adherence and 

Outcome among Hypertensive and Type 2 Diabetes Patients in Ambulatory Care  

Settings in south western Nigeria. Original Article, 51(2), 64-77.

Retrieved from www.ghanamedj.org. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gmj.v51i2.4.

Gong ,G., and Mao, J. (2016, January/February). Health-Related Quality of Life Among 

Chinese Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.The Predictive Roles of Fatigue, Functional

 Disability, Self-Efficacy, and Social Support. Nursing Research 65 (1), 55-67. Retrieved 

From www.nursingresearchonline.com.

Jutagir, D., Gudenkauf, L., Stagl, J., Carver, C., Bouchard, L., Lechner, S., Glück, S., 

Blomberg, B., and Antoni, M. (2016). Ethnic differences in types of social support from  

multiple sources after breast cancer surgery. Ethnicity & health, 21 (5), 411–425.

Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2015.1066494.

  

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http://www.ghanamedj.org/
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gmj.v51i2.4
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Shao, Y.,  Liang, L., Shi, L., Wan, C.,  and Yu,S. (2017, May 25). The Effect of Social 

Support on Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The

Mediating Roles of Self-Efficacy and Adherence. Journal of Diabetes Research,

21(5), 1-8. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2015.1066494.

Sugiura, M., Nouchi, R., Honda, A., Sato, S., Abe, T., and Imamura, F. (2020, February 12). 

Survival-oriented personality factors are associated with various types of social

 support in an emergency disaster situation. Research article, 15 (2), 1-14.Retrieved from 

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228875.

Kamp, K., Luo, Z, Holmstrom, A., Given, B., and Wyatt, G. (2019, July/August). Self-

  Management Through Social Support. Among Emerging Adults With Inflammatory

  Bowel Disease. Nursing Research, 68 (4), 285-259.Retrieved from

www.nursingresearchonline.com.

Langeveldt, A., Dada, S., and Boshoff, K. (2019). Measures for social support in raising a 

child with a disability: A scoping review. Child Care Health Dev, 45, 159-174.Retrieved 

from wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cch.

Li, J., Wu, X., Lin, J., Zou, D., Yang, X., Cheng, S and  Guo, Q. (2017). Type D personality, 

illness perception, social support and quality of life in continuous ambulatory  

peritoneal dialysis patients. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 22 (2), 196-204.

Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2016.1224371.

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http://www.nursingresearchonline.com/
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Wallace, A., Driessnack, M., Bohr, N., and Reimer, T. (2015, March/April). Diabetes Self- 

Management Using the Colored Eco-Genetic Relationship Map to Assess Social

Support. Nursing Research, 64 (2), 111-116.Retrieved from, from

www.nursingresearchonline.com.

Wallace, D. Rodriguez, H., Walker, E., Dethlefs, H., Dowd, R., Filipi, L., and Barrington, C.

(2019).Types and sources of social support among adults living with type 2 diabetes

in  rural communities in the Dominican Republic. Global Public Health, 14 (1),

135-146. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2018.1444782.

Zhao, Q.,  Mao, Y., Li, X.,  Zhou, Y., and Shen, Z. (2017). Social support and amphetamine- 

type stimulant use among female sex workers in China. Aids Care, 29 (10),

1324–1330. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2017.1328101.

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https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2018.1444782
https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2017.1328101


  

Table (1): Summary of Studies That Utilized Social support  

Findings  Concepts used  Approach/  

design/ sample 

  

Objectives  Countries  Authors/ years  

Obtaining information 

about participants' use of 

social networks, 

expanding the diabetes-

CEGRM(D-

CEGRAM)expanded on 

answers structured 

questions by identifying 

the positive and negative 

aspects of social support.  

  

Structured questions 

regarding social 

support for diabetes 

self-management. 

 

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

A cross-

sectional survey 

design.  

Explore the 

feasibility of using 

modified Colored 

Eco-Genetic 

Relationship Map 

(CEGRM) to elicit 

information 

About how 

diabetics use their 

social networks.  

Portland. Wallace, Driessnack, 

Bohr, and Tripp-

Reimer, 2015. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

Subscales were 
significantly lower in 
(RA) patients compared 
to the general Chinese 
sample. Lower self-
efficacy, increased 
fatigue, increased 
functional disability, 
decreased social support, 
being unemployment, 
andhigher disease 
activity,more 

comorbidities, lower-

income level, being 

female, living in rural 

areas, and being older 

directly or indirectly it is 

significantly and 

negatively related to 

(HRQoL). 

Measure by using the 

Medical Outcomes 

Study Social Support 

Survey (MOS-SSS), 

multidimensional  the 

scale consists of four 

subscalesthat measure 

tangible support, 

affectionate support, 

positive social 

interaction, and  

emotional-

informational 

support. for each 

component, asked the 

patients to assess the 

availability of each 

type of support on 5 

points. 

A cross-

sectional 

design.  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

To assess Health-

Related Quality of 

Life (HRQoL) and 

to determine 

which factors, 

based on the 

Wilson and Cleary 

model, 

contribute to the 

prediction of 

(HRQoL) among 

persons with 

Rheumatoid 

Arthritis (RA). 

China. Gong and Mao, 2016. 

 

 
 

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Continued Table (1): Summary of Studies That Utilized Social support 

Findings Concepts used Approach/  

design/ sample 

Objectives Countries Authors/ years  

Family is the biggest 

source of information 

and effective support for 

NHW Hispanic women. 

Hispanic originwomen 

reported higher negative 

support from male 

sources than  the NHW 

women. The level of 

support from various 

sources may also depend 

on the time. 

Perceived social 

support items scored 

on Likert through the 

sources of Social 

Support Scale (SSSS) 

divides social support 

to the type of support 

as emotional 

(listening), 

information (advice), 

and instrumental 

(tangible assistance), 

and negative (arguing 

and criticism) 

support. 

Experimental 

design. 

To diagnosis and 

treatment of breast 

cancer (BCa) that 

requires 

psychological 

adjustment and 

often involves an 

escalation of 

distress through 

several types of 

social support 

positively 

correlates with 

psychological 

adjustment to 

(BCa), negative 

support is 

associated with 

poor adaptation. 

 

Taylor & 

Francis. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jutagir, Gudenkauf, 

Stagl, Carver, 

Bouchard, Lechner, 

Glück, Blomberg, and 

Antoni, 2016. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The support was greatly 

required for a 

governmental and non-

governmental 

organization.  

Access to family support 

did not positively affect 

medication adherence 

during access to financial 

support affected 

marginally outcomes 

among hypertensive and 

(T2D) patients. The 

tendency to be able to 

afford treatment 

significantly affected 

adherence and outcomes, 

and the need for 

expansion social support 

system to ensure 

consistently better 

results. 

 

Do a design and build 

tools for collecting 

data through a 

question that is 

largely open and the 

closed questions are 

divided into five 

sections. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross-sectional 

questionnaire. 

To assess 

available and 

desirable sources 

and types of social 

support between 

high blood 

pressure and type 

2 Diabetics 

(T2D). 

Ibadan, Nigeria. Adisa, Olajide and 

Fakeye, 2017. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Continued Table (1): Summary of Studies That Utilized Social support 
 

Findings Concepts used Approach/  

design/ sample 

Objectives Countries Authors/ years 

The strong association 

between type D 

personality, social 

support, illness 

perceptions, and (QoL) 

in (CAPD) patients. 

perception of disease and 

level of social support 

are the possible 

mechanisms to explain 

the association between 

type D and poor quality 

of life In (CAPD) 

patients. 

Assessed social 

support status via 

Social Support Rating 

Scale (SSRS), The 

scale is comprised of 

three dimensions: 

objective support, 

personal support, and 

the degree of 

usefulness of social 

support. 

Cross-sectional,  

observational 

study. 

To assess the 

type D 

personality,illness 

perception, and 

social 

relationships 

support and 

investigation of 

the effect of a type 

D personality on 

quality of 

life(QoL) in 

Patients with 

continuous 

ambulatory 

peritoneal 

dialysis(CAPD). 

China. Li, Wu, Lin, Zou, 

Yang, Cheng and  Guo, 

2017. 

Social support, self-

efficacy, and adherence 

had significant 

associations with 

glycemic control. 

better social support was 

linked better patient self-

efficacy was associated 

with improved adherence 

to medication, which was 

associated with improved 

blood sugar control and 

the relationship between 

social support and 

glycemic control were 

serially and fully 

mediated by self-efficacy 

and commitment. 

Using Social Support 

Rating Scale (SSRS) 

designed by Xiao to 

collect data on social 

Support in China. It 

measures three 

dimensions of Social 

support such as: 

objective support (i.e. 

actual or visual 

support), 

subjectivesupport 

(i.e., experience or 

emotional Support, 

individual's feeling of 

respectsatisfied in the 

community), and use 

of 10 items of Likert 

scale. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experimental 

design. 

To assess the 

effect of social 

support on 

glycemic control 

was sequentially 

mediated by self-

efficacy and 

adherence. 

Guangzhou 

China. 

Shao, Liang,  Shi, Wan 

and Yu, 2017. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Continued Table (1): Summary of Studies That Utilized Social support 
 

Findings Concepts used Approach/  

design/ sample 

Objectives Countries Authors/ years 

Different types of social 

support from different 

sources can be either 

positively ornegatively 

associated with (ATS) 

use among (FSWs). 

Use the perceived 

social support 

measurement on 

between (FSWs) and 

Qualitative Data 

Participants were 

asked to respond to 

12 items that 

reflected the social 

support. It was 

emotional support 

measured using 10 

items, tangible 

support was measured 

using two items. 

 

Qualitative 

Data. 

To Explore the 

present 

case of 

amphetamine-type 

stimulant(ATS) 

use among female 

sex 

workers(FSWs) in 

Guangxi, China 

and various 

associations 

examined 

types of social 

support from 

various sources 

using (ATS). 

China. Zhao, Mao, Li, Zhou 

and Shen, 2017. 

 

Young adults who 

received high media 

support reported greater 

adherence to a 

medication when 

controlling biologics, 

time since diagnosis, and 

symptom frequency 

and feeling between 

adolescence and 

adulthood.  No type of 

social support was 

associated with dietary 

modification.  

Process measure by 

Received Social 

Support for Socially 

Supportive Behaviors 

throughSubscales a 

specific measurement 

types of support that 

received in the past 

four weeks: 

information 

support (guidance 14 

items) 

emotional support (14 

items), tangible 

support (12 items). 

andthe uses a 5-point 

Likert scale. 

  

A convenience 

sample.  

To examine the 

relationship 

between two 

perceptions of 

social support 

(recipient and 

The perceived 

availability of 

social support) 

and self-

management 

behaviors 

associated with 

adult 

Inflammatory 

Bowel Disease 

(IBD).  

University of 

Washington, 

Michigan State 

University.  

Kamp, Luo, 

Holmstrom, Given, and 

Wyatt, 2019. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

IJO - International Journal of Health Sciences and Nursing ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )

Volume 05 | Issue 02 | February 2022 |                     http://www.ijojournals.com/index.php/hsn 40



  

Continued Table (1): Summary of Studies That Utilized Social support 
 

Findings Concepts used Approach/  

design/ sample 

 

Objectives Countries Authors/ years 

Sixteen studies were 

included in the review, of 

which nine were social 

support measures were 

identified. Attributes of 

the measures were 

searched from 

the papers are referenced 

and described in terms of 

their reported 

psychometric properties. 

A review was 

conducted to 

determine the scope 

and description 

tools used to measure 

social support for 

primary caregivers 

(i.e. parents or 

grandparents)( 

Raising a child (0-18 

years old) with a 

congenital disability. 

Sixteen studies 

were included 

in the review 

 (A scoping 

review). 

 

To identify and 

describe studies 

that have 

measured social 

support 

for caregivers 

raising a child 

with a congenital 

disability with 

specific indication 

of purpose, 

setting, 

participants, 

definitionof social 

support provided 

and the measure 

of social support 

used. 

To describe the 

specific social 

support measures 

of the results in 

The first goal in 

terms of the 

rationale of the 

authors for 

development 

Scale. 

 

There are 

sixteen studies 

were included in 

the review.  

Where the first 
author from 
south Africa,  
Second author 
from South 
Australia. 

Langeveldt, Dada, and 

Boshoff, 2019. 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IJO - International Journal of Health Sciences and Nursing ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )

Volume 05 | Issue 02 | February 2022 |                     http://www.ijojournals.com/index.php/hsn 41



  

 
Continued Table (1): Summary of Studies That Utilized Social support 

 
 

Findings  Concepts used  Approach/  

design/ 

sample  

Objectives  Countries  Authors/ years  

Social support manifests 

itself differently, 

depending on the stage 

of diabetes experience. 

The types and sources of 

support available and 

needed can aid 

development community 

and clinical interventions 

for diabetes patients. 

Individual social support 

assessment in the context 

of the stages of diabetes, 

it can assist health care 

providers and public 

health practitioners 

to direct social support 

more effectively as an 

important determinant of 

health pursuit and 

Self-management 

behaviors. 

 

Types of social 

support such as 

emotional support,  

instrumental support, 

informational 

support, appraisal 

support. 

 

Qualitative 

interviews. 

To explore the 

types and sources 

of social media 

Adult support in 

diabetes diagnosis 

and self-

management 

Processes. 
 

Latin America. Wallace, Rodriguez, 

Walker,  Dethlefs, 

Dowd, Filipi and 

Barrington, 2019. 

The respondents who 

were evacuated to avoid 

the tsunami, 21% 

reported that they helped 

And 54% encouraged 

another person during the 

evacuation, 12% of 

respondents received 

assistance, 42% 

encouraged by others, 

54% considered 

themselves as such 

those receiving social 

support. Females 

reported receiving help 

more often and they had 

higher levels 

from perceived support. 

The effect of age was not 

significant for any type 

of support.  

Used five questions, 

these  questionnaire 

items pertaining to 

social support 

through Provision 

(helped, encouraged), 

and Receipt through 

 (helped, encouraged, 

perceived) each 

requiring a yes or no 

answer.  

Randomly 

sampled from 

the electoral 

registers. 

  

To assess 
survival-oriented 
personality 
factors are 
associated with 
various types of 
socialsupport in 
an emergency 
disaster situation. 

Australia.  Sugiura, Nouchi, Honda, 

Sato and Abe, 2020.  

 

IJO - International Journal of Health Sciences and Nursing ( ISSN: 2814-2098 )

Volume 05 | Issue 02 | February 2022 |                     http://www.ijojournals.com/index.php/hsn 42


