Social support can be thought of as the soothing impact of friends, family, and acquaintances. It can take many forms, including advice, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, emotional comfort, and tangible assistance (such as financial help).
The need to form and maintain healthy, stable relationships with others is a powerful, pervasive, and fundamental human motive. Building strong interpersonal relationships with others helps us establish a network of close, caring individuals who can provide social support in times of distress, sorrow, and fear. Social support can be thought of as the soothing impact of friends, family, and acquaintances.
Social support can take many forms, including advice, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, emotional comfort, and tangible assistance (such as financial help). Thus, other people can be very comforting to us when we are faced with a wide range of life stressors, and they can be extremely helpful in our efforts to manage these challenges.
Practice Questions
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MCAT Official Prep (AAMC)
Section Bank P/S Section Passage 5 Question 40
Section Bank P/S Section Passage 12 Question 93
Practice Exam 1 P/S Section Passage 7 Question 38
Practice Exam 3 P/S Section Passage 6 Question 35
Key Points
• The need to form and maintain strong, stable relationships with others is a powerful, pervasive, and fundamental human motive. Building strong interpersonal relationships with others helps us establish a network of close, caring individuals who can provide social support in times of distress, sorrow, and fear.
• Other people can be very comforting to us when we are faced with a wide range of life stressors, and they can be extremely helpful in our efforts to manage these challenges.
• Studies suggest one of the reasons social support is connected to favorable health outcomes is because it has several beneficial physiological effects in stressful situations
Key Terms
Social support: can be thought of as the soothing impact of friends, family, and acquaintances
Interpersonal relationship: a strong, deep, or close association or acquaintance between two or more people