Operationalizing the Construct "Social Support"

The article discloses the content of the concept of social support. The description of the concept construct includes the notions of social networking, ethics, theory of operation. It lists information about the role of social support in difficult life situation, its place in the coping models. Social support is regarded as a resource of self-regulation, which in the opinion of the majority of authors plays a key role in prevention of stress. A high level of social support mitigates the negative effects of high-intense stress, neutralizes it, and serves as a buffer between a stressor and a man and thereby ensures the preservation of man’s health. A low level of social support in a highly stressful situation does not provide a buffer effect and fails to prevent health damage. Social support promotes stress management in three ways: by increasing self-esteem; thanks to the help of others in a changing stress situation; through incorporation of the significant other’s assessment into one’s own system which changes the emotional response to stressogenic factors and makes it possible to see the situation "in different eyes".

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