Social Support and Health

IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, what is the function of social support in the etiology, precipitation, course and recovery from disease? In what way does social support ameliorate stress? In what ways does social support act to promote health? While many researchers30 have speculated on the importance of social support and a few have proclaimed it to be significant in myocardial infarction8 49 there is little strong empirical evidence to confirm the role it may play in health and illness. This is not surprising: attempts at conceptualization and measurement have been inadequate, discipline-bound (or study-bound), and usually formulated for post-hoc interpretation of unexpected, but striking findings.