Social support in parent groups
Date
1987
Authors
Early, Reed Spencer
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Abstract
Social support research to date has been hindered by the use of methodologies which ignore the context in which the support process takes place . Using grounded methodologies, and examining support comparatively across group settings, the present study takes a contextual perspective on the study of social support. Questionnaires and transcribed discussions conducted with members of six parent groups provide the data for combined qualitative and quantitative analyses. The study examines three key elements of parents' support: sources, transactions and attributions . Important contextual differences were found between the parent groups in each of these elements of the support process. Substantively, a broader range of elements of the three support components is implicated for future research. The three mutually dependent components have been combined in a classification scheme to allow joint examination, recognizing their interrelatedness in the support process.