A randomised controlled trial of a social support intervention Martin, Paul R., Reece, John, Lauder, Sue and McClelland, Andrew 2011, A randomised controlled trial of a social support intervention, Applied psychology : health and well-being, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 44-65, doi: 10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01044.x. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title A randomised controlled trial of a social support intervention Author(s) Martin, Paul R. Reece, John Lauder, Sue McClelland, Andrew Journal name Applied psychology : health and well-being Volume number 3 Issue number 1 Start page 44 End page 65 Total pages 22 Publisher Wiley - Blackwell Publishing Place of publication Oxford, England Publication date 2011-03 ISSN 1758-0846 1758-0854 Keyword(s) anxiety health intervention social skills social support Summary Background: Much evidence has accumulated over the last three decades that low social support is related to both mental and physical health. Despite this large and convincing literature, reviewers have noted that there exists remarkably little evidence that social support can be increased by an appropriate intervention. This study reports on the development and evaluation of a new intervention for social support which takes account of the stress-buffering and direct effect models. Method: Eighty-one individuals scoring low on social support were randomly allocated to the intervention or a waiting-list control condition. Treatment consisted of 10 weekly sessions administered in a group format, and 49 participants (nine males) completed assessments at the beginning and end of a 10-week period, and at 10-week follow-up (intervention condition only). Results: The intervention proved to be successful at increasing functional support but not structural support. The intervention was also successful in increasing the social skill of self-disclosure, and decreasing depression. Gains made between pre- and post-treatment were maintained at 10-week follow-up. Conclusions: Based on published analyses of the effects of social support on health, the results imply that the intervention would be useful for stress-buffering purposes, but not for the general health-promoting effects that are associated with good social integration. Language eng DOI 10.1111/j.1758-0854.2010.01044.x Field of Research 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified Socio Economic Objective 970117 Expanding Knowledge in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2011, The Authors, Applied Psychology : Health and Well-Being, The International Association of Applied Psychology Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30047280 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Health School of Psychology Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Tue, 21 Aug 2012, 13:13:36 EST Tue, 21 Aug 2012, 13:57:23 EST Tue, 21 Aug 2012, 13:59:17 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 5 times in TR Web of Science Cited 6 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 109 Abstract Views, 2 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Tue, 21 Aug 2012, 13:13:25 EST by Jane Moschetti

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