Question

Question 1, Select either True or False for the following:

a) Interventions to increase social support may be harmful if they fail to account for negative relationships and the responsiveness to the support provided.

b) Text (or SMS) messaging is as effective as face-to-face interactions in providing social support.

c) The stress-buffering hypothesis predicts that social support has stronger positive effects on well-being when the stressor is not present or improves.

d) Disengaging coping strategies include distancing, cognitive avoidance, and denial.

Answer 1

a. True - Generally, the social support include the caregivers and family members who are attached with the person in absence of any other professional. Though the family members are mostly caring, they might have burn outs and start developing negative emotions towards the patient. Therefore, if these issues are not addressed, they may be harmful if they fail to account for negative relationships and the responsiveness to the support provided.

b. True - In today's busy world, most of the people prefer to interact via text using any type of apps. It's not always possible to be physically present to a person who needs some support. It's always better to hug a person or hold hand of the person is in distress, however, if that's impractical to be always provided by the desired person. Therefore, if it's not possible to be present for face-to-face interaction, a text (maybe with emoticons!) might also work.

c. False - The stress buffering hypothesis suggests social support as a causal contributor of social well being when the person is under stress, not the opposite.

d. True - The disengaging coping strategies mean creating distance from the problem, cognitive avoidance of the problem, and also denial of the problem.