Dear College of Education Community,
One of the most important ways to ensure our health and wellbeing is by staying connected to others who support us. According to Courtney Beard, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, “Broadly speaking, social support refers to helping behaviors, feelings of comfort, and appreciation shared within a network of individuals. More specifically, social support is defined as the perception that we are loved, cared for, and valued by others, and are part of a network of other individuals we exchange mutual support with” (Wills, 1991). Dr. Beard states that “Strong social support is linked to better physical and mental health, and better response to trauma.”
Social support can be further broken down into four types (House, 1981):
- Informational Support — providing information and advice that is aimed at helping someone understand a stressful event and what resources or coping strategies are available
- Instrumental Support — providing tangible assistance such as a service, money, or specific items
- Emotional Support — providing warmth, reassurance, empathy, and care
- Appraisal Support — providing information to aid in self-evaluation of strengths
To read more about the types and benefits of social support for our well-being, go to:
- Beard, C. (2021). 6 Tips for Increasing Social Support, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lab-real-world/202106/6-tips-increasing-social-support
- Wills, T. A. (1991). Social support and interpersonal relationships. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology, Vol. 12. Prosocial behavior (p. 265–289). Sage Publications, Inc.
- House JS. Work stress and social support. Addison-Wesley; Reading, MA: 1981.
For a list of other self-care options, please go to our COE self-care website for resources for faculty, staff, students, and the community at
https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/self-care/articles-information-self-care
I am so grateful for the strong social support within our college!
Warmly,
Shari