Support is an important but complex concept of caring that often is studied but not always defined. For researchers as well as professionals it could be important to gain a deeper understanding for the concept. Support has been described as an interactive process that affects wellbeing and health of the individual. Support is linked to the attachment process and social roles. Attachment will affect both the individual ability to interact with other people but also the individual ability to trust other people. Both the ability to provide (i.e. provider) and the ability to receive (i.e. recipient) support are affected by the personsââ¬â¢ age, experience and the social environment. The offered support can be emotional, appraisal, informative or practical described as follows; Emotional support promotes a sense of safety and belonging. Appraisal support promotes reassurance of ability and competence. Informative support is offering information to help solving the actual problem and practical support is practical help in solving the actual problem. Support that is perceived as positive by the recipient is more likely to have a positive impact and the emotional part of support is described as most important for support to be experienced as positive. The environment where the support is offered will affect the quality and perception of support.
Last date updated on September, 2024