IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks :: Browsing by Subject "Social support"

Browsing by Subject "Social support"

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Change Step: Improving Social Support for Women Veterans Through Participatory Design
(2016) Wessel, Robert; Napier, Pamela; Eby, Chad; Wada, Terri
This thesis discusses a participatory design project that focused on improving social support for women veterans in Indianapolis, Indiana. Using a series of design research methods to capture the voice of local women veterans, and by visually representing the outcomes of each phase of the project, the participant group and design researcher identified the needs of women veterans, considered existing social supports, and co-created a conceptual model for a social support network. This prototype network aims to make finding support easier, reduce overlap in existing social supports, and foster communication between partner support organizations. It is the first step in integrating social support for Indiana women veterans.
Coping With Racism: Moderators of the Discrimination-Adjustment Link Among Mexican-Origin Adolescents
(Wiley, 2018-05) Park, Irene J.K.; Wang, Lijuan; Williams, David R.; Alegria, Margarita; IU School of Medicine
What strategies help ethnic minority adolescents to cope with racism? The present study addressed this question by testing the role of ethnic identity, social support, and anger expression and suppression as moderators of the discrimination-adjustment link among 269 Mexican-origin adolescents (Mage = 14.1 years), 12-17 years old from the Midwestern U.S. Results from multilevel moderation analyses indicated that ethnic identity, social support, and anger suppression, respectively, significantly attenuated the relations between discrimination and adjustment problems, whereas outward anger expression exacerbated these relations. Moderation effects differed according to the level of analysis. By identifying effective coping strategies in the discrimination-adjustment link at specific levels of analysis, the present findings can guide future intervention efforts for Latino youth.
Development, validation, and characterization of a novel preclinical animal model of social familiarity-induced anxiolysis
(2017-09-29) Lungwitz, Elizabeth Ann; Shekhar, Anantha; Truitt, William; Oxford, Gerry; Rodd, Zachary; Lapish, Christopher
Social support is a powerful therapeutic against fear and anxiety and is utilized in many psychotherapies. The concept that a familiar or friendly presence helps a person learn to overcome anxiety has been well-known for decades, yet, the basic neural mechanisms that regulate this psychosocial learning remain unknown. A first step towards elucidating these basic mechanisms is the development of a valid preclinical animal model. However, preclinical behavioral models exploring the use of a social presence in reducing anxiety have not been fully characterized. Therefore, it was our goal to identify a useful way in which to study the mechanisms of how a social presence can induce anxiolysis (the reduction of anxiety). We accomplished this goal by characterizing and validating a preclinical model, as well as demonstrating that the model was capable of measuring deficits in rats given a mild traumatic brain injury. To this end, we identified an existing, but uncharacterized model, the social interaction-habituation model, as an effective model of social familiarity-induced anxiolysis (SoFiA), which demonstrates socially enhanced safety learning, or psychosocial learning. We find that as social familiarity develops across time, anxiolysis develops. We identified that the use of a Bright Light Challenge is a useful anxiogenic stimulus to use during SI-habituation training. The anxiolysis acquired following SI-habituation testing is partner specific, and can be blocked by an inhibition of the medical prefrontal cortex, while it can be enhanced by D-cycloserine. We found that this model identified deficits in SoFiA acquisition in rodents exposed to a mild traumatic brain injury, which, in humans, has been linked to psychosocial deficits. This work is a step in creating ways in which we can study and better understand the regulatory processes of emotions mediated by social behavior.
Does Acculturation Matter? End-of-Life Care Planning and Preference of Foreign-born Older Immigrants in the United States
(Oxford Academic, 2019-05-01) Grace Yi, Eun-Hye; School Of Social Work
Abstract Background and Objectives Advance care planning (ACP) is a critical component of health care affecting the quality of later life. Responding to the increase in the older immigrant population in the United States, this empirical study explored the racial/ethnic gaps in ACP behaviors among older immigrants and examined the end-of-life (EOL) care planning and preferences of foreign-born immigrant older adults focusing on race/ethnicity, acculturation, health need factors, and enabling social factors (financial capability, public assistance, and informal supports) after controlling predisposing factors (sociodemographic characteristics). Research Design and Methods Using a subsample from the National Health and Aging Trends Study 2011 and 2012, hierarchical logistic regression models of the EOL plan and preferences were examined with 50 multiple imputation data sets (n = 232). Results Descriptive statistics reveal lower ACP engagement of immigrants from racial/ethnic minority groups. In logistic models, however, only Black immigrants were less likely than Whites to have EOL conversations. Among acculturation factors, age at immigration was only negatively associated with having a durable power of attorney for health, but not significantly associated with other ACP behaviors. Instead, health and social factors, primarily need in health and informal support (i.e., number of coresidents and receiving financial help from family members), were associated with different types of ACP components. Receiving public assistance (i.e., receiving Medicaid and SSI) were positively associated with EOL treatment preferences. Discussion and Implications Older foreign-born immigrants, in general, showed lower ACP engagement than the overall older population. Moreover, minority immigrants were lower on ACP engagement than both White immigrants. This study highlights the need for formal and informal assistance for enhancing EOL planning for older immigrants. Adding to the culturally competent approach, policy efforts should address social and health factors that accrued throughout individuals’ life spans and affect older immigrants’ EOL preparation and care.
Early Origins of Frailty: Do Later-Life Social Relationships Alter Trajectories of Decline?
(Sage, 2024) Williams-Farrelly, Monica M.; Ferraro, Kenneth F.; Medicine, School of Medicine
Objectives: Social relationships are widely regarded as salubrious, but do they mediate the influence of childhood experiences on frailty in later life? Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, we assess the influence of childhood experiences and adult relationships on frailty trajectories. Methods: We analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the influence of six domains of childhood experiences and social relationships on frailty trajectories over 8 years. Mediation analyses were completed with structural equation models. Results: Risky adolescent behavior, chronic disease, and impairments during childhood are associated directly with higher risk of initial frailty, but not over time. More social roles and higher social support mediate the relationship between childhood experiences and frailty, and the effect of more social roles continues over time. Discussion: This study provides compelling evidence that supportive social relationships mediate the risk and severity of frailty in later life associated with noxious childhood experiences.
The Exchange of Social Support via Social Networks of Maternal Caregivers for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
(2011-08-19) Coates, Heather L.; Jones, Josette; Kharazzi, Hadi; Schilling, Katherine
The role of social support in the lives of the 16.8 million caregivers for children with special needs in the U.S. is not adequately understood. Many studies have explored seeking health information online, but failed to consider information exchanged through social networks (i.e., family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc.). Caregivers of children with special needs spend on average 30 hours per week providing such care. The burden of caregiving can negatively affect caregivers physically, mentally and emotionally, socially, and financially. Social support is one potential mediator for the effects of caregiver burden. The objective of this study was to explore the flow of four dimensions of social support within the social networks of maternal caregivers for children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A convenience sample was gathered via electronic distribution lists for Indiana parents of children with special needs. Participants could elect to complete a face-to-face interview or an anonymous online survey. The typical participant was Caucasian, married, college-educated, and located in Central Indiana. Respondent social networks are composed of multiplex relations, indicating strong ties. Significant correlations were found for participant age, child age, and the age of diagnosis, and network members for various networks. Specifically, a later age of child diagnosis is associated with fewer network members for the caregiver. Correlational analyses between dimensions of social support and network characteristics suggest options for further study. Overall, the results of this exploratory study are inconclusive, but can provide direction for future research.
The Experience of Burmese Refugee Students in Higher Education: Blooming out of Concrete
(2022-09) Lim, Minyoung; Adamek, Margaret E.; Pierce, Barbara; Lee, Jessica E.; Huber, Lesa
The United States is the world’s top resettlement country for refugees and the third largest community of Burmese refugees lives in the state of Indiana. Many refugee families look to their college-age youth to enhance their well-being. This study explored the lived experiences of Burmese refugee college students’ resettlement and the role that social support plays in that approach. In order to explore the refugee students’ resettlement experiences and the role of social support, social support theory and conservation of resources theory were used to explain the importance of social support for refugee students’ successful resettlement. A qualitative study using thematic analysis was conducted using 32 in-depth individual interviews with Burmese refugee students in higher education. Through an indepth examination of the lived experiences of Burmese refugee college students’ resettlement, four main themes were identified: challenges of resettlement, resettlement needs, the resources of social support, and resettlement experiences. Refugee students actively cultivated their life and showed aspirations of being successful members of this new environment. Even though they faced many challenges and needs identified through interviews, the participants overcame these barriers including a different culture and language and prosper in their lives in the host country. The social support from the coethnic community and people in the host country both affected the participants’ successful resettlement. Co-ethnic community also plays an important role to pursue higher education. The study findings will be used by social work practice, programs, and policies to improve the success of Burmese refugee students' resettlement. This study would serve as a foundation for enhancing refugee students’ resettlement and understanding the critical role of social support resources during the resettlement period. Burmese refugee students would be an important avenue to develop international relations and achieve social justice. In spite of a variety of barriers and prejudices, Burmese refugee students bloom and flourish in their new environment in the United States. They are beneficiaries but also currently benefactors. The perspectives on refugees need to change and move from victims to the citizens of the world.
How African American Adolescents Manage Depression: Being With Others
(Sage, 2016-09) Al-Khattab, Halima; Oruche, Ukamaka M.; Perkins, Danielle; Draucker, Claire; School of Nursing
BACKGROUND: African American (AA) adolescents with depression face serious negative outcomes. Despite racial/ethnic disparities in treatment utilization, few studies have explored how AA adolescents manage their depression. OBJECTIVE: To describe common ways AA adolescents manage depressive symptoms through relationships with people in their lives. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive methods were used to analyze the narratives of 22 AA young adults who had been depressed as adolescents and 5 AA adolescents in treatment for depression. RESULTS: A typology describing the varied ways AA adolescents manage their depressive symptoms through interactions with other people was constructed and labeled Being With Others. The five categories in the typology are keeping others at bay, striking out at others, seeking help from others, joining in with others, and having others reach out CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians might use the Being With Others typology to guide discussions related to detecting, assessing, and treating AA adolescents with depression.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Self-Management: Exploring Adolescent Use of an Online Instagram Support Community
(Wolters Kluwer, 2022) Malloy, Caeli; Rawl, Susan M.; Miller, Wendy R.; School of Nursing
The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the challenges adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience with disease self-management as expressed in an online Instagram social support community. Public Instagram posts between January and December 2019 were manually collected from an online IBD support community. To focus on adolescent self-management needs, only posts from Instagram users who (1) indicated they had inflammatory bowel disease, (2) were 13-24 years old, or were in middle school, high school, or college were collected. Using thematic analysis, authors independently coded and identified emerging themes about self-management. Of 2,700 Instagram posts assessed for eligibility, 83 posts met inclusion criteria. Six major themes about inflammatory bowel disease self-management emerged: Desire for Normalcy, Dietary Changes, Education and Career, Healthcare System, Relationships With Others, and Symptoms and Complications. As the first thematic analysis of Instagram posts in an online inflammatory bowel disease community, results provide a crucial perspective of the concerns of adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease. Self-management challenges were wide-ranging and complex, underscoring the importance of IBD self-management in the adolescent population. Nurses should take a holistic approach to assess self-management challenges and tailor care to the specific needs of adolescents living with inflammatory bowel disease.
The Influence of Antenatal Partner Support on Pregnancy Outcomes
(Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 2016-07) Cheng, Erika R.; Rifas-Shiman, Sheryl L.; Perkins, Meghan E.; Rich-Edwards, Janet Wilson; Gillman, Matthew W.; Wright, Rosalind; Taveras, Elsie M.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
BACKGROUND: While there has been considerable attention given to the multitude of maternal factors that contribute to perinatal conditions and poor birth outcomes, few studies have aimed to understand the impact of fathers or partners. We examined associations of antenatal partner support with psychological variables, smoking behavior, and pregnancy outcomes in two socioeconomically distinct prebirth cohorts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were from 1764 women recruited from an urban-suburban group practice (Project Viva) and 877 women from urban community health centers (Project ACCESS), both in the Boston area. Antenatal partner support was assessed by the Turner Support Scale. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses determined the impact of low antenatal partner support on the outcomes of interest. RESULTS: In early pregnancy, 6.4% of Viva and 23.0% of ACCESS participants reported low partner support. After adjustment, low partner support was cross-sectionally associated with high pregnancy-related anxiety in both cohorts (Viva AOR 1.8; 95% CI: 1.0-3.4 and ACCESS AOR 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1-3.3) and with depression in ACCESS (AOR 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1-3.3). In Viva, low partner support was also related to depression mid-pregnancy (AOR 3.1; 95% CI: 1.7-5.7) and to smoking (AOR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.3-3.8). Birth weight, gestational age, and fetal growth were not associated with partner support. CONCLUSIONS: This study of two economically and ethnically distinct cohorts in the Boston area highlights higher levels of antenatal anxiety, depression, and smoking among pregnant women who report low partner support. Partner support may be an important and potentially modifiable target for interventions to improve pregnancy outcomes.

Browsing by Subject "Social support"

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