Framework of social support

Humans are social beings. They cannot exist or act in isolation. They are inter-dependent on one another, exist in cohabitation and show mutual support for others to thrive in a flourishing community. Individuals get strength from one another's support, allowing them to enhance their wellbeing and focus on their own personal development too. The APA defines social support (SS) as providing of aid or comfort to others, usually to help them cope with biological, psychological, and social pressures. The given figure depicts two distinct constructs of social support: structural versus functional.

The structural aspect of social support refers to the size and composition of the social network, as well as the frequency of contact with network members; whereas functional social support focuses on the qualitative aspect, such as providing instrumental, informational, emotional, or appraisal support. This functional social support can be divided into two categories: perceived and received social support. Perceived social support relates to the belief or how a person thinks about the readiness of availability of social assistance whenever they’ll be in need, whereas received social support is the actual utilization of social support resources by another individual.