Social Support by Many Other Names: Towards a Unified Conceptualization

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Abstract
Social support is a provision of the social environment and one important aspect of exchange between a person and the social world. This perspective may enhance appreciation for the common features shared by diverse types of interpersonal connectedness, such as bonding, attachment, friendship, intimacy and companionship. At least three hypotheses follow: (1) social support should be moderately stable across time and developmental periods; (2) social support changes as a result of transactions between a person and the social environment; (3) amount of perceived social support should be reasonably consistent across various areas of life. Empirical support for the first two propositions is reviewed and new data on the final point are presented. The findings support the conceptual commonality of social support and personal contact, but also emphasize their unique differences.

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