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Assessing Perceived Social Support

Mindset An abundance of research has revealed that a supportive social network is essential for
maintaining physical and psychological health. For example, the quality of social relationships
Exercise has been identified as one of the most consistent predictors of subjective well-being (e.g., Diener
10-15 min. & Seligman, 2002). Interestingly, research in the field of social support has revealed that it is
important to make a distinction between actual support and perceived support. Perceived social
Client support is defined as the perception that social support is available if needed (Sarason, et al.,
No 1983). Perceived social support is only modestly related to actual support received from others
(Dunkel-Schetter & Bennett, 1990; Sarason, Shearin, Pierce, & Sarason, 1987). More importantly,
perceived support, but not received support, has been found to predict coping effectiveness,
adjustment outcome, and psychological and physical well-being (Blazer, 1982; Cohen & Syme,
1985; Hobfoll, Nadler, & Leiberman, 1986; Sandier & Barrera, 1984; Wethington & Kessler, 1986).

Regardless of the quality of actual support, people with low perceived support look with different
eyes at the supportive attempts of others and memorize past supportive actions in a different way
compared to people with high perceived support. In other words, the difference between high
and low perceived support mainly lies in the way people look at and interpret social support.
The consequences of the beliefs of clients with low versus high perceived social support are
summarized in table 1.

Table 1. How supportive transactions with others will are interpreted and remembered by people
with high versus low perceived support

Low perceived support High perceived support

Generally judging the supportive attempts Generally judging the supportive attempts
of others as unhelpful of others as helpful

More inclined to recall past unhelpful More inclined to recall past helpful received
received support support

More inclined to forget past helpful received Less inclined to forget past helpful received
support support

Past research findings suggest that rather than just simply helping clients to actively make more
use of their social support network, it is important to first address the client’s beliefs that may

Goal

The main goals of this assessment are (1) to examine the extent to which the client believes that
his/her needs for social support are fulfilled and (2) to examine the client’s beliefs that either
facilitate or inhibit social support.

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Advice

■■ It is important to note that perceived social support is about the client’s subjective
estimation of the extent to which support is available. It is not about the size of the social
support network. Some clients may interpret perceived social support from a purely
rational perspective, focusing on the total amount of potentially supportive people in their
networks. The practitioner should stress that a relatively large social support network does
not automatically imply that the client’s needs for support are met. Perceived support is a
subjective experience, not an objective one. A client with only two close friends who he/she
can always rely on may experience a higher level of perceived support than a client with
more than 30 people who may only potentially offer their support.
■■ Note that low perceived support does not mean that the client’s beliefs about support are
always completely biased or distorted. Research (e.g. Barrera, 1986) has revealed a relation
between perceived support and recalled enacted support. Actually received support may
thus influence the perception of support availability (Lakey & Heller, 1988). However, it is
important to remember that although the client’s beliefs may to some extent accurately
reflect the quality of past supportive interactions, this is not necessarily the case. While
some clients’ negative beliefs regarding social support may indeed be coloured by unhelpful
past experiences, for some clients these negative beliefs are subjective viewpoints that
barely reflect reality.
■■ According to Sarason and colleagues (1991): “perceived social support is not an isolated
perception relevant only when individuals are confronted by a stressful situation demanding
coping behavior. It is part of a constellation of cognitions that drives social behavior and
accounts for differences in interpretations regarding the behavior and motivation of others
and what others are “really like.”” (p. 285). This implies that when practitioners address
cognitive constructs, like perceived social support, they may encounter fundamental
beliefs that the client holds about him/herself and others. Practitioners should be aware that
addressing these fundamental beliefs about oneself and may raise existential questions
that require a certain level that may require specific practitioner training and expertise in
order to be effective.

Suggested Readings

Blazer, D. (1982). Social support and mortality in an elderly community population. American
Journal of Epidemiology, 115, 684-69.

Cohen, S., & Syme, S. L. (1985). Issues in the study and application of social support. In S.
Cohen & S. L. Syme (Eds.), Social support and health (pp. 3-22). New York: Academic Press.

Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Very happy people. Psychological Science, 3, 81–84.

Dunkel-Schetter, C., & Bennett, T. L. (1990). Differentiating the cognitive and behavioral
aspects of social support. In B. R. Sarason, I. G. Sarason, & G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Social support:
An interactional view (pp. 267-296). New York: Wiley.

Hobfoll, S. E, Nadler, A., & Leiberman, J. (1986). Satisfaction with social support during crisis:
Intimacy and self-esteem as critical determinants. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
51, 296- 304.
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Lakey, B., & Cassady, P. (1990). Cognitive processes in perceived social support. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 337-343.

Sandler, I, N., & Barrera, M., Jr. (1984). Toward a multimethod approach to assessing the
effects of social support. American Journal of Community Psychology, 12, 37-5.

Sarason I. G., Levine, H. M., Basham, R. B., & Sarason, B. R. (1983). Assessing social support:
Social support Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 127-139.

Sarason, B. R., Shearin, E. N., Pierce, G. R., & Sarason, I. G. (1987). Interrelations of social
support measures: Theoretical and practical implications. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 52, 813- 832.

Wethington, E., & Kessler, R. C. (1986). Perceived support, received support, and adjustment to
stressful life events. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 27, 78-89.

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Tool Description

Instructions

The practitioner should guide the client through the following questions.

In general, to what extent does the client feel that social support is available to him/her?
(1= no support available at all, 10= a very high amount of support available at all times)

To what extent does the client feel past supportive attempts of others have been helpful?
(1= not helpful at all, 10=very helpful)

To what extent does the client feel future supportive attempts of others will be helpful?
(1= not helpful at all, 10=very helpful)

Positive Beliefs

What are your client’s beliefs about him/herself that make asking for help easy?

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What are your client’s beliefs about others that make asking for help easy?

Negative Beliefs

What are your client’s beliefs about him/herself that make asking for help difficult?

What are your client’s beliefs about others that make asking for help difficult?

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