ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the coping strategies, both individual and interpersonal, that enable people to deal successfully with the stresses of chronic illness. It offers a model of social relationships that is designed to explain the coincident influences of disability and social network configuration on social relationships and resultant psychological well-being. A hierarchy of social provisions is proposed as an alternative way of understanding social support in the special conditions imposed by chronic illness and disability. The seeking of social support has been conceptualized by many as a coping strategy, that is, as an action undertaken by an individual in an effort to resolve a problematic situation or alleviate the emotional distress aroused by that situation. Specific types of social support can be quite different in their consequences, and distinctions among informational, tangible, and emotional support, among others, have proved useful in predicting different aspects of psychological well-being.
