ABSTRACT
Previous chapters have given much attention to a major coping resource available to many of the families studied here: a sense of personal control or mastery. This chapter discusses a second major coping resource, social support, or ‘the functions performed for the individual by significant others, such as family members, friends, and co-workers’ (House and Kahn, 1985). The three major forms of social support – informational support, instrumental or practical support, and emotional support – are discussed in this chapter, as they are provided by the employer and by acquaintances and friends. At the end of the chapter social support in Geneva is discussed in relation to social support available in other posts abroad. Another major source of social support, that coming from within the family, is discussed at some length in Chapter 7. Throughout, the complex interplay between social support and coping is discussed, and the way in which social relations can help people cope with problems, but may also contribute to them.
