IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v134y2015icp59-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The architecture of support: The activation of preexisting ties and formation of new ties for tailored support

Author

Listed:
  • Gage-Bouchard, Elizabeth A.
  • LaValley, Susan
  • Panagakis, Christina
  • Shelton, Rachel C.

Abstract

This study examines differences in the resources, information, and support parents coping with pediatric cancer accessed from different types of network contacts. Using interviews with parents of childhood cancer patients (N = 80 parents), we examine (1) if parents rely on different types of network ties to access tailored information, resources or support; (2) differences in the nature or utility of information, resources, and support offered by different types of network contacts; and (3) the role of health-related professionals in brokering new network ties. Findings show that after a child's cancer diagnosis, parents received support from a broad portfolio of network members, which included preexisting network ties to friends and families as well as the formation of new ties to other cancer families and health-related professionals. Family, friends, and neighbors offered logistical support that aided balancing preexisting work and household responsibilities with new obligations. Parents formed new ties to other families coping with cancer for tailored health-related emotional and informational support. Health-related professionals served as network brokers, who fostered the development of new network ties and connected parents with supportive resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Gage-Bouchard, Elizabeth A. & LaValley, Susan & Panagakis, Christina & Shelton, Rachel C., 2015. "The architecture of support: The activation of preexisting ties and formation of new ties for tailored support," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 59-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:134:y:2015:i:c:p:59-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953615002233
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gage, Elizabeth A., 2013. "Social networks of experientially similar others: Formation, activation, and consequences of network ties on the health care experience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 43-51.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eman Alqahtani & Nourah Janbi & Sanaa Sharaf & Rashid Mehmood, 2022. "Smart Homes and Families to Enable Sustainable Societies: A Data-Driven Approach for Multi-Perspective Parameter Discovery Using BERT Modelling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-65, October.
    2. Joo, Won-tak, 2023. "Educational gradient in social network changes at disease diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    3. Grace, Matthew K., 2018. "Friend or frenemy? Experiential homophily and educational track attrition among premedical students," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 33-42.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grace, Matthew K., 2018. "Friend or frenemy? Experiential homophily and educational track attrition among premedical students," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 33-42.
    2. Joo, Won-tak, 2023. "Educational gradient in social network changes at disease diagnosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    3. Lu (Lucy) Yan & Jianping Peng & Yong Tan, 2015. "Network Dynamics: How Can We Find Patients Like Us?," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 496-512, September.
    4. Erin Pullen & Carrie Oser, 2017. "Disadvantaged Status and Health Matters Networks among Low-Income African American Women," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Thompson, Tess & Pérez, Maria & Yan, Yan & Kreuter, Matthew W. & Margenthaler, Julie A. & Colditz, Graham A. & Jeffe, Donna B., 2021. "Randomized controlled trial of a breast cancer Survivor Stories intervention for African American women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    6. Jianye Liu & Roderic Beaujot & Zenaida Ravanera, 2018. "Measuring the Effects of Stress and Social Networks on the Health of Canadians," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 891-908, December.
    7. Tseng, Hsiao-Ting & Ibrahim, Fahad & Hajli, Nick & Nisar, Tahir M. & Shabbir, Haseeb, 2022. "Effect of privacy concerns and engagement on social support behaviour in online health community platforms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:134:y:2015:i:c:p:59-65. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.