Social support: a diverse, multilevel, unequal resource

Social support is one of the most fundamental and valuable resources in any society and promotes mental and physical health across the globe. Scholarship on this topic remains broadly scattered across multiple academic disciplines, concepts, and measures that can be clustered under structural, functional, and quality perspectives. Processes of social support also operate at multiple levels of society, including through individuals, dyads, families, neighborhoods, communities, and countries. Yet, social support is not equally available to all members of society and lack of social support confounds existing inequities at multiple levels. Addressing these inequities requires a thoughtful consideration of the remaining challenges to studying and promoting social support. Finally, as societies age and individualize, social support scholars may be able to help generate practical ideas to promote and better equalize social support availability. In conclusion, although social support is currently a privilege, it should perhaps be reframed as a societal priority.