SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SCHIZOPHRENIA - A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Within an interactive model of schizophrenia, social support is postul ated to serve as a protective factor that facilitates coping and compe tence, thus modulating the deleterious effects of social and environme ntal stressors, Although there is growing evidence of the importance o f social support in influencing the course of schizophrenia, the evide nce suffers from many methodological weaknesses including vagueness in the conceptualization, operations, and measurement of the construct. These are discussed from the perspective of the social support researc h in general, and from the social support-schizophrenia perspective, D espite the wide range of research approaches and methodological proble ms encountered, common threads in respect to social support are found. Copyright (C) 1995 by W.B. Saunders Company