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The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts: The Social Support Exchange Process, Rifky Tkatch

Wayne State University Dissertations

Social support is a dyadic exchange process that yields many psychological and physiological health benefits. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of the support exchange process from a dyadic perspective on health outcomes and to investigate the extent that gender and relationship characteristics influence the support process and health outcomes. It was hypothesized that female patients would report seeking more support and male patients would report receiving more support. In addition, it was expected that patient seeking support would be associated with both partner provision and patient receipt of support. It was also hypothesized that patients' …