Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Support And New Communication Technologies During A Life Stressor, Heather Attig

Faculty Scholarship – Communication

Social support, whether emotional, informational, or tangible, is an innate need and is important to our well-being and our personal relationships. While face-to-face communication has been considered the “gold standard” to relational maintenance, we are also using communication technology to maintain our personal relationships and mobilize our social support networks. Technological advances in communication channels have provided new avenues to social interaction and social support.

The purpose of this study was to explore the social support process across new communication technologies. Specifically, I examined how multiple modes of communication (including face-to-face) were used to seek and receive social support to/from …