The Role of Social Support in Adaptation to Cancer and to Survival

Social support continues to be studied by many investigators as a variable associated with adaptation to the stress of cancer and its treatment. Recent selected studies are reviewed and limitations of the studies are noted, including the predominance of cross-sectional designs, lack of agreement on instruments to use to assess social supports and outcome measures, and the dearth of substantive models for guiding research and interventions. Although studies have also explored the relationship between support and survival, results are inconclusive. Future studies should include longitudinal designs, analyze support as an interactional process based on mutual influence, and explore the relationship between social support and the domains of quality of life (in addition to mood).