The effect of the "Adapted-Coping with Stress" (A-CWS) intervention on social support coping was examined, using a randomized controlled trial design. The participants were 410 ninth-grade students (ages 14 to 16 years and mostly African American) living in low-resourced neighborhoods. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 to either…

Research suggests that many women experience some form of sexual assault in their lifetime and that women who engage in substance abuse often have a higher incidence of past sexual assault than women in the general population. Given the documented rates of sexual assault among women in recovery from substance use, it is important to explore…

Group homes sometimes face significant neighborhood opposition, and municipalities frequently use maximum occupancy laws to close down these homes. This study examined how the number of residents in Oxford House recovery homes impacted residents' outcomes. Larger homes (i.e., eight or more residents) may reduce the cost per person and offer more…

A babysitting exchange program was created for a group of women in order to build a social support network and to provide a test of the buffer hypothesis (i.e., the idea that social support may shield an individual from the negative physical and mental consequences of stress, particularly when stress is at high levels). The sample consisted of 30…

Although studies have linked stressful life events with illness, good support resources have been found to mediate these effects. To investigate the processes involved in assessing one's social network, identifying areas where change is desired, and modifying specific social network variables, 18 undergraduate students (14 females, 4 males)…

People seeking help for personal problems usually turn to family, friends, and relatives first and then to sources such as neighborhood support systems, self-help groups, and community helpers such as physicians and clergy. These natural support systems need to be used and supported more by mental health professionals. One relationship which could…

Although research on the role of social support in psychological well-being has increased, little attention has been given to behavioral methods for measuring these supportive mechanisms. To study the support exchanged in marital dyads, a behavioral observation system was designed and used to detect changes in the marital relationship of one…