Informal social support: an international perspective

Abstract

The social support an individual receives influences his or her state of physical and mental health. Intimate relationships (family and friends) are the greatest source of social support and, among them, the partner plays a critical role in providing aid. The economic crisis we are experiencing since 2008 has shown the relevance of personal networks to provide help and is testing the extent of solidarity among families and friends. In Southern countries families are playing an important role to assist their less fortunate members. This paper focuses on people in couples and analyzes whether there are international differences in the role of the partner and the parents as providers of support. The analysis applies Esping-Andersen’s classification of welfare regimes to study to whom one turns when one needs domestic, economic, or emotional help. The database used is the module on social support, “Social Relations and Support Systems (Social Network II)” of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), performed in 2001. Specifically, we have chosen national samples (of individuals over 18 years of age) of people with a stable partner (married or living together), from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, East and West Germany, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and the United States. We confirm that people in liberal and social democratic countries turn more to elective relationships such as partner and friends, while people in conservative and Mediterranean countries seek support in parents.