Situational Contingencies Surrounding the Receipt of Informal Support

Abstract

The social support strand of network analysis has confirmed the importance of taking seriously the personal network context in studies of informal support. But, as recent reviews make clear, it has paid relatively little attention to other situational contingencies that may influence flows of informal support. To begin to fill this gap, we draw on social-resources theory and research on helping behavior during disasters to expand its analytical focus to cover two other situational contingencies: local community context and receipt of formal support. Using data on recovery support during Hurricane Andrew, we find that although all three situational contingencies are important, their roles in the support process become clear only when their effects are considered simultaneously. We conclude by using the finding that the effects of the personal network and local community contexts on informal support differ for individuals who did and who did not receive formal support to call for a better integration of the social support and social-resources strands of network analysis.

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