Activating social ties is a critical mechanism for satisfying individuals’ social, emotional, and material needs. Researchers have offered a number of hypotheses around tie activation about when and why particular supporters step in to help, ranging from strategic activation via functional specificity to opportunistic mobilization. To date, few studies have examined multiple tie activation strategies in tandem. This project focuses on people facing complex, compounding health and social problems, who may have to rely on multiple forms of activation to get their support needs met. We draw on a sample of 92 participants who are affiliated with one of two Care Management programs in the Western United States. Using name generators in a survey, we elicit participants’ social networks and find they utilize a number of methods to secure critical support needs, including calling on kin ties to borrow money and help with daily tasks, relying on strong and proximal ties for almost all types of support, and using functional specificity for health support. We then draw on qualitative interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the ways alters provide support and why egos elicit support from some alters and not others. Future research should continue assessing this population’s social networks with the aim of leveraging social support to help manage chronic conditions, provide access to resources, and increase their sense of belonging.

中文翻译：

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城市安全网中的社会支持：评估具有复杂护理需求的个人之间的联系激活

激活社会关系是满足个人社会、情感和物质需求的关键机制。研究人员围绕关系激活提出了许多关于特定支持者何时以及为何介入提供帮助的假设，范围从通过功能特异性的战略激活到机会主义动员。迄今为止，很少有研究同时检验多种连接激活策略。该项目重点关注面临复杂、复杂的健康和社会问题的人们，他们可能不得不依靠多种形式的激活来满足他们的支持需求。我们抽取了 92 名参与者作为样本，他们隶属于美国西部的两个护理管理项目之一。在一项调查中使用姓名生成器，我们引出了参与者的社交网络，发现他们利用多种方法来满足关键的支持需求，包括呼吁亲属借钱和帮助完成日常任务，几乎所有参与者都依赖于紧密的联系支持类型，并利用功能特异性进行健康支持。然后，我们利用定性访谈来更深入地了解改变者提供支持的方式，以及为什么自我会从某些改变者而不是其他改变者那里获得支持。未来的研究应继续评估该人群的社交网络，目的是利用社会支持来帮助管理慢性病、提供资源并增强他们的归属感。