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Social Supports, Social Networks, and Health Behaviors

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Health Behavior

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to examine some of the recent work that has bearing on the relationship between social supports, social networks, and health behavior. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive review of the literature in any of these areas. Nor is the purpose to propose a conceptual model that can then be applied to a variety of health behaviors. Instead, this chapter will identify methodological problems and conceptual concerns that have not been adequately dealt with in the area of health behavior research, and draw from the larger literature on social supports and social networks in an attempt to add clarity to this area of research. A major goal of the chapter then is to provide a research agenda for better understanding the nature of the relationship between social ties and health behaviors.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 44242-0001, USA

    Christian Ritter

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  1. Christian Ritter
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Raymond S. Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

    David S. Gochman

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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Ritter, C. (1988). Social Supports, Social Networks, and Health Behaviors. In: Gochman, D.S. (eds) Health Behavior. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0833-9_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0833-9_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0835-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0833-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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