Pistrang N, Barker C, Rutter C
Sub-Department of Clinical Health Psychology, University College London, U.K.
Soc Sci Med. 1997 Sep;45(5):773-82. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(96)00413-3.
This paper demonstrates an alternative approach to studying the process of social support in close relationships by examining three tape-recorded conversations between breast cancer patients and their partners. We argue that existing research fails to take account of the "social" aspects of social support, and that new methods, sensitive to the complexities of human interaction, are needed. One promising method, tape-assisted recall (in which an audiotape of an interaction is played back to participants), allows researchers to examine the help-intended communication within a dyad as well as each participant's view of that communication. The conversations of the three couples and the participants' moment-by-moment perceptions of these conversations illustrate the complexities of help-intended communication. The commentaries in the tape-assisted recall sessions yielded insights into the interactions that were not always apparent on the surface: the personal meanings of the interactions, in the context of the couple's relationship, were necessary for understanding how support attempts are delivered effectively and why they sometimes fail. The strengths and limitations of the method for the study of social support are discussed. Implications for community health interventions to optimize support for couples coping with illness are also addressed.
本文通过研究乳腺癌患者与其伴侣之间的三段录音对话，展示了一种研究亲密关系中社会支持过程的替代方法。我们认为，现有研究未能考虑到社会支持的“社会”层面，因此需要采用对人际互动复杂性敏感的新方法。一种有前景的方法是磁带辅助回忆（向参与者播放互动的录音带），它使研究人员能够考察二元组内旨在提供帮助的交流以及每个参与者对这种交流的看法。这三对夫妻的对话以及参与者对这些对话的即时感知，说明了旨在提供帮助的交流的复杂性。磁带辅助回忆环节中的评论揭示了表面上并不总是明显的互动情况：在夫妻关系背景下，互动的个人意义对于理解支持尝试如何有效传递以及为何有时会失败是必要的。本文讨论了该方法在社会支持研究中的优缺点。还探讨了对社区健康干预措施的启示，这些措施旨在优化对应对疾病的夫妻的支持。
