From Social Support to Social Network

This paper presents our research group's findings about the kinds of supportive resources flowing through a sample of East Yorkers' social networks. Rather than broadly supportive relationships, most ties are quite specialized in the kinds of resources they provide network members. Variable cluster analysis indicates that five distinct dimensions of support tend to occur together as strands of the same ties: companionship, emotional aid, services, financial aid and information. While only companionship, emotional aid and small services are commonly available in ties, most East Yorkers can obtain a wide range of resources from somewhere in their networks. The findings suggest the analytic power of beginning the study of social support with social networks, and only then inquiring as to the sorts of resources which flow through these networks and the extent to which these resources are indeed supportive