As illustrated in Table 1, social s

As illustrated in Table 1, social support was conceptualized and measured in a variety of ways, although the vast majority of studies focused on functional, as opposed to structural, aspects of support. Perceived support (particularly tangible and emotional) was the most commonly assessed dimension of social support; other aspects of support that were assessed include satisfaction with support, comfort with support, and desired support or support needs. Only two studies assessed a structural dimension of social relationships: Sherbourne et al. used a measure of social network size, whereas DiIorio et al. assessed social integration (defined in that study as “participation in relationships that offer opportunities for shared concerns”).