span. Even patient defi cits may be couched as social support needs. For
instance, from quantitative inquiry, we know that the greater the social
support, the lower the stigma concerns in those with HIV (Laros, Davis,
Gallo, Heinrich, & Talavera, 2009). It is a predictor of maternal-fetal
attachment (Yarcheski, Mahon, Yarcheski, Hanks, & Cannella, 2009).
Parent support is a protective factor for children’s development of posttraumatic
stress disorder in war zones in Palestine (Thabet, Ibraheem,
Shivram, Winter, & Voatanis, 2009). Women living with a partner are
more likely to report with a smaller breast cancer lesion, either by locating
it earlier, or from receiving support to seek treatment sooner than
they would otherwise (Kricker et al., 2009). Other important considerations
were differences in the types of social support provided by lay
networks and whether professional support should be considered social
support or whether it was a different type of support, such as obligatory
support (Hupcey & Morse, 1998).