Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance is provided by churches, groups, etc.

Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual, usually of the same species.

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

The separation of individuals or groups resulting in the lack of or minimizing of social contact and/or communication. This separation may be accomplished by physical separation, by social barriers and by psychological mechanisms. In the latter, there may be interaction but no real communication.

The perceiving of attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of one's associates or social groups.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.

Adaptation of the person to the social environment. Adjustment may take place by adapting the self to the environment or by changing the environment. (From Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary, 1996)

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with major depression present in neurotic and psychotic disorders.

The use of community resources, individual case work, or group work to promote the adaptive capacities of individuals in relation to their social and economic environments. It includes social service agencies.

Platforms that provide the ability and tools to create and publish information accessed via the INTERNET. Generally these platforms have three characteristics with content user generated, high degree of interaction between creator and viewer, and easily integrated with other sites.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

Social structure of a group as it relates to the relative social rank of dominance status of its members. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

The level of health of the individual, group, or population as subjectively assessed by the individual or by more objective measures.

Social rank-order established by certain behavioral patterns.

Persons whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

Disciplines concerned with the interrelationships of individuals in a social environment including social organizations and institutions. Includes Sociology and Anthropology.

The state of feeling sad or dejected as a result of lack of companionship or being separated from others.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

Situations affecting a significant number of people, that are believed to be sources of difficulty or threaten the stability of the community, and that require programs of amelioration.

A person's view of himself.

Abstract standards or empirical variables in social life which are believed to be important and/or desirable.

Involvement in community activities or programs.

Those occurrences, including social, psychological, and environmental, which require an adjustment or effect a change in an individual's pattern of living.

The state of society as it exists or in flux. While it usually refers to society as a whole in a specified geographical or political region, it is applicable also to restricted strata of a society.

Cognitive mechanism based on expectations or beliefs about one's ability to perform actions necessary to produce a given effect. It is also a theoretical component of behavior change in various therapeutic treatments. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)

The degree of closeness or acceptance an individual or group feels toward another individual or group.

Social process whereby the values, attitudes, or institutions of society, such as education, family, religion, and industry become modified. It includes both the natural process and action programs initiated by members of the community.

A personality trait rendering the individual acceptable in social or interpersonal relations. It is related to social acceptance, social approval, popularity, social status, leadership qualities, or any quality making him a socially desirable companion.

The science dealing with the study of mental processes and behavior in man and animals.

Feeling or emotion of dread, apprehension, and impending disaster but not disabling as with ANXIETY DISORDERS.

The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

The state of estrangement individuals feel in cultural settings that they view as foreign, unpredictable, or unacceptable.

A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.

The branch of psychology concerned with the effects of group membership upon the behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of an individual.

Behavioral, psychological, and social relations among various members of the nuclear family and the extended family.

Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

Theoretical representations that simulate psychological processes and/or social processes. These include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

The process by which an aspect of self image is developed based on in-group preference or ethnocentrism and a perception of belonging to a social or cultural group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

A demographic parameter indicating a person's status with respect to marriage, divorce, widowhood, singleness, etc.

Organizations which provide an environment encouraging social interactions through group activities or individual relationships especially for the purpose of rehabilitating or supporting patients, individuals with common health problems, or the elderly. They include therapeutic social clubs.

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.

Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

Elements of residence that characterize a population. They are applicable in determining need for and utilization of health services.

Behaviors which are at variance with the expected social norm and which affect other individuals.

Persons who provide care to those who need supervision or assistance in illness or disability. They may provide the care in the home, in a hospital, or in an institution. Although caregivers include trained medical, nursing, and other health personnel, the concept also refers to parents, spouses, or other family members, friends, members of the clergy, teachers, social workers, fellow patients.

The interrelationship of psychology and religion.

The individual's experience of a sense of fulfillment of a need or want and the quality or state of being satisfied.

A set of beliefs concerning the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency. It usually involves devotional and ritual observances and often a moral code for the conduct of human affairs. (Random House Collegiate Dictionary, rev. ed.)

Government sponsored social insurance programs.

Any enhancement of a motivated behavior in which individuals do the same thing with some degree of mutual stimulation and consequent coordination.

Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the black groups of Africa.

A perceived attribute that is deeply discrediting and is considered to be a violation of social norms.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

Female parents, human or animal.

Sensitivity or attachment to religious values, or to things of the spirit as opposed to material or worldly interests. (from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed, and Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed)

The process by which the nature and meaning of sensory stimuli are recognized and interpreted.

Conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes school admission or job interviews.

Check list, usually to be filled out by a person about himself, consisting of many statements about personal characteristics which the subject checks.

Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties.

Public attitudes toward health, disease, and the medical care system.

An affective disorder manifested by either a dysphoric mood or loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. The mood disturbance is prominent and relatively persistent.

Organized institutions which provide services to ameliorate conditions of need or social pathology in the community.

A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.

The human ability to adapt in the face of tragedy, trauma, adversity, hardship, and ongoing significant life stressors.

Normal, appropriate sorrowful response to an immediate cause. It is self-limiting and gradually subsides within a reasonable time.

Personality construct referring to an individual's perception of the locus of events as determined internally by his or her own behavior versus fate, luck, or external forces. (ERIC Thesaurus, 1996).

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

The social institution involving legal and/or religious sanction whereby individuals are joined together.

Non-frontal low-pressure systems over tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized convection and definite pattern of surface wind circulation.

Behavioral or attitudinal compliance with recognized social patterns or standards.

Group composed of associates of same species, approximately the same age, and usually of similar rank or social status.

A class of traumatic stress disorders with symptoms that last more than one month. There are various forms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depending on the time of onset and the duration of these stress symptoms. In the acute form, the duration of the symptoms is between 1 to 3 months. In the chronic form, symptoms last more than 3 months. With delayed onset, symptoms develop more than 6 months after the traumatic event.

An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all.

Any type of research that employs nonnumeric information to explore individual or group characteristics, producing findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other quantitative means. (Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997)

Standardized procedures utilizing rating scales or interview schedules carried out by health personnel for evaluating the degree of mental illness.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

Place or physical location of work or employment.

Married persons, i.e., husbands and wives, or partners. Domestic partners, or spousal equivalents, are two adults who have chosen to share their lives in an intimate and committed relationship, reside together, and share a mutual obligation of support for the basic necessities of life.

The state of being engaged in an activity or service for wages or salary.

The performance of the basic activities of self care, such as dressing, ambulation, or eating.

An oversimplified perception or conception especially of persons, social groups, etc.

Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.

Method for obtaining information through verbal responses, written or oral, from subjects.

Persons who have experienced a prolonged survival after serious disease or who continue to live with a usually life-threatening condition as well as family members, significant others, or individuals surviving traumatic life events.

Anxiety disorders in which the essential feature is persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that the individual feels compelled to avoid. The individual recognizes the fear as excessive or unreasonable.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

A branch of medicine concerned with the role of socio-environmental factors in the occurrence, prevention and treatment of disease.

Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.

Performance of activities or tasks traditionally performed by professional health care providers. The concept includes care of oneself or one's family and friends.

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.

The interactions between parent and child.

Behaviors associated with the giving of assistance or aid to individuals.

Use of marketing principles also used to sell products to consumers to promote ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Design and use of programs seeking to increase the acceptance of a social idea or practice by target groups, not for the benefit of the marketer, but to benefit the target audience and the general society.

Research carried out by nurses concerning techniques and methods to implement projects and to document information, including methods of interviewing patients, collecting data, and forming inferences. The concept includes exploration of methodological issues such as human subjectivity and human experience.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli.

Tendency to feel anger toward and to seek to inflict harm upon a person or group.

Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).

Using an INTERNET based personal journal which may consist of reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks.

Set of expectations that exempt persons from responsibility for their illness and exempt them from usual responsibilities.

A set of statistical methods for analyzing the correlations among several variables in order to estimate the number of fundamental dimensions that underlie the observed data and to describe and measure those dimensions. It is used frequently in the development of scoring systems for rating scales and questionnaires.

The measurement of the health status for a given population using a variety of indices, including morbidity, mortality, and available health resources.

Created 1 January 1993 as a result of the division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Persons functioning as natural, adoptive, or substitute parents. The heading includes the concept of parenthood as well as preparation for becoming a parent.

A method of data collection and a QUALITATIVE RESEARCH tool in which a small group of individuals are brought together and allowed to interact in a discussion of their opinions about topics, issues, or questions.

Persons living in the United States of Mexican (MEXICAN AMERICANS), Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin. The concept does not include Brazilian Americans or Portuguese Americans.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

A preconceived judgment made without factual basis.

The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.

Individuals connecting by family, work or other interests. It also includes connectivity facilitated by computer-based communications.

A collective expression for all behavior patterns acquired and socially transmitted through symbols. Culture includes customs, traditions, and language.

Personal satisfaction relative to the work situation.

The physical activity of a human or an animal as a behavioral phenomenon.

Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

Statistical models in which the value of a parameter for a given value of a factor is assumed to be equal to a + bx, where a and b are constants. The models predict a linear regression.

The absence of appropriate stimuli in the physical or social environment which are necessary for the emotional, social, and intellectual development of the individual.

Process of cultural change in which one group or members of a group assimilate various cultural patterns from another.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

Non-acceptance, negative attitudes, hostility or excessive criticism of the individual which may precipitate feelings of rejection.

The geographic area of the midwestern region of the United States in general or when the specific state or states are not indicated. The states usually included in this region are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Persons with physical or mental disabilities that affect or limit their activities of daily living and that may require special accommodations.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

Disorders related to substance abuse.

The internal individual struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, or external and internal demands. In group interactions, competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons). (from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

People who leave their place of residence in one country and settle in a different country.

Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital.

Depression in POSTPARTUM WOMEN, usually within four weeks after giving birth (PARTURITION). The degree of depression ranges from mild transient depression to neurotic or psychotic depressive disorders. (From DSM-IV, p386)

Diseases caused by factors involved in one's employment.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.

A set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. In statistics, multivariate analysis is interpreted as any analytic method that allows simultaneous study of two or more dependent variables.

The feeling-tone accompaniment of an idea or mental representation. It is the most direct psychic derivative of instinct and the psychic representative of the various bodily changes by means of which instincts manifest themselves.

Performing the role of a parent by care-giving, nurturance, and protection of the child by a natural or substitute parent. The parent supports the child by exercising authority and through consistent, empathic, appropriate behavior in response to the child's needs. PARENTING differs from CHILD REARING in that in child rearing the emphasis is on the act of training or bringing up the children and the interaction between the parent and child, while parenting emphasizes the responsibility and qualities of exemplary behavior of the parent.

Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The interrelationship of medicine and religion.

Interaction between a mother and child.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.

The status of health in urban populations.

Statistical interpretation and description of a population with reference to distribution, composition, or structure.

Comparative PSYCHOLOGY of different ethnic and cultural groups.

The observable response an animal makes to any situation.

Persistent and disabling ANXIETY.

Size and composition of the family.

An enduring, learned predisposition to behave in a consistent way toward a given class of objects, or a persistent mental and/or neural state of readiness to react to a certain class of objects, not as they are but as they are conceived to be.

Standardized tests designed to measure abilities, as in intelligence, aptitude, and achievement tests, or to evaluate personality traits.

The total amount of work to be performed by an individual, a department, or other group of workers in a period of time.

Relationship between individuals when one individual threatens or becomes aggressive and the other individual remains passive or attempts to escape.

A natural, adoptive, or substitute parent of a dependent child, who lives with only one parent. The single parent may live with or visit the child. The concept includes the never-married, as well as the divorced and widowed.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

Variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between population groups defined by socioeconomic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, economic resources, or gender and populations identified geographically or similar measures.

Physical activity which is usually regular and done with the intention of improving or maintaining PHYSICAL FITNESS or HEALTH. Contrast with PHYSICAL EXERTION which is concerned largely with the physiologic and metabolic response to energy expenditure.

The use or threatened use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of criminal laws for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom, in support of political or social objectives.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

Calamities producing great damage, loss of life, and distress. They include results of natural phenomena and man-made phenomena. Normal conditions of existence are disrupted and the level of impact exceeds the capacity of the hazard-affected community.

Evaluation of the level of physical, physiological, or mental functioning in the older population group.

The promotion and maintenance of physical and mental health in the work environment.

Intellectual or mental process whereby an organism obtains knowledge.

Unconscious process used by an individual or a group of individuals in order to cope with impulses, feelings or ideas which are not acceptable at their conscious level; various types include reaction formation, projection and self reversal.

Behaviors associated with the ingesting of alcoholic beverages, including social drinking.

The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas on behalf of others.

The state of not being engaged in a gainful occupation.

Any observable response or action of an adolescent.

Behavior-response patterns that characterize the individual.

The circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age, as well as the systems put in place to deal with illness. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a wider set of forces: economics, social policies, and politics (http://www.cdc.gov/socialdeterminants/).

Groups of persons whose range of options is severely limited, who are frequently subjected to COERCION in their DECISION MAKING, or who may be compromised in their ability to give INFORMED CONSENT.

The care provided to women and their NEWBORNS for the first few months following CHILDBIRTH.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

The personal cost of acute or chronic disease. The cost to the patient may be an economic, social, or psychological cost or personal loss to self, family, or immediate community. The cost of illness may be reflected in absenteeism, productivity, response to treatment, peace of mind, or QUALITY OF LIFE. It differs from HEALTH CARE COSTS, meaning the societal cost of providing services related to the delivery of health care, rather than personal impact on individuals.

Refers to the whole process of grieving and mourning and is associated with a deep sense of loss and sadness.

The nursing specialty that deals with the care of women throughout their pregnancy and childbirth and the care of their newborn children.

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

Sudden slips on a fault, and the resulting ground shaking and radiated seismic energy caused by the slips, or by volcanic or magmatic activity, or other sudden stress changes in the earth. Faults are fractures along which the blocks of EARTH crust on either side have moved relative to one another parallel to the fracture.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

Crafts, trades, professions, or other means of earning a living.

Housing for groups of patients, children, or others who need or desire emotional or physical support. They are usually established as planned, single housekeeping units in residential dwellings that provide care and supervision for small groups of residents, who, although unrelated, live together as a family.

Productive or purposeful activities.

A willingness to reveal information about oneself to others.

Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)

The tendency of an individual or individuals to rely on others for advice, guidance, or support.

Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of the mother.

Standardized objective tests designed to facilitate the evaluation of personality.

The prevailing temper or spirit of an individual or group in relation to the tasks or functions which are expected.

A subgroup having special characteristics within a larger group, often bound together by special ties which distinguish it from the larger group.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the continent of Europe.

The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.

The branch of applied psychology concerned with the application of psychologic principles and methods to industrial problems including selection and training of workers, working conditions, etc.