The DOI matches its Crossref record; the references it cites are not checked yet.
The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health.
Abstract
In this review, the authors examine the evidence linking social support to physiological processes and characterize the potential mechanisms responsible for these covariations. A review of 81 studies revealed that social support was reliably related to beneficial effects on aspects of the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems. An analysis of potential mechanisms underlying these associations revealed that (a) potential health-related behaviors do not appear to be responsible for these associations; (b) stress-buffering effects operate in some studies; (c) familial sources of support may be important; and (d) emotional support appears to be at least 1 important dimension of social support. Recommendations and directions for future research include the importance of conceptualizing social support as a multidimensional construct, examination of potential mechanisms across levels of analyses, and attention to the physiological process of interest.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“More broadly, PPIs that increase one’s feeling of connection to others (e.g., expressive gratitude, practicing compassion may not only directly improve mood but also exert beneficial neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and immune systems changes269.”
From Psychobiological factors of resilience and depression in late life (2019) · cites this paper as [269]
In the citing paper
“In their review of 81 studies, Uchino, Cacioppo and Kiecolt-Glaser (1996) found that social support was related to positive effects on the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems.”
From Relationship of activity and social support to the functional health of older adults (2000) · cites this paper as Uchino, Cacioppo and Kiecolt-Glaser (1996)
Citations
The citation lists haven’t been fetched yet
References 238 · Cited by 2,727
Metadata
- Authors
- Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K.
- Affiliations
- University of Utah (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 1996-05
- Volume
- 119
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 488-531
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W1995002349
- Cited by
- 2,727
- References
- 238
- Citations by year
- 2026: 37 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 71 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 100 · 2021: 126 · 2020: 104 · 2019: 115 · 2018: 134 · 2017: 96 · 2016: 123 · 2015: 135 · 2014: 133 · 2013: 132 · 2012: 156
- FWCI
- 37.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH18831, T32MH018831, MH-44660, MH42096, P01MH044660)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- social support, physiological processes, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, immune system, stress buffering, family support, emotional support, health behavior
- MeSH terms
- Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Humans, Mental Health, Social Support
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1037/0033-2909.119.3.488
- The paper
- Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.119.3.488
