Relationship of social supports to health.

The research literature has produced mixed findings on the relationship of social supports to health. There is a clear relationship between mortality and lack of social support, a less clear but still strongly positive relationship between psychological symptoms and the lack of social support. In relation to physical symptoms, the findings are mixed: some studies show positive effects and others show none. Mutual help groups are an effective way of offering social support to a variety of target groups, whose needs cannot be met by the medical care system.