Purpose of review Recent research findings from selected publications focusing on links between social support and physical health are summarized. Recent findings Current research is extending our understanding of the influences of social support on health. Many epidemiological studies have concentrated on further linking measures of social support to physical health outcomes. A few studies are now moving into newer areas, such as emphasizing health links with support receipt and provision. Researchers are also interested in outlining relevant pathways, including potential biological (i.e. inflammation) and behavioral (i.e. health behaviors) mechanisms. Interventions attempting to apply basic research on the positive effects of social support are also widespread. Although the longer term effects of such interventions on physical health remain to be determined, such interventions show promise in influencing the quality of life in many chronic disease populations. Summary Recent findings often show a robust relationship in which social and emotional support from others can be protective for health. The next generation of studies must explain, however, why this relationship exists and the specificity of such links. This research is in its infancy but will be crucial in order to better tailor support interventions that can impact on physical health outcomes.

Significance: What predicts how happy people are with their romantic relationships? Relationship science—an interdisciplinary field spanning psychology, sociology, economics, family studies, and communication—has identified hundreds of variables that purportedly shape romantic relationship quality. The current project used machine learning to directly quantify and compare the predictive power of many such variables among 11,196 romantic couples. People’s own judgments about the relationship itself—such as how satisfied and committed they perceived their partners to be, and how appreciative they felt toward their partners—explained approximately 45% of their current satisfaction. The partner’s judgments did not add information, nor did either person’s personalities or traits. Furthermore, none of these variables could predict whose relationship quality would increase versus decrease over time.

Palliative care aims to improve quality of life for people with serious illness and their families. One potential barrier to palliative care uptake is inaccurate knowledge and/or negative beliefs among the general population, which may inhibit early interest in, communication about, and integration of palliative care following subsequent illness diagnosis. We explored knowledge and beliefs about palliative care among the general public using nationally-representative data collected in 2018 as part of the cross-sectional Health Information National Trends Survey. Only individuals who had heard of palliative care (n = 1,162, M_age = 51.8, 64% female) were queried on knowledge and beliefs. We examined whether self-assessed level of awareness of palliative care (i.e., knowing a little vs. enough to explain it) was associated with the relative likelihood of having accurate/positive beliefs, inaccurate/negative beliefs, or responding “don’t know” to questions about palliative care. Respondents who indicated knowing a lot about palliative care had more accurate versus inaccurate knowledge than those who knew a little on only two of six items and more positive attitudes on only one of three items. In particular, respondents with greater awareness were equally likely to report that palliative care is the same as hospice and requires stopping other treatments, and equally likely to believe that palliative care means giving up and to associate palliative care with death. Those with higher awareness were less likely than those with lower awareness to respond “don’t know,” but greater awareness was not necessarily associated with having accurate or positive beliefs about palliative care as opposed to inaccurate or negative beliefs. Thus, even members of the general public who perceived themselves to know a lot about palliative care were often no less likely to report inaccurate knowledge or negative beliefs (versus accurate and positive, respectively). Findings suggest a need to improve awareness and attitudes about palliative care.

The profession of genetic counseling has received limited guidance from theoretical models in how to communicate complex health information so that clients can actively use the information. In this study of a national sample of 145 genetic counselors conducting sessions with simulated clients, we apply two different approaches for analyzing and describing verbal health communication. The Roter interaction analysis system (RIAS) and linguistic inquiry word count (LIWC) were used to identify evidence of communication behaviors consistent with tenets of the social cognitive processing model (SCPM). These tools revealed descriptive evidence of counselor facilitation of client emotional processing and, to a lesser extent, facilitation of client cognitive processing and understanding. Conversely, descriptive analysis of client communication revealed evidence of cognitive processing, but less affective processing. Second, we assessed whether genetic counselor facilitative communication predicted simulated client responses consistent with the cognitive and emotional processing inherent in SCPM. These analyses revealed that counselor attempts to promote emotional expression and client insight were positively associated with client word usage indicative of expression of negative affect and cognitive processing. This study is the first to our knowledge to apply RIAS and LIWC in tandem and gives us a description of current practices within genetic counseling within a theoretical framework. Additionally, it provides suggestions for education and communication goals to improve providers' responses to patient emotions as well as skills to engender patient understanding and personal meaning-making of complex medical information.

Cancer impacts spouse caregivers, especially when couples engage in dyadic coping around the cancer. Communication is a key factor in this process. Our goals were to describe cancer-related communication between advanced cancer patients and their spouse caregivers, and to describe how dyadic communication patterns are related to caregivers’ reported burden and preparedness for caregiving. Caregivers completed measures of caregiver burden and preparedness for caregiving. Then, the patient and caregiver were asked to interact with each other in two structured discussions: a neutral discussion and a problem discussion focused on cancer. Discussions were coded using the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding System (RMICS2). Caregivers reported moderate levels of preparation and burden. Greater caregiver hostility communication predicted higher levels of caregiver burden, whereas greater caregiver dysphoric affect communication predicted lower levels of caregiver burden. Whereas positivity was more common than hostility in couples’ communication, patient hostility was a significant predictor of caregiver preparedness. Patient neutral constructive problem discussion was also associated with increased caregiver preparedness. Caregiver outcomes are an understudied component to dyadic cancer research. Our paper describes observational data on cancer-related communication between caregivers and advanced cancer patients and communication’s influence on caregiver outcomes. This work provides the foundation for future evidence-based communication interventions that may influence both patient and caregiver outcomes.