Social Power and Communicating Social Support

Dena M. Huisman is Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Wisconsin—La Crosse, USA. Her specialties include family communication, gender communication, and public speaking. She uses her teaching and research to advocate for social justice and equity.

• 1. Introduction 2. Dentity Construction and Maintenance and Social Support 3. Relationships at the Center of Support 4. Channels of Communication 5. Physical Health and Social Support 6. Mental Health and Social Support 7. Race, Ethnicity, and Social Support 8. Gender, Sexuality, and Social Support 9. Grief and Social Support 10. Conclusion

"Social Power and Communicating Social Support is an important contribution for the field of social support. It brilliantly weaves outside research with this author’s thought-provoking personal narrative. This is a must read for anyone wanting to further understand social support within a wide range of contexts."Tracy Routsong, Washburn University, USA"The communication discipline, like most social sciences, has struggled with white centeredness since its inception in the U.S. academy. Dena Huisman, a respected communication scholar, takes the critique head on and farther exposes omissions in the area of social support, making an argument that voices and experiences have been Othered, left out, or otherwise exceptionalized within communication scholarship. Dena gives scholars and practitioners the tools needed to do better when they design studies, teach curriculum or otherwise engage in social support literature, research, or practical application." Amy Aldridge Sanford, Middle Tennessee State University, USA