Old man at a nursing home in Norway.<unk>  is the perception and actuality that one is cared for, has assistance available from other people, and most popularly, that one is part of a<unk> ive<unk>  network. These<unk> ive resources can be emotional (e.g., nurturance), informational (e.g., advice), or companionship (e.g., sense of belonging); tangible (e.g., financial assistance) or intangible (e.g., personal advice).<unk>  can be measured as the perception that one has assistance available, the actual received assistance, or the degree to which a person is integrated in a<unk>  network.<unk>  can come from many sources, such as family, friends, pets, neighbors, coworkers, organizations, etc. Government-provided<unk>  may be referred to as public aid in some nations.<unk>  is studied across a wide range of disciplines including psychology, communications, medicine,<unk> ogy, nursing, public health, education, rehabilitation, and<unk>  work.<unk>  has been linked to many benefits for both physical and mental health, but<unk> " (e.g., gossiping about friends) is not always beneficial.<unk>  theories and models were prevalent as intensive academic studies in the 1980s and 1990s, and are linked to the development of caregiver and payment models, and community delivery systems in the US and around the world. Two main models have been proposed to describe the link between<unk>  and health: the buffering hypothesis and the direct effects hypothesis. Gender and cultural differences in<unk>  have been found in fields such as education "which may not control for age, disability, income and<unk>  status, ethnic and racial, or other significant factors".
Social support
Quality of life
Quality of life 
External support
Mental environment
Cost of Living 
Body image 
Cardiac psychology