TABLE 2.
The Structure of Perceived Social Support Among the FSWs in China
| Functions of social support | Sources of social support |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | SP | CL | CW | FA | FR | |
| Informational support (n = 1021, %) | ||||||
| General issues | 18.7 | 33.1 | 1.8 | 42.9 | 29.0 | 42.3 |
| Health issues | 6.9 | 25.5 | 1.1 | 30.3 | 26.1 | 30.6 |
| Dealing with clients | 38.8 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 50.3 | 3.4 | 17.5 |
| Conflicts with stable partners | 3.3 | 8.2 | 1.1 | 38.1 | 11.0 | 44.6 |
| Marriage or romances | 4.8 | 9.4 | 1.3 | 33.8 | 34.2 | 48.7 |
| Mean of the sub-scale (0–5) | 0.73 | 0.81 | 0.10 | 1.95 | 1.03 | 1.83 |
| Emotional support(n = 1020, %) | ||||||
| Need comfort and support | 3.9 | 38.7 | 1.4 | 33.7 | 24.2 | 44.6 |
| Need chatting | 5.1 | 29.3 | 3.6 | 51.8 | 20.5 | 59.3 |
| When feeling uncomfortable | 4.6 | 28.9 | 2.6 | 43.1 | 13.0 | 50.2 |
| When missing children and families | 3.2 | 25.6 | .9 | 20.1 | 41.5 | 24.2 |
| Need talking about annoying issues | 3.5 | 21.2 | 1.5 | 43.1 | 14.4 | 57.0 |
| Mean of the subscale (0–5) | 0.20 | 1.42 | 0.10 | 1.92 | 1.13 | 2.36 |
| Tangible support (n = 1021, %) | ||||||
| Financial support | 7.0 | 31.8 | 4.4 | 20.7 | 34.7 | 32.4 |
| Material support | 4.9 | 30.6 | 5.0 | 17.4 | 25.4 | 26.6 |
| Mean of the subscale (0–2) | 0.12 | 0.62 | 0.10 | 0.38 | 0.60 | 0.59 |
Note: GK = Gatekeepers, SP = Stable partners, CL = Clients, CW = Coworkers, FA = Family members, FR = Friends.