Table 1.

Social support types and their accompanying definitions.

Type of social support	Definition
Esteem and emotional support	Communications from others that convey being held in high esteem, offering help with one’s emotional state, or expressing acceptance, caring, liking, respect, concern, empathy, or sympathy [6,9,10,19,20]
Informational support	Offering help in the form of advice, constructive feedback or affirmation, new information or perspectives, or references to new resources [6,9,10,19,20]
Instrumental support	Provision of tangible aid and services, such as offering financial aid, providing material resources, or taking on a responsibility [6,9,10,19]
Belonging support	Conveys a sense of social belonging and having others to engage with in shared social activities [6,9]