Table 1.

Conceptualization of social support.

Scholars	Definitions of social support
Caplan et al. (9)	Social support is a continuous social cohesion in which individuals interact with other people and social networks as a support system to meet individual needs or enhance their adaptability
Cohen et al. (10)	Social support is the resources provided by others to help a person cope with the stresses
Smedley et al. (11)	Social support can be divided into tangible and intangible social support. For example, when children participate in competitive competitions, the economic support provided by family members is tangible social support, while the competitive suggestions provided by teachers and classmates are invisible social support