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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969 1969] ==Definition== *1: a group of people with common experiences a...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Support_Groups.jpg|right|frame]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969 1969]
==Definition==
*1: a [[group]] of people with common [[experiences]] and concerns who provide [[emotional]] and [[moral]] [[support]] for one another
==Description==
In a '''support group''', members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular [[shared]], usually burdensome, characteristic. The help may take the form of providing and [[evaluating]] relevant [[information]], relating personal experiences, [[listening]] to and [[accepting]] others' experiences, providing [[sympathetic]] [[understanding]] and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the [[public]] or engage in [[advocacy]].
Formal support groups may appear to be a [[modern]] [[phenomenon]], but they supplement [[traditional]] fraternal organizations in some respects, and may build on certain supportive [[functions]] (formerly) carried out in (extended) [[families]].
Other types of [[groups]] formed to support causes, including causes outside of themselves, are more often called [[advocacy]] groups, interest groups, lobby groups, pressure groups or promotional groups. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union Trade unions] and many environmental groups, for example, are interest groups.
Support groups maintain interpersonal [[contact]] among their members in a variety of ways. Traditionally, groups have met in person in sizes that allowed [[conversational]] [[interaction]]. Support groups also maintain contact through printed newsletters, telephone chains, [[internet]] [[forums]], and mailing lists. Some support groups are exclusively online (see below).
Membership in some support groups is formally [[controlled]], with admission requirements and membership fees. Other groups are "open" and allow anyone to attend an advertised meeting, for example, or to [[participate]] in an online forum.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_group]
[[Category: Sociology]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969 1969]
==Definition==
*1: a [[group]] of people with common [[experiences]] and concerns who provide [[emotional]] and [[moral]] [[support]] for one another
==Description==
In a '''support group''', members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular [[shared]], usually burdensome, characteristic. The help may take the form of providing and [[evaluating]] relevant [[information]], relating personal experiences, [[listening]] to and [[accepting]] others' experiences, providing [[sympathetic]] [[understanding]] and establishing social networks. A support group may also work to inform the [[public]] or engage in [[advocacy]].
Formal support groups may appear to be a [[modern]] [[phenomenon]], but they supplement [[traditional]] fraternal organizations in some respects, and may build on certain supportive [[functions]] (formerly) carried out in (extended) [[families]].
Other types of [[groups]] formed to support causes, including causes outside of themselves, are more often called [[advocacy]] groups, interest groups, lobby groups, pressure groups or promotional groups. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union Trade unions] and many environmental groups, for example, are interest groups.
Support groups maintain interpersonal [[contact]] among their members in a variety of ways. Traditionally, groups have met in person in sizes that allowed [[conversational]] [[interaction]]. Support groups also maintain contact through printed newsletters, telephone chains, [[internet]] [[forums]], and mailing lists. Some support groups are exclusively online (see below).
Membership in some support groups is formally [[controlled]], with admission requirements and membership fees. Other groups are "open" and allow anyone to attend an advertised meeting, for example, or to [[participate]] in an online forum.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_group]
[[Category: Sociology]]