Social Identity And Social Support Essay

This essay will discuss how groups are good for your health by delving into the notion of social identity and the social support a group gives. Haslam et. al. (2009) defines a group as relating various social entities, defined in a broad sense as relational structures we engage with and help to define who we are as an individual. Tajfel & Turner (1979) proposed the Social Identity Theory that claims that the groups which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity; a sense of belonging to the social world. If groups provide individuals with this sense of belonging and purpose then these tend to lead to positive psychological outcomes and enrichment of one’s life thus showing …show more content…
He claims that social identity serves to structure social interaction and is also central to the accumulation of health-related social capitol and lying at the heart of helping behaviour and the dynamics of effective social support. This effective social support was found to decrease the effects of stress. Haslam, Jetten & Waghorn (2009) predicted that group identification would be a basis for social support that serves to shield individuals from the harmful effects of stress. Higher levels of stress have been related to poor diet, erratic sleep patterns and increased levels of stress-related illness (Hudd et. al., 2000). High levels of stress have also been linked to a variety of psychological ailments e.g., suicide (Hirsch and Ellis, 1996). The health of every person is closely tied to the conditions of group life. A supportive community is a condition for an individual to flourish and be healthy, the absence of such community or the inability of the community to provide support and encourage purpose and meaning into an individual’s life is likely to contribute to poor mental and physical health (Jetten et. al.,