Longitudinal Study - A study that involves collecting data during two or more sessions (or waves) that are separated by a specific time period. In our case, we will have two waves separated by two years (2012 and 2014). A study that involves collecting data during a single session is known as a cross-sectional study. 

 

Group Identification - Although we may be formally members of a number of social groups (e.g., family, work-place, school, sport-team, social club, etc.) not all groups are equally important to us. When you consider a specific group as especially important to you, we say that you are subjectively identified with that group. The word ‘identification’ covers a number of ideas: in the context of our project, we consider two aspects of identification: sense of belonging (how much does the person feel that they belong to the group in question?) and sense of commonality (how much does the person feel that they have in common with other members of the group?). In our project, we argue that the extent to which a person identifies with a certain social group has very important implications for health (i.e., higher identification will normally lead to better health). 

 

Social Identity (or Group Identity) - This refers to the way in which we define ourselves in relation to our identification with social groups (e.g., as British, as a Manchester United supporter, or as a member of Castlehill chess club). According to both Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and Self Categorization Theory (Turner et al., 1987), social identity should be distinguished from personalidentity, the latter of which is related to the unique, idiosyncratic aspects of the self (e.g., hard-working or intelligent).

 

Social Contact - This simply describes the extent to which a person experiences contact (face-to-face, via the telephone, etc.) with members of their social group. It has often been suggested that having high levels of social contact promotes health and well-being. However, this is unlikely to be true in all instances; for instance, in cases where the person does not identify highly with the group in question (see the definition above), high levels of social contact may actually have a negative effect on health and well-being.

 

Social Support – This is the idea that we obtain support from members of our social groups and networks. Social support comes in three main forms: emotional support (empathy, affection, trust, etc.), instrumental support (money, goods or services), and informational support (advice, information, guidance, etc.). In our study, we explore the interplay between group identification and social support.