Identify the type of support being provided in this case: "A child gives notes to his friend since he was absent from school due to some casualty at home."
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Tangible support
Option (1) Informational support — Incorrect. Informational support is information about a stressful event, as when a friend who has faced a difficult board examination tells a student what the procedures are. The child here hands over notes, a thing, rather than advice.
Option (2) Cognitive support — Incorrect. Social support comes as tangible, informational and emotional support; cognitive support is not one of these forms. The friend does not help the child to think through the problem; he gives material help.
Option (3) Tangible support — Correct. Tangible support is assistance involving material aid, such as money, goods, services. Giving one’s notes to a friend who missed school is material help of this kind.
Option (4) Emotional support — Incorrect. Emotional support is reassuring a person that she or he is loved, valued and cared for. The notes help with the missed lessons, not with the friend’s feelings.
Note: This situation is NCERT’s own example of tangible support; the book gives sickness as the reason for the absence, where the question says a casualty at home.
NCERT (2025-26): “Life Skills … Social support may be in the form of tangible support or assistance involving material aid, such as money, goods, services, etc. For example, a child gives notes to her/his friend, since s/he was absent from school due to sickness. Family and friends also provide informational support about stressful events. For example, a student facing a stressful event such as a difficult board examination, if provided information by a friend who has faced a similar one, would not only be able to identify the exact procedures involved, but also it would facilitate in determining what resources and coping strategies could be useful to successfully pass the examination. During times of stress, one may experience sadness, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem. Supportive friends and family provide emotional support by reassuring the individual that she/he is loved, valued, and cared for.…” |