SOCIAL SUPPORT AUDIT

Chapter 10, page 228.

How much support do you have in your life right now for what you are trying to accomplish? Take this quick true-false test designed to alert you to the levels of support or sabotage that currently exist in your relationships. Acknowledging these important aspects of your relational life can be liberating when you realize that at last you are getting real about what is going on. Click true or false for all of the statements, whichever expresses exactly what is going on in your relationships. Again, don't be afraid to tell yourself the truth, even though it can be scary to admit certain things in your answers. The only thing worse about having nonsupportive relationships is to be in denial about those relationships. As is the case with any problem, early and appropriate intervention is vital to positive change.

My friends or family (whichever best applies):
1.Compliment me on healthy eating. True False
2.Refuse to eat in a healthy manner. True False
3.Notice when my behavior changes in significantly positive ways. True False
4.Insist on taking me to fast-food restaurants and buffets. True False
5.Compliment me on my appearance. True False
6.Push foods that are a problem for me. True False
7.Help me purchase and prepare healthy meals. True False
8.Protest changes in the family diet. True False
9.Help me overcome temptations to eat. True False
10.Make fun of my efforts to lose weight. True False
11.Offer to exercise with me. True False
12.Complain about the time I spend exercising. True False
13.Give me encouragement to exercise and stick with it. True False
14.Buy and bring home low-response cost foods that are not good for me. True False
15.Rearrange their schedules to exercise with me. True False
16.Don't want me to exercise, or don't support my efforts. True False
17.Talk to me about exercise in a positive manner. True False
18.Schedule activities that interfere with my exercise time. True False
19.Provide helpful information about nutrition, exercise, and health. True False
20.Eat fattening foods in front of me. True False

Interpreting Your Score
Any odd-numbered questions to which you answered False, and even-numbered questions to which you answered True, score against your relationships (higher score implies less support) in terms of the level of support provided by people in your life. You should look over your responses to get a feel for where support problems may exist. Don't get down on yourself or the people in your life, though. Being aware of these chinks in your relationships is a good thing, because I believe that you can deal with anything as long as you recognize it.

Copyright 2003 by Phillip C. McGraw