Positive social relationships and support have shown beneficial effects on a person’s well-being. There are five components that make up social support: emotional, instrumental, informational, companionship and validation support. Despite Carson’s quiet nature, she had positive social relationships to support her throughout her life, and she received some form of support through at least one component of social support at any point of her life. These social relationships would help her to get through the various challenges in her life and could have influenced her to make certain choices to be the person she was and her legacy that still remains today.

In this section, I will explore the significant relationships in Carson’s life that have been made public, and infer the kind of support she received from each of these people and the kind of impact they had individually on her life.