Convoys of perceived support from adolescence to midlife

Abstract

Data from 963 Canadians at ages 18 (late adolescence), 25 (young adulthood), and 43 (midlife) were used to explore convoys of perceived social support from parents, other family, friends, partners, coworkers, and children. Latent profile and latent transition analyses revealed two support profiles at each age, distinguished by amount of family support. Those with high family support had a high likelihood (approximately 80%) of remaining in that profile from one life stage to the next, while those with low family support had an equal likelihood (approximately 50%) of remaining there or transitioning into high support. Those with high family support at all three ages had fewer symptoms of depression in midlife than those with low family support at all ages. These findings highlight the prominence of family of origin in social convoys of perceived support and implications of perceived support for midlife mental health.

“Who has my back?”: Social convoys and loneliness in Slovenian adolescents living in residential youth care group homes

“…A larger sample would not only improve the generalizability of the results obtained but would also allow for insightful additional analyses. For example, a person‐centred analytical approach that simultaneously considers the properties of all relationships in one's social convoy (e.g., Fang et al, 2020) would enable the identification of relationship patterns that serve as risk or protective factors in RYC adolescents' loneliness. Second, the study failed to collect additional information about the RYC youth that could significantly shape the results obtained (e.g., duration of living in the RYC group homes, how many adolescents lived in each of the participating RYC group homes, what were the specific circumstances leading to their placement in the RYC).…”

“…Moreover, their social relationships are characterized by less frequent contact, less perceived support and lower satisfaction, which was particularly evident in their relationships with parents and extended family members. As social convoys tend to be moderately stable over time (Ciarrochi et al, 2017; Fang et al, 2020), less favourable convoys could represent a risk for long‐term outcomes. On the other hand, previous research has shown that a substantial proportion of individuals change social convoy profiles.…”

“…However, the social relationships of RYC youth differ from those of their peers living in primary families (Singstad et al, 2020) and should be investigated as they are significantly related to adolescents' physical (Yang et al, 2016) and mental health (Chu et al, 2010). As a non‐normative living situation, RYC could affect quantitative (e.g., the number of relationships and the frequency of contact with significant others) and qualitative aspects of adolescents' social lives (e.g., perceived support; Fang et al, 2020; Thoits, 2011).…”

“…From childhood through adolescence, peers become increasingly more prominent in young people's social convoys (e.g., Levitt et al, 2005) and an ever more important source of support (del Valle et al, 2010). Yet, for most adolescents, parents and other family members retain their role as members of social convoys and important sources of emotional and instrumental support (Antonucci et al, 2010; del Valle et al, 2010; Fang et al, 2020). Moreover, although the relative contribution of parents and peers to adolescent adjustment changes from childhood to adolescence, relationships with parents remain paramount (Rueger et al, 2016).…”

Age Difference in Roles of Perceived Social Support and Psychological Capital on Mental Health During COVID-19

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, social support from family could have potentially alleviated depression symptoms due to the social lockdown condition (Mariani et al, 2020 ). Moreover, it has been shown that a high level of perceived social support from multiple sources is associated with better physical and psychological health (Fang et al, 2020 ). Thus, social support may be of great importance for protecting one from mental health problems, especially in a crisis, such as the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.…”