Does Social Connectedness Promote a Greater Sense of Well‐Being in Adolescence Over Time?

Abstract

This longitudinal study was designed to investigate whether or not social connectedness predicts psychological wellbeing over time. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the temporal relations between these constructs assessed yearly for 3 years for a sample of 1,774 10-to 15-year-olds (at Time 1). Results indicated that global connectedness (i.e., connectedness combined across the domains of family, school, peers, and neighborhood) predicted wellbeing, but no reciprocal relation was found. However, reciprocal relations were revealed by analyses that examined connectedness at the domain level, that is, for family and school contexts. The results suggest that youth who reported higher levels of social connectedness at one point in time would subsequently report higher well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, confidence, positive affect, and aspirations).This longitudinal study was supported by a grant from The Foundation for Research in Science and Technology to the first and third authors. We thank Jo Kleeb for input in measure design and methodology; the school principals for allowing us to access students in their schools; and the adolescents for their continued willing participation.Requests for reprints should be sent to

Social Connectedness Predicts Lower Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms over Time in Adolescents

“…Jose et al (2012) found significant positive associations between and among global connectedness, domain-specific connectedness, and psychological wellbeing overtime. Interestingly, they reported that global connectedness predicted wellbeing over time but not the reverse.…”

“…A paucity exists of longitudinal research that concomitantly examines multiple core aspects of connectedness, namely family, school, peers and community, and their associations with adolescents' wellbeing (Jose, Ryan, & Pryor, 2012). Jose et al (2012) found significant positive associations between and among global connectedness, domain-specific connectedness, and psychological wellbeing overtime.…”

“…Previous research (Jose et al, 2012) based on the YCP dataset used here showed that an overall social connectedness construct can be created by combining four related components: family connectedness (11 items), school connectedness (6 items), peer connectedness (7 items), and community connectedness (4 items). An example item for family connectedness is: "It means a lot to be a member of my family", for school connectedness: "I like going to school"; for peer connectedness: "My friends and I help each other out"; and for community connectedness: "My family and I can count on our neighbors for help".…”

“…The current study was based on the Youth Connectedness Project dataset (YCP; see Jose et al, 2012). The Youth Connectedness Project obtained data from adolescents by performing a survey three times from 2006 to 2008, with one year between assessments.…”

“…The Youth Connectedness Project obtained data from adolescents by performing a survey three times from 2006 to 2008, with one year between assessments. The study was designed to investigate the development of social connectedness in adolescence (see Jose et al, 2012), but the survey included a variety of constructs and variables relevant to adolescent development. Adolescents were initially recruited through 78 participating schools in Year 1 from the North Island of New Zealand.…”