Patterns of Social Support in the Middle Childhood to Early Adolescent Transition: Implications for Adjustment

Abstract

Children's social networks often include close family members, extended family members, and friends, but little is known about interindividual differences in the patterning of support from these sources. In this study, we used person-oriented analyses to differentiate patterns of support for children undergoing the transition to adolescence. Social network and adjustment data were collected for an ethnically diverse sample of 691 fourth-and sixth-grade children, with a two-year follow-up. Cluster analyses identified one pattern of support from both close family members and friends, a second pattern of support from both close and extended family members, and a third pattern of support primarily from close family members alone. Participants receiving support from close family in combination with either extended family or friends were better adjusted than were those without multiple support resources. The results suggest that a meaningful typology of children's social networks can be developed.

In the Context of Adult Support: The Influence of Peer Support on the Psychological Well-Being of Middle-School Students

“…Sustained positive support from parents, teachers, adult neighbors, and other adults aids adolescents' successful adjustment (Greene and Way 2005;Levitt et al 2005;Nickerson and Nagle 2005;Pretty et al 1996;Scales et al 2006;Way and Robinson 2003). For example, close parental relationships can serve as a buffer for youth against depression and feelings of low self-worth, especially during times of transition, such as entering middle-school or developing intimate relationships with friends (Wentzel and McNamara 1999).…”

“…As youth mature from childhood to adolescence, the foci of their relationships shift from family to friends, and, consequently, so do the sources to which adolescents turn for support (Levitt et al 2005). The ability to integrate into a positive and prosocial peer group is an important social competency for adolescents (Walters and Bowen 1997).…”

Parents and peers as providers of support in adolescents' social network: a developmental perspective

“…This type of work has made it possible to highlight the substantial differences in the type of support offered by different providers of the network, and which in adolescence-a time of crucial changes in family and social relations-become especially important. More than a decade ago, Gavazzi (1994) stressed the importance of considering the interaction between family and peers in assessing adolescents' social support, in the same line as Levitt et al (2005) would do subsequently. Other studies focused on the balance and possible compensatory functioning between support from parents and support from friends (van Beest & Baerveldt, 1999), finding data consistent with a tendency for a decrease in family support at the same time as an increase in support from friends in adolescence (Cheng & Chan, 2004;Furman & Buhrmester, 1992;Garnefski & Diekstra, 1996;Klineberg et al, 2006).…”

Religiosity in Emerging Adulthood: Familial Variables and Adjustment

“…Additionally, adult children of divorce are more likely than adult children of nondivorced parents to achieve less education, have lower occupational status, and lower income (Powell and Parcel 1997;Ross and Mirowsky 1999). Furthermore, family support has been shown to relate to several adaptive developmental outcomes in preadolescents and adolescents (Levitt et al 2005).…”