Peer Relationships and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents: Results From the German BELLA Study

Abstract

Background: Poor mental health affects adolescent development and is associated with health and social outcomes in later life. The current study uses cross-sectional data to explore the understudied aspects of peer relationships as a predictor of depressive symptom severity of adolescents in Germany.Method: Data from the German BELLA study were analyzed. We focused on the most recent measurement point of the BELLA study and analyzed data of 446 adolescents (aged 14–17 years). Peer relationship was measured using four items from the internationally established Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Depressive symptoms were assessed via seven items of the German version of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D). Hierarchical linear regression models were computed to explore the association between depressive symptoms and peer relationships. Hierarchical linear regression models served to determine the added predictive effects of each aspect of peer relationships.Result: The regression model showed that 22% of the variance of the severity of depressive symptoms could be explained by the quality of adolescents’ peer relationships (F(1,444) = 125.65, p < 0.001). Peer acceptance has the most substantial unique contribution to peer relationship as a predictor of depressive symptom severity (Change in R2 = 0.05; Change in F = 27.01, p < 0.001). The gender-specific analysis shows different trends for boys and girls.Conclusion: The quality of peer relationships is a significant predictor of adolescents’ depressive symptoms severity. Improved peer acceptance, dependability, and ease of making new friends are significantly associated with reduced depression symptoms for Germany’s adolescent population.

Family intimacy and adolescent peer relationships: investigating the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of self-identity

“… Control Variable. Some existing studies have shown that personal characteristics of adolescents, such as gender, age, and educational background, have a significant impact on their peer relationships ( Adedeji et al, 2022 ). Meanwhile, family environmental factors such as only child, single parent family, living in rural or urban areas, family size, and yearly family income have a significant impact on adolescent peer relationships ( Boele et al, 2019 ; Livazović and Ham, 2019 ; Jambon and Malti, 2022 ).…”

The association between family adaptability and adolescent depression: the chain mediating role of social support and self-efficacy

“…Social support is the emotional, psychological, physical, informational, instrumental, and material assistance provided by others to maintain one's health or to facilitate one's adaptation to difficult life events (Dunst et al, 1986). Ecosystem theory suggests that the environment to which adolescents are exposed is not limited to the family, but peers and teachers in school also play important roles in their psychological development (Teresa et al, 2021;Adekunle et al, 2022), reflected primarily in social support. There is a discrepancy between the social support objectively provided by the outside world and the social support subjectively perceived by adolescents.…”

Factors Related to Depression According to the Degree of Loneliness in Adolescents with Severe Friend-Relationship Stress

“…Higher levels of depression have been shown to be associated with greater difficulties in adapting to school life and interpersonal relationships [14]. In particular, adolescents experience more depression and anxiety when their peer relationships, which are an important part of their interpersonal relationships, are negative [15][16][17]. Among adolescents' interpersonal interactions, it has been found that stress from friend relationships increases depression [18], and increased stress and depression in adolescents result in smartphone overdependence, social network services (SNS) addictions, video game addictions, and habitual drug use [5,10].…”

“…In addition, increased stress and depression in adolescents have been shown to increase suicidal ideation, which is a psychological problem. Loneliness is a major predictor of suicidal ideation in adolescents [19], and the relationship between depression, suicidal ideation, and loneliness has been discussed in several studies [5,15,19]. The factors that affect depression in adolescents include sociodemographic factors, home-environment-related factors, and educationalenvironment-related factors [20].…”