Abstract
In a sample of 2918 adolescents aged 12 to 24 years, the relation between parental and friends' social support was studied, specifically with regard to emotional problems. In addition, age and sex differences were examined. Results indicated that parental and friends' support seem to be relatively independent support systems. Although the degree of perceived support changes in the expected direction (with parental support decreasing and friends' support increasing) during early adolescence, parental support remains the best indicator of emotional problems during adolescence. The effect of friends' support appeared to depend slightly on the level of perceived parental support, with the high parental support group showing a slightly positive effect of friends' support, and the low parental support group showing a negative effect of friends' support.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Aiken, L. S., and West, S. G. (1991). Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
American Medical Association (1990). America's Adolescents: How Healthy Are They? Author, Chicago.
Armsden, G. C., and Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. J. Youth Adolesc. 16: 427–454.
Barrera, M. J. (1986). Distinctions between social support concepts, measures, and models. Am. J. Commun. Psychol. 14: 413–445.
Barrera, M., Jr., Chassin, L., and Rogosch, F. (1993). Effects of social support and conflict on adolescent children of alcoholic and nonalcoholic fathers. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 64: 602–612.
Belle, D. (1989). Gender differences in children's social networks and supports. In Belle, D. (ed.), Children's Social Networks and Social Supports. Wiley, New York, pp. 173–188.
Berndt, T. (1979). Developmental changes in conformity to peers and parents. Develop. Psychol. 15: 608–616.
Blyth, D. A., and Traeger, C. (1988). Adolescent self-esteem and perceived relationships with parents and peers. In Salzinger, S., Antrobus, J., and Hammer, M. (eds.), Social Networks of Children, Adolescents, and College Students. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, pp. 171–194.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 2, Separation. Basic Books, New York.
Brittain, C. V. (1968). An exploration of the bases of peer-compliance and parent-compliance in adolescence. Adolescence 13: 445–458.
Brown, B., Eicher, S., and Petrie, S. (1986). The importance of peer group (“crowd”) affiliation in adolescence. J. Adolesc. 9: 73–95.
Bryant, B. K. (1994). Howdoes social support function in childhood? In Nestmann, F., and Hurrelmann, K. (eds.), Social Networks and Social Support in Childhood and Adolescence. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 23–35.
Cantril, H. (1965). The Pattern of Human Concerns. Rutger University Press, New Brunswick, NJ.
Cauce, A. M. (1986). Social networks and social competence: Exploring the effects of early adolescent friendships. Am. J. Commun. Psychol. 14: 607–628.
Cauce, A. M., and Srebnik, D. S. (1990). Returning to social support systems:Amorphological analysis of social networks. Am. J. Commun. Psychol. 18: 609–616.
Cauce, A. M., Reid, M., Landesman, S., and Gonzales, N. (1990). Social support in young children: Measurement, structure, and behavioural impact. In Sarason, B. R., Sarason, I. G., and Pierce, G. R. (eds.), Social Support: An Interactional View. Wiley, New York, pp. 64–95.
Deković, M., and Meeus, W. (1995). Emotional problemens in adolescence. In du Bois-Reymond, M., Diekstra, R., Hurrelmann, K., and Peters, E. (eds.), Coping: Strategies and Status Transitions in Adolescence. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 225–241.
Diekstra, R.W. F., Garnefski, N., de Heus, P., de Zwart, R., van Praag, B. M. S., and Warnaar, M. (1991). Scholierenonderzoek 1990. Gedrag en gezondheid van scholieren uit het Voortgezet Onderwijs. [Survey of Pupils 1990; Health and Behavior]. NIBUD, Den Haag.
Dunphy, D. (1963). The social structure of urban adolescent peer groups. Sociometry 26: 523–535.
Fisher, C. S. (1982). To Dwell Among Friends. Personal Networks in Town and City. Chicago University Press, Chicago.
Furman, W., and Buhrmester, D. (1992). Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships. Child Develop. 63: 103–115.
Goldberg, D. P. (1978). Manual of The General Health Questionnaire. General Practice Research Unit, Horsham.
Greenberg, M. T., Siegel, J. M., and Leitch, C. J. (1983). The nature and importance of attachment relationships to parents and peers during adolescence. J. Youth Adolesc. 12: 373–386.
Grotevant, H. D., and Cooper, C. R. (1985). Patterns of interaction in family relationships and the development of identity formation in adolescence. Child Develop. 56: 415–428.
Grotevant, H. D., and Cooper, C. R. (1986). Individuation in family relationships. Human Develop. 29: 82–100.
Hirsch, B. J., and DuBois, D. L. (1992). The relation of peer social support and psychological symptomatology during the transition of junior high school: A two-year longitudinal analysis. Am. J. Commun. Psychol. 20: 333–347.
Holler, B., and Hurrelmann, K. (1990). The role of parent and peer contacts for adolescents' state of health. In Hurrelmann, K., and Lösel, F. (eds.), Health Hazards in Adolescence. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 409–432.
Joosten, J., and Drop, M. (1987). De betrouwbaarheid en vergelijkbaarheid van de drie versies van de VOEG [Reliability and comparability of the three versions of the VOEG]. Gedrag en Gezondheid 8: 251–265.
Kandel, D., and Lesser, G. S. (1969). Parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent independence in the United States and Denmark. J. Marr. Fam. 31: 348–358.
Kandel, D. B. (1974). Inter-and intragenerational influences on adolescent marijuana use. J. Soc. Issues 30: 107–135.
Kandel, D. B., and Davies, M. (1982). Epidemiology of depressive moods in adolescents. An empirical study. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 39: 1205–1212.
Kienhorst, I. (1988). Suicidaal gedrag bij jongeren. Onderzoek naar omvang en kenmerken. [Adolescent Suicide. Research on Prevalence and Characteristics]. Ambo, Baarn.
Kienhorst, C. W. M., Wilde, E. J., Bout, J., van den, and Diekstra, R. F. W. (1990). Psychometrische eigenschappen van een aantal zelfrapportage-vragenlijsten over “(on)-welbevinden” [Psychobetric characteristics of a number selfreport measures of “(non)well-being”]. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Psychologie 45: 124–133.
Laufer, M., and Laufer, M. E. (1984). Adolescence and Developmental Breakdown. Yale University Press, London.
Meeus, W. (1989). Parental and peer support in adolescence. In Hurrelmann, K., and Engel, U. (eds.), The Social World of Adolescents. de Gruyter, New York, pp. 167–185.
Meeus, W., Bois-Reymond, M. du, and Hazekamp, J. L. (1991). Het zelf en anderen in de adolescentie [The self and others in adolescence]. In Pennings, A. e.a. (ed.), Bijdragen aan pedagogisch onderzoek 1990, pp. 116–129.
Meeus, W. (1993). De psychosociale ontwikkeling van adolescenten [Psychosocial development in adolescents]. In Meeus, W., and 't Hart, H. (eds.), Jongeren in Nederland [Young people in the Netherlands]. Academische uitgeverij, Amersfoort, pp. 31–55.
Meeus, W., and 't Hart, H. (eds.) (1993). Jongeren in Nederland. [Young People in the Netherlands]. Academische uitgeverij, Amersfoort.
Meeus, W. (1994a). Relaties met volwassenen en leeftijdgenoten [Relationships with adults and peers]. In W. Meeus (ed.), Adolescentie. Een psychosociale benadering [Adolescence: A Psychosocial Approach]. Wolters-Noordhoff, Groningen, pp. 150–184.
Meeus, W. (1994b). Psychosocial problems and social support in adolescence. In Nestmann, F., and Hurrelmann, K. (eds.), Social Networks and Social Support in Childhood and Adolescence. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 241–255.
Nada Raja, S., McGee, R., and Stanton, W. R. (1992). Perceived attachments to parents and peers and psychological well-being in adolescence. J. Youth Adolesc. 21: 471–485.
Offer, D., Ostrov, E., Howard, K., and Atkinson, R. (1988). The Teenage World. Plenum Press, New York.
Reed, F. W., McBroom, W. H., Lindekugel, D. N., Roberts, V., and Tureck, A. M. (1986). Perceived value similarity in the transition to adulthood. Youth Soc. 17: 267–285.
Sabatelli, R. M., and Mazor, A. (1985). Differentiation, individuation, and identity formation: The integration of family system and individual developmental perspectives. Adolescence, 20: 619–633.
Sarason, B. R., Pierce, G. R., and Sarason, I. G. (1990). Social support: The sense of acceptance and the role of relationships. In Sarason, B. R., Sarason, I. G., and Pierce, G. R. (eds.), Social support: An interactional view. Wiley, New York, pp. 97–128.
Shulman, S. (1993). Close friendships in early and middle adolescence: Typology and friendship reasoning. New Directions for Child Develop. 60: 55–71.
Steinberg, L., and Silverberg, S. B. (1986). The vicissitudes of autonomy in early adolescence. Child Develop. 57: 841–851.
Vondra, J., and Garbarino, J. (1988). Social influences on adolescent behavior problems. In Salzinger, S., Antrobus, J., and Hammer, M. (eds.), Social Networks of Children, Adolescents, and College Students. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, pp. 195–224.
White, J. L. (1989). The Troubled Adolescent. Pergamon Press, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Helsen, M., Vollebergh, W. & Meeus, W. Social Support from Parents and Friends and Emotional Problems in Adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29, 319–335 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005147708827
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005147708827