This study tested whether cumulative support (i.e., parental, interparental, peer, and teacher) was associated with decreases in youths’ loneliness and social anxiety during early adolescence. The unique associations of support sources and moderating effects of youth gender also were examined. Participants included 416 youth in sixth grade at the beginning of the study (mean age = 11.86, SD = .69; 91% European American). Cumulative support during sixth grade was associated with decreased loneliness and social anxiety across early adolescence, and it was found that the association with decreased social anxiety was stronger for boys than girls. Parental and peer support were uniquely associated with decreased loneliness and social anxiety, respectively. The protection offered by multiple sources of support for developmental tasks across early adolescence is discussed.

References

Achenbach, T. M. ( 1991 ). Manual for the Youth Self-report Form and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT : Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont .

Google Scholar

Bandy, T., Moore, K. A. ( 2011 ). What works for promoting and enhancing positive social skills: Lessons from experimental evaluations of programs and interventions. (Child Trends Fact Sheet Publication No. 2011-07). Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/child_trends_2011_03_02_RB_WWSocialSkills.pdf

Google Scholar

Berndt, T. J., Perry, T. B. ( 1986 ). Children’s perceptions of friendships as supportive relationships . Developmental Psychology, 22, 640 – 648 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Browne, M. W., Cudeck, R. ( 1993 ). Alternative ways of assessing model fit . In Bollen, K. A., Long, J. S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136 – 162 ). Newbury Park, CA : Sage .

Google Scholar

Call, K. T., Mortimer, J. T. ( 2001 ). Arenas of comfort in adolescence: A study of adjustment in context. Mahwah, NJ : Erlbaum .

Google Scholar

Chu, P., Saucier, D. A., Hafner, E. ( 2010 ). Meta-analysis of the relationships between social support and well-being in children and adolescents . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29, 624 – 645 . doi:10.1521/jscp.2010.29.6.624

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Cobb, S. ( 1976 ). Social support as a moderator of life stress . Psychosomatic Medicine, 38, 300 – 314 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Coffman, D. L., MacCallum, R. C. ( 2005 ). Using parcels to convert path analysis models into latent variable models . Multivariate Behavioral Research, 40, 235 – 259 . doi:10.1207/s15327906mbr4002_4

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Cohen, S. ( 2004 ). Social relationships and health . American Psychologist, 59, 676 – 684 . doi:10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.676

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Colarossi, L. G., Eccles, J. S. ( 2000 ). A prospective study of adolescents’ peer support: Gender differences and the influence of parental relationships . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29, 661 – 678 . doi:10.1023/A:1026403922442

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Colarossi, L. G., Eccles, J. S. ( 2003 ). Differential effects of support providers on adolescents’ mental health . Social Work Research, 27, 19 – 31 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Davies, P. T., Cummings, E., Winter, M. A. ( 2004 ). Pathways between profiles of family functioning, child security in the interparental subsystem, and child psychological problems . Development and Psychopathology, 16, 525 – 550 . doi:10.1017/S0954579404004651

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

De Goede, I. A., Branje, S. T., Delsing, M. H., Meeus, W. J. ( 2009 ). Linkages over time between adolescents’ relationships with parents and friends . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 1304 – 1315 . doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9403-2

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Epkins, C. C., Heckler, D. R. ( 2011 ). Integrating etiological models of social anxiety and depression in youth: Evidence for a cumulative interpersonal risk model . Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 14(4), 329 – 376 . doi:10.1007/s10567-011-0101-8

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Festa, C. C., Ginsburg, G. S. ( 2011 ). Parental and peer predictors of social anxiety in youth . Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 42, 291 – 306 . doi:10.1007/s10578-011-0215-8

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Franck, K. L., Buehler, C. ( 2007 ). A family process model of marital hostility, parental depressive affect, and early adolescent problem behavior: The roles of triangulation and parental warmth . Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 614 – 625 . doi:10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.614

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Gerard, J. M., Buehler, C. ( 2004 ). Cumulative environmental risk and youth maladjustment: The role of youth attributes . Child Development, 75, 1613 – 1631 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Greene, M. L., Way, N., Pahl, K. ( 2006 ). Trajectories of perceived adult and peer discrimination among Black, Latino, and Asian American adolescents: Patterns and psychological correlates . Developmental Psychology, 42, 218 – 236 . doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.218

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hale, W., Raaijmakers, Q., Muris, P., van Hoof, A., Meeus, W. ( 2008 ). Developmental trajectories of adolescent anxiety disorder symptoms: A 5-year prospective community study . Journal of The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 556 – 564 . doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e3181676583

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hu, L., Bentler, P. M. ( 1999 ). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives . Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1 – 55 . doi:10.1080/10705519909540118

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Hutcherson, S. T., Epkins, C. C. ( 2009 ). Differentiating parent- and peer-related interpersonal correlates of depressive symptoms and social anxiety in preadolescent girls . Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26, 875 – 897 . doi:10.1177/0265407509345654

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Johnson, H., LaVoie, J., Mahoney, M. ( 2001 ). Interparental conflict and family cohesion: Predictors of loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance in late adolescence . Journal of Adolescent Research, 16, 304 – 318 . doi:10.1177/0743558401163004

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Kingery, J., Erdley, C. A., Marshall, K. C., Whitaker, K. G., Reuter, T. R. ( 2010 ). Peer experiences of anxious and socially withdrawn youth: An integrative review of the developmental and clinical literature . Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13, 91 – 128 . doi:10.1007/s10567-009-0063-2

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Ladd, G. W., Ettekal, I. ( 2013 ). Peer-related loneliness across early to late adolescence: Normative trends, intra-individual trajectories, and links with depressive symptoms . Journal of Adolescence, 36, 1269 – 1282 . doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2013.05.004

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

La Greca, A. M., Harrison, H. ( 2005 ). Adolescent peer relations, friendships, and romantic relationships: Do they predict social anxiety and depression? Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 49 – 61 . doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3401_5

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

La Greca, A. M., Lopez, N. ( 1998 ). Social anxiety among adolescents: Linkages with peer relations and friendships . Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26, 83 – 94 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

La Greca, A. M., Stone, W. L. ( 1993 ). The Social Anxiety Scale for Children – Revised: Factor structure and concurrent validity . Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22, 17 – 27 .

Google Scholar Crossref

Lasgaard, M., Goossens, L., Bramsen, R. H., Trillingsgaard, T., Elklit, A. ( 2011 ). Different sources of loneliness are associated with different forms of psychopathology in adolescence . Journal Of Research In Personality, 45, 233 – 237 . doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2010.12.005

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Levitt, M. J., Levitt, J., Bustos, G. L., Crooks, N. A., Santos, J. D., Telan, P.,…Milevsky, A. ( 2005 ). Patterns of social support in the middle childhood to early adolescent transition: Implications for adjustment . Social Development, 14, 398 – 420 . doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2005.00308.x

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., Widaman, K. F. ( 2002 ). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question and weighing the merits . Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 151 – 173 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Mahon, N. E., Yarcheski, A., Yarcheski, T. J., Cannella, B. L., Hanks, M. M. ( 2006 ). A meta-analytic study of predictors for loneliness during adolescence . Nursing Research, 55, 308 – 315 . doi:10.1097/00006199-200609000-00003

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Malecki, C., Demaray, M. ( 2003 ). What type of support do they need? Investigating student adjustment as related to emotional, informational, appraisal, and instrumental support . School Psychology Quarterly, 18, 231 – 252 . doi:10.1521/scpq.18.3.231.22576

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Martínez, R. S., Aricak, T., Graves, M. N., Peters, J., Nellis, L. ( 2011 ). Changes in perceived social support and socioemotional adjustment across the elementary to middle school transition . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 519 – 530 .

Google Scholar

Melby, J. N., Conger, R. D. ( 2001 ). The Iowa family interaction rating scales: Instrument summary . In Kerig, P. K., Lindahl, K. M. (Eds.), Family observational coding systems: Resources for systemic research (pp. 33 – 58 ). Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers .

Google Scholar

Melby, J. N., Ge, X., Conger, R. D., Warner, T. D. ( 1995 ). The importance of task in evaluating positive marital interactions . Journal Of Marriage And The Family, 57, 981 – 994 . doi:10.2307/353417

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Miers, A. C., Blöte, A. W., de Rooij, M. M., Bokhorst, C. L., Westenberg, P. M. ( 2013 ). Trajectories of social anxiety during adolescence and relations with cognition, social competence, and temperament . Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 97 – 110 . doi:10.1007/s10802-012-9651-6

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Munsch, J., Blyth, D. A. ( 1993 ). An analysis of the functional nature of adolescents’ supportive relationships . The Journal of Early Adolescence, 13, 132 – 153 . doi:10.1177/0272431693013002001

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Newman, D. A. ( 2003 ). Longitudinal modeling with randomly and systematically missing data: A simulation of ad hoc, maximum likelihood, and multiple imputation techniques . Organizational Research Methods, 6, 328 – 362 . doi:10.1177/1094428103254673

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Perlman, D., Peplau, L. A. ( 1981 ). Toward a social psychology of loneliness . In Duck, S., Gilmour, R. (Eds.), Personal relationships 3: Personal relationships in disorder (pp. 31 – 55 ). London, England : Academic Press .

Google Scholar

Richman, J. M., Bowen, G. L. ( 1997 ). School failure: An ecological-interactional-developmental perspective . In Fraser, M. W. (Ed.), Risk and resilience in childhood: An ecological perspective (pp. 95 – 116 ). Washington, DC : NASW Press .

Google Scholar

Reddy, R., Rhodes, J. E., Mulhall, P. ( 2003 ). The influence of teacher support on student adjustment in the middle school years: A latent growth curve study . Development and Psychopathology, 15, 119 – 138 . doi:10.1017/S0954579403000075

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Roeser, R. W., Eccles, J. S., Sameroff, A. J. ( 1998 ). Academic and emotional functioning in early adolescence: Longitudinal relations, patterns, and prediction by experience in middle school . Development and Psychopathology, 10, 321 – 352 . doi:10.1017/S0954579498001631

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Rosenberg, M., McCullough, C. B. ( 1981 ). Mattering: Inferred significance and mental health among adolescents . Research in Community and Mental Health, 2, 163 – 182 .

Google Scholar

Rueger, S.Y., Malecki, C.K., Demaray, M.K. ( 2008 ). Gender differences in the relationship between perceived social support and student adjustment during early adolescence . School Psychology Quarterly, 23, 496 – 514 . doi:10.1037/1045-3830.23.4.496

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Rueger, S. Y., Malecki, C. K., Demaray, M. K. ( 2010 ). Relationship between multiple sources of perceived support and psychological and academic adjustment in early adolescence: Comparisons across gender . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 47 – 61 . doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9368-6

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., Ferguson, M. L. ( 1978 ). Developing a measure of loneliness . Journal of Personality Assessment, 42, 290 – 294 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Steinberg, L., Dahl, R., Keating, D., Kupfer, D. J., Masten, A. S., Pine, D. S. ( 2006 ). The study of developmental psychopathology in adolescence: Integrating affective neuroscience with the study of context . In Cicchetti, D., Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology, Vol 2: Developmental neuroscience ( 2nd ed. , pp. 710 – 741 ). Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons Inc .

Google Scholar

Schaefer, E. S. ( 1965 ). Children’s reports of parental behavior: An inventory . Child Development, 36, 413 – 424 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Stednitz, J. N., Epkins, C. C. ( 2006 ). Girls' and Mothers' Social Anxiety, Social Skills, and Loneliness: Associations After Accounting for Depressive Symptoms . Journal Of Clinical Child And Adolescent Psychology, 35, 148 – 154 . doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp3501_13

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Storch, E. A., Masia-Warner, C. L. ( 2004 ). The relationship of peer victimization to social anxiety and loneliness in adolescent females . Journal of Adolescence, 27, 351 – 362 . doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2004.03.003

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Stormont, M., Reinke, W. M., Herman, K. C., Lembke, E. S. ( 2012 ). Academic and behavior supports for at-risk students: Tier 2 interventions. New York, NY : Guilford Press .

Google Scholar

Swanson, J., Valiente, C., Lemery-Chalfant, K., O’Brien, T. ( 2011 ). Predicting early adolescents’ academic achievement, social competence, and physical health from parenting, ego resilience, and engagement coping . The Journal of Early Adolescence, 31, 548 – 576 . doi:10.1177/0272431610366249

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Sweet, J., Bumpass, L. ( 2005 ). National survey of families and households. Retrieved from http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/nsfh/

Google Scholar

Thoits, P. A. ( 2011 ). Mechanisms linking social ties and support to physical and mental health . Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52, 145 – 161 . doi:10.1177/0022146510395592

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Tillfors, M., Persson, S., Willén, M., Burk, W. J. ( 2012 ). Prospective links between social anxiety and adolescent peer relations . Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1255 – 1263 . doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.04.008

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Uchino, B. N. ( 2009 ). Understanding the links between social support and physical health: A life-span perspective with emphasis on the separability of perceived and received support . Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 236 – 255 . doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01122.x

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Updegraff, K. A., Helms, H. M., McHale, S. M., Crouter, A. C., Thayer, S. M., Sales, L. H. ( 2004 ). Who’s the boss? Patterns of perceived control in adolescents’ friendships . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 403 – 421 . doi:10.1023/B: JOYO.0000037633.39422.b0

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

U.S. Census Bureau . ( 2000a ). PCT27. Family type by presence of own children under 18 years of age . Families (total), White alone, Black alone (summary file 4).

Google Scholar

U.S. Census Bureau . ( 2000b ). PCT40. Median family income in 1999 (dollars) by family type by presence of own children under 18 years (summary file 3) .

Google Scholar

U.S. Census Bureau ( 2000c ). PCT148A. Sex by educational attainment for the population 25 years and over (White alone) .

Google Scholar

Vanhalst, J., Klimstra, T. A., Luyckx, K., Scholte, R. J., Engels, R. E., Goossens, L. ( 2012 ). The interplay of loneliness and depressive symptoms across adolescence: Exploring the role of personality traits . Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 41, 776 – 787 . doi:10.1007/s10964-011-9726-7

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

van Oort, F. A., Greaves-Lord, K. K., Ormel, J. J., Verhulst, F. C., Huizink, A. C. ( 2011 ). Risk indicators of anxiety throughout adolescence: The TRAILS study . Depression and Anxiety, 28, 485 – 494 . doi:10.1002/da.20818

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

van Roekel, E., Scholte, R. J., Verhagen, M., Goossens, L., Engels, R. E. ( 2010 ). Loneliness in adolescence: Gene environment interactions involving the serotonin transporter gene . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 747 – 754 . doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02225.x

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI