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Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents

Author

Listed:
  • Anne-Laura van Harmelen
  • Jenny L Gibson
  • Michelle C St Clair
  • Matt Owens
  • Jeannette Brodbeck
  • Valerie Dunn
  • Gemma Lewis
  • Tim Croudace
  • Peter B Jones
  • Rogier A Kievit
  • Ian M Goodyer

Abstract

Background: Early life stress (ELS) consists of child family adversities (CFA: negative experiences that happened within the family environment) and/or peer bullying. ELS plays an important role in the development of adolescent depressive symptoms and clinical disorders. Identifying factors that may reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents with ELS may have important public mental health implications. Methods: We used structural equation modelling and examined the impact of adolescent friendships and/or family support at age 14 on depressive symptoms at age 17 in adolescents exposed to ELS before age 11. To this end, we used structural equation modelling in a community sample of 771 adolescents (322 boys and 477 girls) from a 3 year longitudinal study. Significant paths in the model were followed-up to test whether social support mediated or moderated the association between ELS and depressive symptoms at age 17. Results: We found that adolescent social support in adolescence is negatively associated with subsequent depressive symptoms in boys and girls exposed to ELS. Specifically, we found evidence for two mediational pathways: In the first pathway family support mediated the link between CFA and depressive symptoms at age 17. Specifically, CFA was negatively associated with adolescent family support at age 14, which in turn was negatively associated with depressive symptoms at age 17. In the second pathway we found that adolescent friendships mediated the path between peer bullying and depressive symptoms. Specifically, relational bullying was negatively associated with adolescent friendships at age 14, which in turn were negatively associated with depressive symptoms at age 17. In contrast, we did not find a moderating effect of friendships and family support on the association between CFA and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Friendships and/or family support in adolescence mediate the relationship between ELS and late adolescent depressive symptoms in boys and girls. Therefore, enhancing affiliate relationships and positive family environments may benefit the mental health of vulnerable youth that have experienced CFA and/or primary school bullying.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne-Laura van Harmelen & Jenny L Gibson & Michelle C St Clair & Matt Owens & Jeannette Brodbeck & Valerie Dunn & Gemma Lewis & Tim Croudace & Peter B Jones & Rogier A Kievit & Ian M Goodyer, 2016. "Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0153715
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153715
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. William Meredith, 1993. "Measurement invariance, factor analysis and factorial invariance," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 525-543, December.
    2. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
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    2. Wan, Guowei & Tang, Sisi & Xu, Yicheng, 2020. "The prevalence, posttraumatic depression and risk factors of domestic child maltreatment in rural China: A gender analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    3. Danilo Bzdok & Robin I. M. Dunbar, 2022. "Social isolation and the brain in the pandemic era," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(10), pages 1333-1343, October.
    4. Wenceslao Peñate & Melissa González-Loyola & Cristian Oyanadel, 2020. "The Predictive Role of Affectivity, Self-Esteem and Social Support in Depression and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-11, September.
    5. Claire L. Forrest & Jenny L. Gibson & Michelle C. St Clair, 2021. "Social Functioning as a Mediator between Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Emotional Problems in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-17, January.
    6. Tanya Manchanda & Alan Stein & Mina Fazel, 2023. "Investigating the Role of Friendship Interventions on the Mental Health Outcomes of Adolescents: A Scoping Review of Range and a Systematic Review of Effectiveness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-24, January.
    7. Fu, Lin & Zhou, Yueyue & Zheng, Hao & Cheng, Jin & Fan, Yue & Eli, Buzohre & Liu, Zhengkui, 2024. "Effectiveness of a brief social network intervention for depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents under major chronic stress," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    8. Shaheen, Abeer M. & Hamdan, Khaldoun M. & Albqoor, Maha & Othman, Areej Khaleel & Amre, Huda M. & Hazeem, Mohammed Nabeel Abu, 2019. "Perceived social support from family and friends and bullying victimization among adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    9. Yoon, Dalhee & Yoon, Susan & Yoon, Miyoung & Knox, Peter N., 2023. "Gender differences in the role of peer relationship quality on psychological symptoms in youth at-risk for maltreatment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    10. Lin Zhang & Xueyao Ma & Xianglian Yu & Meizhu Ye & Na Li & Shan Lu & Jiayi Wang, 2021. "Childhood Trauma and Psychological Distress: A Serial Mediation Model among Chinese Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-11, June.
    11. Lee, Jungup & Roh, Beop-Rae & Yang, Kyung-Eun, 2022. "Exploring the association between social support and patterns of bullying victimization among school-aged adolescents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    12. Md Akhtarul Islam & Sutapa Dey Barna & Hasin Raihan & Md Nafiul Alam Khan & Md Tanvir Hossain, 2020. "Depression and anxiety among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: A web-based cross-sectional survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-12, August.

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