With a Little Help from My Friends: Profiles of Perceived Social Support and Their Associations with Adolescent Mental Health

Three distinct profiles of perceived social support were identified among a large, representative sample of adolescents. Perceived social support profiles were associated with levels of psychological wellbeing and emotional symptoms. For females especially, the profile characterised by low support from friends was associated with poor mental health. Results have implications for identifying young people at risk of mental health difficulties. This study investigated profiles of perceived social support and their associations with mental health indicators for male and female adolescents. The sample was a nationally representative group of Danish adolescents age 13–16 years (Male N  = 1114; Female N  = 1065). Latent profile analysis was used to identify profiles of perceived social support from different sources (classmate, teacher, family, friend). Three distinct profiles of perceived social support were identified for both genders: ‘High’ support from all sources (54.4% of males; 55.5% of females), ‘Moderate’ support from all sources (31.6% of males; 28.8% of females) and ‘Low friend’ support with moderate support from other sources (13.9% of males; 15.7% of females). The ‘high’ perceived support profile was associated with optimal mental health; the ‘moderate’ perceived support profile was associated with lower wellbeing and more frequent emotional symptoms; and the ‘low friend’ perceived support profile was associated with the lowest levels of wellbeing and, specifically for females, higher frequency of emotional symptoms. Results highlight typical profiles of perceived social support among adolescents, and demonstrate nuanced associations between perceived social support and mental health indicators, with notable gender differences.

在一个具有代表性的大量青少年样本中，确定了三种不同的感知社会支持模式。感知社会支持模式与心理健康水平和情绪症状相关。特别是对于女性，以朋友支持度低为特征的模式与心理健康状况不佳相关。研究结果对识别有心理健康问题风险的青少年具有重要意义。本研究调查了青少年（包括男性和女性）感知社会支持的模式及其与心理健康指标的关联。样本是13 - 16岁的丹麦青少年，具有全国代表性（男性N = 1114；女性N = 1065）。潜在剖面分析被用于识别来自不同来源（同学、教师、家庭、朋友）的感知社会支持模式。在两种性别中都确定了三种不同的感知社会支持模式：来自所有来源的“高”支持（男性占54.4%；女性占55.5%），来自所有来源的“中等”支持（男性占31.6%；女性占28.8%）以及来自朋友的“低”支持但来自其他来源的中等支持（男性占13.9%；女性占15.7%）。“高”感知支持模式与最佳心理健康状况相关；“中等”感知支持模式与较低的幸福感和更频繁的情绪症状相关；“低朋友”感知支持模式与最低水平的幸福感相关，特别是对于女性，还与更高频率的情绪症状相关。研究结果突出了青少年中感知社会支持的典型模式，并展示了感知社会支持与心理健康指标之间微妙的关联，以及显著的性别差异。