Prevalence, Nature, and Impact of Relational Support in Early Adolescence

Introduction: Early adolescence is a turbulent time with biological, social, and academic changes. For the majority of U.S. youth, this includes a school transition, which often gives rise to a “mismatch” between students’ needs and the school environment. Positive, warm, and caring relationships may act as a protective factor during this challenging period and help buffer against and/or prevent negative outcomes such as low self-esteem, poor academic achievement, and school disengagement. Extant empirical work affirms the importance of relational support for adolescents; however, multiple sources of support (from adults and peers) across contexts (home, school, and community) are rarely studied in concert—and never studied in a national sample using causal methods.

Methods: This study takes a comprehensive and contextual approach by employing quasi-experimental approaches with a national sample of 9,176 eighth graders (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class 1998-1999; ECLS-K) to advance the understanding of the prevalence, nature, and impact of relational support. Latent class analysis will be employed to classify the various sources of relational support into distinct profiles. Then, each profile of relational support will be considered as a “treatment” to estimate the impact of each profile on psychosocial outcomes, academic achievement, and scholastic competencies using generalized propensity scores. Moderation by student characteristics will be explored, as certain subgroups may differentially benefit from relational support.

Results: Relational support is determined by student reports of who they “talk to” when they need (a) “someone to cheer you up,” (b) “help with school work,” and (c) “advice about making important decisions.” Sources of support include: parent, adult relative, adult at school, other adult, sibling, friends at school, and other friends. Preliminary results indicate that 72% of youth turn to parents when making important decisions. When help with school work is needed, 61% report going to a friend at school and 36% report seeking an adult at school. Nearly one-fifth report having no adult to cheer them up and 6% report having no peer to cheer them up; a small but potentially at-risk group (4%) report having no adult orpeer to cheer them up. This heterogeneity suggests the appropriateness of using a person-centered approach.

Conclusions: This study aims to highlight relational support as a potential resource during this developmental period of opportunity and risk.An improved understanding of naturally-occurring relational support networks in a national sample will inform strategies for prevention and identify targets for intervention to foster positive psychosocial and academic outcomes.