The present study examined how early adolescents' network orientation, or their perceptions of the risks and benefits involved in interpersonal relationships, impinge on their social support and their psychological adjustment. Four hundred fifty 6th graders completed extensive questionnaires about their network orientation, social support, and psychological functioning. Subjects `parents and teachers also rated the support they provide to the adolescent. Results indicated that adolescents' perceived social benefits were predictive of both perceived familial and perceived nonfamilial support. Subjects' perceived social risks and benefits were associated with father-rated support, but not with mother- or teacher-rated support. In addition, adolescents who were lonely or who had low self-worth perceived more social risks, and depressed subjects perceived fewer social benefits, than individuals not exhibiting these psychological difficulties. These results suggest that early adolescents' evaluations of interpersonal risks and benefits are consequential for their social support and their psychological health.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Antonucci, T.
(1985). Personal characteristics, social support, and social behavior. In E. Shanas & R. Binstock (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 94-128). New York: Academic Press.
2.
Arling, G.
(1976). The elderly widow and her family, neighbors, and friends. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 757-768.
3.
Asher, S..Hymel, S.
, & Renshaw, P. (1984). Loneliness in children. Child Development, 55, 1456-1464.
4.
Bandura, A.
(1982). Self-efficacy mechanisms in human agency. American Psychologist, 37, 122-147.
5.
Battle, J.
(1987). Relationship between self-esteem and depression among children. Psychological Reports, 60, 1187-1190.
6.
Bronfenbrenner, U.
(1974). The origins of alienation. Scientific American, 321, 53-61.
7.
Brown, B.
(1978). Social and psychological correlates of help-seeking behavior among urban adults. American Journal of Community Psychology, 6, 425-439.
8.
Buhrmester, D.
(1988, March). Interpersonal competence and friendship in early adolescence. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Alexandria, VA.
9.
Caspi, A.
, Elder, G., & Bem, D. (1988). Moving away from the world: Life-course patterns of shy children. Developmental Psychology, 24, 824-831.
10.
Cohen, S.
, & McKay, G. (1984). Social support, stress, and the buffering hypothesis: A theoretical analysis. In A. Baum, J. E. Singer, & S. E. Taylor (Eds.), Handbook of psychology and health (Vol. 4., pp. 253-267). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
11.
Dodge, K.
, & Frame, C. L. (1982). Social cognitive biases and deficits in aggressive boys. Child Development, 53, 620-635.
12.
Durkheim, E.
(1951). Suicide: A study in sociology. New York: Free Press.
13.
Eckenrode, J.
(1983). The mobilization of social supports: Some individual constraints. American Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 509-528.
14.
Epstein, J.
(1989). The selection of friends. In T. J. Berndt & G. Ladd (Eds.), Peer relationships in child development (pp. 158-187). New York: John Wiley.
15.
Faulstich, M.
, Carey, M., Ruggiero, L., Enyart, P., & Gresham, F. (1986). Assessment of depression in childhood and adolescence: An evaluation of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). American Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 1024-1027.
16.
Fenigstein, A.
(1979). Self-consciousness, self-attention, and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 75-86.
17.
Furman, W.
(1987, April). Social support, stress, and adjustment in adolescence. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, MD.
18.
Furman, W.
, & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children's perceptions of the personal relation-ships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21, 1016-1024.
19.
Gouldner, A.
(1960). A norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Socio-logical Review, 25, 161-178.
20.
Harter, S.
(1983). Supplementary description of the Self-Perception Profile for Children: Revision of The Perceived Competence Scale for Children. Unpublished manuscript, University of Denver, Denver, CO.
21.
Harter, S.
(1985). Processes underlying the construction, maintenance, and enhancement of the self-concept in children. In J. D. Suls & A. Greenwald (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 3, pp. 137-181). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
22.
House, J. S.
(1981). Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
23.
Jacobsen, R.
, Lahey, B., & Strauss, C. (1983). Correlates of depressed mood in normal children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 29-40.
24.
Jones, W.
(1982). Loneliness and social behavior. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (pp. 238-252). New York: Wiley.
25.
Lazarus, R.
, & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer-Verlag.
26.
Lerner, J. V.
, & Lerner, R. M. (1983). Temperament and adaptation across life: Theoretical and empirical issues. In P. B. Baltes & O. G. Brim (Eds.), Life-span development and behavior (Vol. 5, pp. 197-231). New York: Academic Press.
27.
Maccoby, E.
, & Jacklin, C. (1974). The psychology of sex differences. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
28.
Martin, B.
, & Burks, N. (1985). Family and nonfamily components of social support as buffers of stress for college women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 5, 448-465.
29.
Mergendoller, J.
, & Packer, M. (1986). Sex differences in the relationship of young adolescents' social inferencing and characteristic social conduct. Journal of Adolescent Research, 1, 303-314.
30.
Murray, H.
(1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press.
31.
Nelson, R.
, & Craighead, W. (1977). Selective recall of positive and negative feedback, self-control behaviors, and depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, 379-388.
32.
Pietromonaco, P.
, & Markus, H. (1985). The nature of negative thoughts in depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 799-807.
33.
Pietromonaco, P.
, & Rook, K. (1987). Decision style in depression: The contribution of perceived risks versus benefits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 399-408.
34.
Rook, K.
(1984). Promoting social bonds: Strategies for helping the lonely and socially isolated. American Psychologist, 39, 1389-1407.
35.
Rubin, K.
(1982). Social and social-cognitive developmental characteristics of young isolated, normal, and sociable children. In K. Rubin & H. Ross (Eds.), Peer relation-ships and social skills in childhood (pp. 354-374). New York: Springer-Verlag.
36.
Rubin, L.
(1973). Intimate strangers. New York: Harper & Row.
37.
Russell, D.
, Peplau, L., & Cutrona, C. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480.
38.
Russell, D.
, Peplau, L., & Ferguson, M. (1978). Developing a measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 42, 290-294.
39.
Sarason, B.
, Sarason, I., Hacker, T., & Basham, R. (1985). Concomitants of social support: Social skills, physical attractiveness, and gender. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 469-480.
40.
Scarr, S.
, & McCartney, K. (1983). How people make their own environments: A theory of genotype-environment effects. Child Development, 54, 424-435.
41.
Shaver P.
, Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Transition to college: Network changes, social skills, and loneliness. In S. Duck & D. Perlman (Eds.), Understanding personal relationships: An interdisciplinary approach (pp. 193-219). London: Sage.
42.
Tolsdorf, C.
(1976). Social networks, support, and coping: An exploratory study. Family Processes, 15, 407-417.
43.
Vaux, A.
, Burda, P., & Stewart, D. (1986). Orientation toward utilization of support resources. Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 159-170.
44.
Waas, G.
(1988). Social attributional biases of peer-rejected and aggressive children. Child Development, 59, 969-975.
45.
White, B.
, & Kaban, B. (1979). The origins of human competence. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
46.
Wood, V.
, & Robertson, J. (1978). Friendship and kinship interaction: Differential effect on the morale of the elderly. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 40, 367-375.
