This study examines the relationship between social support and positive health practices in early adolescents and tests two variables, loneliness and hopefulness, that theoretically mediate this relationship. The final sample of the study consisted of 134 adolescents, ages 12 to 14, who responded to instrumentsmeasuring social support, loneliness, hopefulness, and positive health practices in classroom settings. Correlational analysis supported the five hypothesized relationships. A series of regression analyses indicated that loneliness and hopefulness each were weak mediators of the relationship between social support and positive health practices. Implications for nursing practice are addressed.
Atwood, J. R., & Hinds, P. (1986). Heuristic heresy: Application of reliability and validity criteria to products of grounded theory. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 8, 135-154.
2.
Ayres, C. (2002). An investigation of mediators of the relationship between social support and positive health practices in middle adolescents. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey.
3.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social-psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical consideration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
4.
Brandt, P. A., & Weinert, C. (1981). The PRQ—A social support measure. Nursing Research, 20, 277-280.
5.
Brown, N., Muhlenkamp, A., Fox, L., & Osborn, M. (1983). The relationship among health beliefs, health values, and health promotion activity. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 5, 155-163.
6.
Bruhn, J. G., & Philips, B. U. (1984). Measuring social support: A synthesis of current approaches. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 7, 151-169.
7.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for behavioral sciences(2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
8.
Cohen, S. (1988). Psychosocial models of the role of social support in the etiology of physical disease. Health Psychology, 7, 269-297.
9.
Cohen, S., & Syme, S. L. (1985). Issues in the study and applcation of social support. In S. Cohen & S. L. Syme (Eds.), Social support and health(pp. 3-22). New York: Academic Press.
10.
Dufault, K., & Martocchio, B. C. (1985).Hope: Its spheres and dimensions. Nursing Clinics of North America, 20, 379-391.
11.
Elliott, G. R., & Feldman, S. S. (1990). Capturing the adolescent experience. In S. S. Feldman & G. R. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent(pp. 1-53). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
12.
Hartzell, H. E. (1984). The challenge of adolescence. Topics in Language Disorders, 4(2), 1-9.
13.
Hinds, P.S. (1984). Inducing a definition of “hope” through the use of grounded theory methodology. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 9, 357-362.
14.
Hinds, P. S. (1988). The relationship of nurses’ caring behaviors with hopefulness and health care outcomes. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 2, 21-29.
15.
Hinds, P. S., Quargnenti, A., Fairclough, D., Bush, A. J., Betcher, D., Rissmiller, G., et al. (1999). Hopefulness and its characteristics in adolescents with cancer. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 21, 600-616.
16.
Hubbard, P., Muhlenkamp, A. F., & Brown, N. (1984). The relationship between social support and self-care practices. Nursing Research, 33, 266-270.
17.
Jones, W. H., & Moore, T. L. (1987). Loneliness and social support. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 2, 145-156.
18.
Korner, I. N. (1970). Hope as a method of coping. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34(2), 134-139.
19.
LaCoursiere, S. P. (2001). A theory of online social support. Advances in Nursing Science, 24(1), 60-77.
20.
Langlie, J. K. (1977). Social networks, health beliefs, and preventive health behavior. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 18, 244-260.
21.
Mahat, G., & Scoloveno, M. A. (2001). Factors influencing health practices of Nepalese adolescent girls. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 15, 251-255.
22.
Mahat, G., Scoloveno, M. A., & Whalen, C. (2002). Positive health practices of urban minority adolescents. Journal of School Nursing, 18, 163-169.
23.
Mahon, N. E., & Yarcheski, A. (1988). Loneliness in early adolescents: An empirical test of alternate explanations. Nursing Research, 37, 330-335.
24.
Mahon, N. E., & Yarcheski, A. (1990). The dimensionality of the UCLA Loneliness Scale in early adolescents. Research in Nursing & Health, 13, 45-52.
25.
Mahon, N. E., & Yarcheski, A. (1992). Alternate explanations of loneliness in adolescents: A replication and extension study. Nursing Research, 41, 151-156.
26.
Mahon, N. E., Yarcheski, A., & Yarcheski, T. J. (1994). Differences in social support and loneliness in adolescents according to developmental stage and gender. Public Health Nursing, 11, 361-368.
27.
Mahon, N. E., Yarcheski, A., & Yarcheski, T. J. (1995). Validation of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale for adolescents. Research in Nursing & Health, 18, 263-270.
28.
Mahon, N. E., Yarcheski, A., & Yarcheski, T. J. (1998). Social support and positive health practices in young adults: Loneliness as a mediating variable. Clinical Nursing Research, 7, 292-308.
29.
Mahon, N. E., Yarcheski, A., & Yarcheski, T. J. (2001). Mental health variables and positive health practices in early adolescents. Psychological Reports, 88, 1023-1030.
30.
Mahon, N. E., Yarcheski, T. J., & Yarcheski, A. (2003). The Revised Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire for early adolescents. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 25, 533-547.
31.
McGee, R. F. (1984). Hope: A factor influencing crisis resolution. Advances In Nursing Science, 6, 34-43.
32.
McNicholas, S. L. (2002). Social support and positive health practices. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 24, 772-787.
33.
Mechanic, D., & Cleary, P. D. (1980). Factors associated with the maintenance of positive health behavior. Preventive Medicine, 9, 805-814.
34.
Muhlenkamp. A. F., & Brown, N. J. (1983, September). The development of an instrument to measure health practices. Paper presented at the American Nurses Association Council of Nurse Researchers Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
35.
Muhlenkamp, A. F., & Sayles, J. A. (1986). Self-esteem, social support, and positive health practices. Nursing Research, 35, 333-338.
36.
Obayuwana, A.O., & Carter, A.L. (1982). The anatomy of hope. Journal of the National Medical Association, 74, 229-234.
37.
Peplau, L. A., & Perlman, D. (1982). Perspective on loneliness. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy(pp. 1-18). New York: John Wiley.
38.
Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472-480.
39.
Stotland, E. (1969). The psychology of hope: An integration of experimental, clinical, and social approaches. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
40.
Umberson, D. (1987). Family status and health behaviors: Social control as a dimension of social integration. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 28, 306-319.
41.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people 2010: National health promotion and disease prevention objectives. Retrieved December 2, 2003, from http://www.health.gov/healthypeople
42.
Weinert, C. (1987). A social support measure: PRQ85. Nursing Research, 36, 273-277.
43.
Weiss, R. S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
44.
Weiss, R. (1974). The provisions of social relationships. In Z. Rubin (Ed.), Doing unto others(pp. 17-26). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
45.
West, D. A., Kellner, R., & Moore-West, M. (1986). The effects of loneliness: A review of the literature. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 27, 351-363.
46.
Yarcheski, A., & Mahon, N. (1989). A causal model of positive health practices: The relationship between approach and replication. Nursing Research, 38, 88-93.
47.
Yarcheski, A., Mahon, N. E., & Yarcheski, T. J. (1992). Validation of the PRQ85 Social Support Measure for adolescents. Nursing Research, 41, 332-337.
48.
Yarcheski, A., Mahon, N. E., & Yarcheski, T. J. (1997). Alternate models of positive health practices in adolescents. Nursing Research, 46, 85-92.
49.
Yarcheski, A., Mahon, N. E., & Yarcheski, T. J. (2001). Social support and wellbeing in early adolescents: The role of mediating variables. Clinical Nursing Research, 10, 163-181.
50.
Yarcheski, A., Scoloveno, M. A., & Mahon, N.E. (1994). Social support and wellbeing in adolescents: The mediating role of hopefulness. Nursing Research, 43, 288-292.
51.
Yarcheski, T. J., Mahon, N. E., & Yarcheski, A. (2003). Social support, selfesteem, and positive health practices of early adolescents. Psychological Reports, 92, 99-103.
