Support and Conflict Among Youth With Type 1 Diabetes: A Focus on Friends.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to examine the relations of general and diabetes-specific friend support and conflict to psychological and diabetes health among youth with type 1 diabetes. We examined gender as a moderator of these relations, and friend responsiveness and information-sharing as potential mediators. METHODS: Youth with type 1 diabetes (n = 167; M age 15.83 [SD = 0.78]; 50% female) were interviewed once in the Fall and once in the following Spring of the school year. Using multiple regression analysis, general friend support, general friend conflict, diabetes-specific support, and diabetes-specific conflict were investigated as simultaneous predictors of psychological and diabetes outcomes cross-sectionally and longitudinally over four months. RESULTS: Cross-sectionally friend conflict, including both general and diabetes-specific, was more predictive of outcomes than friend support. In cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, gender was a significant moderator, such that several relations of general friend conflict to outcomes were significant for females but not nonfemales. Friend support revealed mixed relations to outcomes across cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Although we found links of friend relationship variables to mediators (perceived responsiveness; information sharing), we found little evidence of mediation. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show stronger evidence that conflictual friend relationships than supportive friend relationships are linked to health. Findings suggest that problematic friend relationships may have a stronger impact on the health of females than nonfemales. These results underscore the need to better understand the conditions under which friend support is helpful versus harmful and the reasons underlying these links.

The longitudinal associations between bullying perpetration, bullying victimization, and internalizing symptoms: Bidirectionality and mediation by friend support.

Internalizing symptoms have been linked to bullying perpetration and victimization in adolescence. However, the directions of any causal relationships remain unclear, and limited research has identified the mechanisms that explain the associations. Given the salience of peer relationships during the teenage years, we examine whether perceived support from friends is one such mechanism. By using a transactional framework and four waves of longitudinal panel data on over 900 youth, we test both cross-lagged and indirect associations between bullying perpetration, bullying victimization, internalizing symptoms, and perceived friend support. Our method represents one of the most rigorous tests to date of the mutual influences among these factors. The results show that internalizing symptoms and perceived friend support were reciprocally linked to bullying victimization, but perceived support did not predict internalizing symptoms, and bullying perpetration neither preceded nor followed perceived support or internalizing symptoms. There were no significant indirect paths between bullying involvement and internalizing symptoms through perceived friend support. The results provide only partial support for a transactional model in which bullying victimization, support, and internalizing symptoms are reciprocally related. The implications of these findings for theory, future research, and practice are discussed.

Comparing youth with and without type 1 diabetes on perceived parenting and peer functioning: a propensity weighting approach.

The premise of this study was to gain more insight into whether type 1 diabetes (T1D) can impact how youth perceive parents and peers. To address limitations of previous observational studies comparing youth with T1D to control youth, propensity weighting was used to mimic a randomized controlled trial. A total of 558 youth with T1D and 426 control youth (14-26y) completed questionnaires on parental responsiveness, psychological control, overprotection, friend support, extreme peer orientation, and a host of background and psychological functioning variables. The groups were statistically weighted to become as comparable as possible except for disease status. The analysis plan and hypotheses were preregistered on the open science framework. Youth with T1D perceived their mothers to be more overprotective, perceived fewer friend support, and were less extremely oriented toward peers than control youth. There were no group differences for paternal overprotection and paternal and maternal responsiveness and psychological control. Mothers of youth with T1D seem at risk to practice overprotective parenting and clinicians could play an important role in making mothers aware of this risk. However, the absence of group differences for the maladaptive parenting dimension of psychological control and adaptive dimension of responsiveness are reassuring and testify to the resilient nature of youth with T1D and their families. Additionally, there is accumulating evidence that T1D could interfere with engaging in supportive friendships.

Longitudinal associations of parental psychological control and friend support with autonomy during early adolescence.

Although theories suggest transactional associations between adolescents' autonomy and relationships with parents and friends, few studies have examined these within-person effects. This longitudinal study examined the within-person co-development of adolescents' autonomy and relationships with parents and friends. Adolescents (N = 244 Mage = 11.54, SD = 0.43 at T1; 50% boys) participated in a four-wave study across 2 years in the Netherlands. In random-intercept cross-lagged panel models, within-person results showed that higher levels of autonomy predicted less parental psychological control but not vice versa. However, no lagged-effects between friend support and autonomy were found. This study suggests that adolescents' autonomy steers changes in parental psychological control.

Consequences of Victimization on Perceived Friend Support during Adolescence.

Victimization can harm youth in various ways and negatively affect their friendships with peers. Nevertheless, not all victimized youth are impacted similarly, and the literature is unclear regarding why some victims are more likely than others to experience friendship-based consequences. Using five waves of data on 901 adolescents (6th grade at wave 1; 47% male; 88% White) and a subsample of 492 victimized youth, this study assessed (1) whether victimization leads to decreases in perceived friend support, and (2) the factors that explain which victimized youth are most likely to experience decreases in perceived friend support. Explanatory factors included subsequent victimization, victims' social network status (self-reported number of friends, number of friendship nominations received), and victims' risky behaviors (affiliating with deviant friends, delinquency, aggression, binge drinking). Random effects regressions revealed that, among the full sample, victimization was linked to decreases in friend support. Among victimized youth, subsequent victimization and deviant friends decreased friend support. Having more friends was associated with increased friend support among victims, though this association weakened as the number of friends increased. The results emphasize that victimized youth are a heterogeneous group with varying risks of experiencing friendship-based consequences.

Emotional support among partnered sexual minority and heterosexual individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emotional support, particularly support from family and friends, is essential to health outcomes especially for marginalized communities. Although emotional support is recognized as a critical resource, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, to date no research has examined access to support during the pandemic for sexual diverse populations. This study aims to apply minority stress theory by drawing on a new population-based data source of 3,642 respondents, the National Couples' Health and Time Study (NCHAT), which oversampled sexual and gender diverse populations during the pandemic. We focus on two sources of emotional support: family members and friends. Exclusively heterosexual respondents relied more on emotional support from family than respondents who identified as exclusively gay/lesbian, bisexual including pan, omni, and queer, and those reporting another sexual identity or multiple sexual identities. However, respondents who did not identify as heterosexual relied more on emotional support from friends compared to exclusively heterosexual respondents. There were no significant differences among respondents with sexual minority identities in regard to family or friend support. Other factors, such as outness to friends and family, identity centrality, aggressions, and relationship satisfaction are found to be associated support from friends and family. The findings presented here add to a growing body of work on social support while adding sexual minority-specific factors that may affect receipt of, need for, and outcomes relating to support. This work contributes to understanding of the social climate and resources available to sexual diverse populations during a major public health crisis.

Adolescent Social Media Use: Pitfalls and Promises in Relation to Cybervictimization, Friend Support, and Depressive Symptoms.

The saturation of social media use in adolescents' lives has raised questions about both the risks and positive outcomes that may be associated with use. This study filled this gap by examining longitudinal associations among active social media use and depressive symptoms for male and female adolescents and the mediating role of friend support and cybervictimization. These relations were investigated in a sample of 800 13-15-year-old (M = 14.45) adolescents (57% female, 81% White) across four waves of data over two years. The results indicated that higher levels of active social media use led to reduced depressive symptoms for female adolescents, while active social media use predicted more cybervictimization for male adolescents. In contrast, cybervictimization predicted higher levels of active social media use for female adolescents. Friend support predicted more active social media use for male and female adolescents. Overall, findings reveal a complex picture of social media use for both male and female adolescents and further research is needed which examines types of social media use and their associations with both online and offline experiences.

Adolescent loneliness, stress and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: The protective role of friends.

The current study examines if perceived negative changes due to COVID-19 are related to adolescent loneliness, stress and depressive symptoms and whether friendship factors (online friend communication, friend support) serve a protective role in these associations. In total, 993 adolescents (M age = 16.09, SD = 1.24) from ethnically diverse backgrounds (49% White, 18% Asian/Asian-American, 14% Latinx, 9% Black/African-American, 10% Other) in the United States completed an online survey. Adolescents who perceived more negative changes due to COVID-19 reported more loneliness, stress and depressive symptoms. For loneliness and stress, these associations were qualified by interactions with the friendship factors. Among adolescents with low online friend communication, as perceived negative changes increased, loneliness also increased. At high levels of friend communication, there was no link between negative COVID-19 changes and loneliness. Friend communication and support may protect adolescents from well-being problems stemming from the negative changes in their life due to COVID-19.

Diabetes-specific friend support in emerging adults with type 1 diabetes: Does satisfaction with support matter?

Youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) must adhere to a complex treatment regimen to prevent health complications. Friends may provide diabetes-specific support to help youth manage diabetes, but evidence on whether youth benefit from diabetes-specific friend support is inconclusive. The present study first investigated whether satisfaction with friend support was linked to psychological distress and diabetes management. Second, it was investigated whether self-esteem mediated these relations. To this end, 324 Dutch-speaking emerging adults (17-28 years) with T1D completed questionnaires on diabetes-specific friend support, self-esteem, diabetes-specific distress, depressive symptoms, and self-care. HbA1c values were obtained from patients' physicians. Receiving diabetes-specific support from friends was associated with more diabetes-specific distress, but not for youth who were satisfied with the received support. Diabetes-specific friend support was not associated with other outcomes. Self-esteem did not mediate these relations. These results suggest that associations between diabetes-specific friend support and diabetes management are limited and that support satisfaction should be taken into consideration when examining the role of friend support for youth with T1D.

Direct and Indirect Associations Between Interpersonal Resources and Posttraumatic Growth Through Resilience Among Women Living with HIV in China.

This study aims to test the associations between interpersonal resources and posttraumatic growth (PTG) and their indirect associations through resilience among women living with HIV (WLWH). A cross-sectional study interviewed 546 WLWH from eight clinics of Yunnan and Guangxi provinces in China. PTG, resilience and doctors' empathy were assessed by the validated scales. Family support, friend support, and partner intimacy were assessed by the self-constructed scales. Significant background factors of PTG included duration of residence in the area, monthly family income, number of years since HIV diagnosis, self-reported presence of AIDS-related symptoms, and current pregnancy. Family social support, partner intimacy, doctors' empathy, and resilience were positively associated with PTG; friend support was negatively associated with PTG (p < .05). Furthermore, resilience partially mediated the relationships between family support/partner intimacy and PTG, explaining 13.6-14.2% of the variance. Structural equation modeling showed that family support was significantly and indirectly associated with PTG through resilience when controlling for other interpersonal resource indicators. Implications and potential interventions to promote PTG are discussed.

Geographical proximity and depressive symptoms among adult child caregivers: social support as a moderator.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether geographical proximity is a predictor of depressive symptoms, and whether family and friend support can moderate the relationship between geographical proximity and depressive symptoms. METHOD: A survey of 557 adult child primary caregivers was conducted in Shanghai, China in 2013. Geographical proximity was measured as a categorical variable: coresidence, short distance (less than 30 minutes' travel time), and long distance (more than 30 minutes' travel time). Family and friend support were assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Center on Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multiple regression analyses and interaction terms were used to test the moderating roles of family and friend support. RESULTS: Adult child caregivers who live more than 30 minutes away from care recipients experienced higher depressive symptoms than coresiding caregivers (ß = .114, p < .01). Family support (ß = -.408, p < .05) and friend support (ß = -.235, p < .05) were protective factors that lessened depressive symptoms for long-distance adult child caregivers. CONCLUSION: This study adds spatial dimension to caregiving literature and extends stress process theory. These findings have important implications for service planning and social support for adult child caregivers.

Associations between perceived friends' support of healthy eating and meal skipping in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: Meal skipping is a relatively common behaviour during adolescence. As peer influence increases during adolescence, friendship groups may play a role in determining eating patterns such as meal skipping. The current study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between perceived friends' support of healthy eating and breakfast and lunch skipping among adolescents. DESIGN: Survey of intrapersonal, social and environmental factors that may influence eating patterns at baseline (2004/05) and follow-up (2006/07). SETTING: Thirty-seven secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. SUBJECTS: Sample of 1785 students aged 12-15 years at baseline. RESULTS: Adolescents who reported that their friends sometimes or often ate healthy foods with them were less likely (adjusted OR; 95 % CI) to skip breakfast (sometimes: 0·71; 0·57, 0·90; often: 0·54; 0·38, 0·76) or lunch (sometimes: 0·61; 0·41, 0·89; often: 0·59; 0·37, 0·94) at baseline than those who reported their friends never or rarely displayed this behaviour. Although this variable was associated with lunch skipping at follow-up, there was no evidence of an association with breakfast skipping at follow-up. There was no evidence of an association between perceived encouragement of healthy eating, and an inconsistent relationship between perceived discouragement of junk food consumption, and meal skipping. CONCLUSIONS: Friends eating healthy foods together may serve to reduce meal skipping during early adolescence, possibly due to the influence of directly observable behaviour and shared beliefs held by those in the same friendship group. Verbal encouragement or discouragement from friends may be less impactful an influence on meal skipping (than directly observable behaviours) in adolescents.

What Counteracts Problematic Social Media Use in Adolescence? A Cross-National Observational Study.

PURPOSE: Social media use has increased rapidly during the past decade, raising concerns about adolescents who display problematic social media use (PSMU), as indicated by addiction-like symptoms (e.g., preoccupation, tolerance). We aimed to assess the extent to which an individual resource (health literacy), and social resources (friend support and family support), moderated the association between a range of individual characteristics (gender, age, family affluence, and depressive feelings) and PSMU; also the association between PSMU and health outcomes (self-rated health, life satisfaction, and sleep difficulties), both cross-nationally and nationally. METHODS: Our sample included 22,226 adolescents from six European countries. We used data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children cross-sectional survey (2017/2018). Random-effects models and moderator analyses were applied. RESULTS: Six moderations were found, with the resources moderating the association between individual characteristics and PSMU. One moderation emerged cross-nationally, namely that a higher level of family support was associated with a lower likelihood of PSMU, especially among adolescents who did not have frequent depressive feelings. In addition, five national moderations were identified. For example, a higher level of health literacy was associated with a lower likelihood of PSMU among Finnish girls. The resources were also found to moderate the association between PSMU and health outcomes, with two moderations emerging cross-nationally. For instance, a higher level of family support was related to higher self-rated health, especially among problematic users. In addition, nine national moderations were identified; these included a higher level of health literacy being associated with having less sleep difficulties, especially among problematic users in Germany. DISCUSSION: In adolescence, health literacy, family support, and friend support have the potential to moderate the association between individual characteristics and PSMU, and between PSMU and health outcomes, cross-nationally and nationally. We recommend the use of universal and targeted interventions to promote individual and social resources to counteract PSMU.

Determinants of social support among people living with HIV in Nigeria-a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: More than 38.4 million people were living with HIV worldwide in 2021. Sub-Saharan Africa bears two-thirds of the burden, with Nigeria having nearly two million people living with HIV (PLWH). Social support from social networks such as family and friends improve the quality of life, and reduces enacted and perceived stigma, but social support for PLWH remains suboptimal in Nigeria. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of social support and associated factors among PLWH in Nigeria and to test whether stigma reduces types of social support. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lagos State, Nigeria, between the months of June and July 2021. A total of 400 PLWH were surveyed across six health facilities providing antiretroviral therapy. Social support (family, friends, and significant others) and stigma were measured with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Berger's HIV Stigma Scale, respectively. Binary logistic regression was used to identify determinants of social support. Results: More than half (50.3%) of the respondents had adequate social support overall. The prevalence of family, friends, and significant others support was 54.3, 50.5, and 54.8%, respectively. Stigma (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 0.945; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.905-0.987) was negatively associated with adequate friend support. Female gender (AOR: 6.411; 95% CI: 1.089-37.742), higher income (AOR: 42.461; 95% CI: 1.452-1241.448), and seropositive disclosure (AOR: 0.028; 95% CI: 0.001-0.719) were associated with adequate significant others support. Stigma (AOR:0.932; 95% CI: 0.883-0.983) was negatively associated with adequate support overall. Our findings corroborate the social support theory, as stigma reduces the chance of receiving social support. Conclusion: PLWH that enjoy support from families or friends were less likely to be affected by HIV-related stigma. More support is needed by PLWH from family, friends, and significant others to improve the quality of life and reduce stigma among PLWH in Lagos State.

Hukou Status and Cognitive Function Among Older Chinese Adults: Does Support from Friends Matter?

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether older Chinese adults with different types of hukou status (government household registration system) exhibited different cognitive outcomes and whether receiving support from friends, an under-appreciated resource, helped mitigate the negative impacts of agricultural hukou status on cognitive health disparities. METHODS: Using nationally representative data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, this study tested these relationships with well-validated measures. RESULTS: Our results showed that older Chinese adults with agricultural hukou were more likely to have worse cognitive function than those with non-agricultural hukou. Further, friend support characteristics moderated the association between hukou status and cognitive function, whereby having better friend support was related to a weaker negative effect of agricultural hukou status on cognitive function. DISCUSSION: The findings suggested that agricultural hukou status reflects the effects of accumulated disadvantage across the life course with negative consequences for late-life cognition. The cognitive health disparities between agricultural and non-agricultural residents may be reduced in the context of a higher level of friend support, supporting a stress buffering hypothesis.

Perceived social supports and associated factors among diabetes mellitus patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the Perceived Social Supports and Associated Factors Among Diabetes Mellitus Patients. Methods and materials: A facility-based cross-sectional study on 399 randomly selected adult diabetes patients was conducted at JUMC with data collection between August and September 2021.The data was collected using diabetic social support tool through face-to-face interviews and document review checklist. Logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with perceived social support in diabetes patients. Result: Two hundred nineteen (54.9%) out of 399 diabetes patients reported a good level of perceived social support. Informational support was the most reported (55.4%), followed by emotional support (52.9%), companionship support (52.9%), and instrumental or tangible support (48.8%). Having a family history of diabetes (AOR = 1.90, CI: 1.09, 3.51) and presence of chronic comorbidities (AOR = 2.01; CI: 1.08, 3.75) were positively associated with social support. Whereas unemployment (AOR = 0.09, CI: 0.02, 0.38) was negatively associated with social support. Conclusion and recommendations: One of every two diabetes patients got adequate level of social support. Health care system, along with other stakeholders could strengthen social support in line with diabetes patients' lifestyle.

Friend support buffers the relationship between maltreatment and nonsuicidal self-injury in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies have mostly focused on the risk factors for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), but only a few studies have emphasized the related protective factors. The present study examined whether maltreatment and behavioral problems were risk factors for NSSI. Moreover, we also sought to understand whether and how friend support provides a buffer against NSSI. METHOD: A total of 436 adolescents completed self-report surveys that addressed maltreatment, behavioral problems, friend support, and NSSI at three different time points. RESULTS: There were significant positive correlations between maltreatment and NSSI. In the mediation analyses, we found that maltreatment was indirectly associated with NSSI via behavioral problems. Friend support demonstrated a long-term buffering effect on NSSI. Specifically, friend support had a protective effect on NSSI not only under high maltreatment levels, but also under high behavioral problem levels. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to the understanding of the influences of both maltreatment, behavioral problems (risk factors), and friend support (protective factors) on NSSI. In the context of intervention and education, it is important to consider the value of friend support when discussing NSSI.

Does Friend Support Matter? The Association between Gender Role Attitudes and School Bullying among Male Adolescents in China.

This study investigated the association between gender role attitudes, perceived friend support, and school bullying among male adolescents from 11 schools in two cities in China. A total of 3172 Chinese adolescents between 12 and 20 years of age (48.80% girls and 51.20% boys) completed questionnaires that included measures of bullying, gender role attitudes, and perceived social support. In terms of outcome measures, the Chinese version of the Illinois Bully Scale (IBS), Attitudes toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used to assess bullying perpetration, gender role attitudes, and perceived friend support, respectively. Based on masculinity theories and the stress-buffering theory, the study found that male adolescents held more traditional gender role attitudes (t = 30.78, p < 0.001) and reported higher prevalence of bullying behaviors (36.02%) than girls (31.20%). In addition, boys' bullying behaviors were significantly predicted by gender role attitudes through perceived friend support. That is, male youth with more conservative gender role attitudes reported less perceived friend support (adjusted OR = 1.055; SE = 0.013), which elevated their risks of bullying perpetration (adjusted OR = 2.082; SE = 0.302). These findings have critical implications for bullying intervention and prevention through gender equity education.

Survey data on the social, personal, and work resources associated with work engagement among knowledge workers in Malaysia amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A regression analysis was conducted to assess the link between resilience, supervisor support, family and friend support, psychological empowerment, and facilitating conditions with work engagement using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) 26. This data was obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 259 knowledge workers in Malaysia. Specifically, this article provides data about the participants' demographic characteristics and the descriptive data of participants' responses. Further, the mean, standard deviation, reliability of the measured constructs, and regression analysis model summary are provided. This dataset offers suggestions to the top management in deducing ways to increase employees' work engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perceived friend support buffers against symptoms of depression in peer victimized adolescents: Evidence from a population-based cohort in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Peer victimization is associated with an increased risk for depression, but there is less evidence on how certain factors such as friend support can buffer this association. This study investigated the associations between friend support and depressive symptoms among victimized and non-victimized adolescent girls and boys from South Korea. METHODS: Participants includes 2258 students from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey, a nationally representative sample of middle school students in South Korea. Self-reported perceived friend support, depressive symptoms and peer victimization were measured using validated scales during middle school year 3 (mean age= 15.7 years). RESULTS: The association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms varied by sex (p for sex by peer victimization interaction<0.05). Peer victimization was more strongly associated with same year depressive symptoms in girls (ß=0.55) than boys (ß=0.24). After controlling for key confounders, including prior year mental health symptoms, higher levels of friend support were found to attenuate the association between peer victimization and depressive symptoms (p for friend support by peer victimization interaction <0.05). Peer victimization was associated with more depressive symptoms for adolescents with low and moderate friend support, but not those with high friend support. LIMITATIONS: Peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and friend support, were self-reported and measured the same year. CONCLUSIONS: Friend support protects victimized South Korean adolescents from the negative effect of peer victimization on depressive symptoms, hence contributes to closing the gap in depression between victimized and non-victimized adolescents.