N. Garnefski et Rfw. Diekstra, PERCEIVED SOCIAL SUPPORT FROM FAMILY, SCHOOL, AND PEERS - RELATIONSHIP WITH EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL-PROBLEMS AMONG ADOLESCENTS, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(12), 1996, pp. 1657-1664
Objective: To examine (1) the extent to which negative perceptions of
support from family, school, and peers differ with regard to their imp
act on emotional and behavioral problems and (2) the extent to which n
egative perceptions of multiple social support systems are related to
the presence of multiple emotional and behavioral problems in adolesce
nce. Method: The sample comprised 476 high school students, aged 16 to
18 years: 119 without any emotional and behavioral problems, 119 with
emotional problems only, 119 with behavioral problems only, and 119 w
ith emotional and behavioral problems. Possible differences between th
e subgroups were tested with regard to the perceived social support fr
om family, school, and peers, and with regard to the number of negativ
ely perceived support systems. Results: Whereas a negative perception
of school was shown to be specifically related to behavioral problems
and a negative perception of peers specifically to emotional problems,
a negative perception of the family appeared to be strongly related b
oth to emotional and behavioral dysfunction. A strong accumulating eff
ect was found for multiple negatively perceived social environments. C
onclusions: The results suggest a dominant role of negatively perceive
d family support. Therefore, to prevent emotional and behavioral probl
ems in adolescence it is of paramount importance to identify families
at risk at the earliest possible stage and to provide training and sup
port for the parents involved.