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Does Social Support Mediate the Association Between Maltreatment Experiences and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescence

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: The current study examined social support as a mediator between maltreatment experiences (number of victimizations, maltreatment types) and depressive symptoms in adolescence. The data came from the first two time points of a longitudinal study of the effects of maltreatment on adolescent development. The enrolled sample were 454 male and females ( n = 303 maltreated, n = 151 comparison) between 9 and 13 years ( M age = 10.82); Time 2 (T2) occurred approximately 1 year after baseline. Maltreatment data came from case records; participants reported on perceived social support and depressive symptoms. Results from path models indicated that depressive symptoms mediated the association between maltreatment experiences (i.e., physical abuse, neglect, and number of maltreatment victimizations) and family social support. There was no evidence that social support functioned as a mediator. This is the first study to find support for depressive symptoms as a mechanism linking maltreatment with decreased perceived family support. These findings point to the importance of assessing mental health and social support simultaneously to understand the functioning of youth with maltreatment histories.

Source: Child Maltreatment

DOI: 10.1177/1077559518814680

Authors: Sonya Negriff, Julie A. Cederbaum, Daniel S. Lee

Institutions: Kaiser Permanente, University of Southern California

Language: English

Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development