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PERCEIVED PARENTAL SUPPORT AND ADOLESCENTS’
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING:
EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED PEER PRES SURE
AND GENERAL ATTITUDE TOWARD SCHOOL ON THIS RELATIONSHIP
By

Corey Elizabeth Ray

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
Department of Sociology

2002

Copyright by
COREY ELIZABETH RAY
2002

ABSTRACT
PERCEIVED PARENTAL SUPPORT AND ADOLESCENTS’
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING:
EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED PEER PRES SURE
AND GENERAL ATTITUDE TOWARD SCHOOL ON THIS RELATIONSHIP
By

Corey Elizabeth Ray

This study examines the relationship between perceived parental support and
adolescents’ psychological well-being. It seeks to determine whether perceived peer
pressure and adolescents’ general attitude toward school fimction as moderators of this
relationship. The present study also examines differences in perceived parental support
and adolescents’ psychological well-being based on age, gender, race/ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, and mother’s employment status. Multiple OLS regressions were
conducted using data from the 1990 Survey of Parents and Children. Results
demonstrate that perceived peer pressure and adolescents’ general attitude toward school
significantly moderate the relationship between perceived parental support and
psychological well-being. Evidence of differences based on age, gender, race/ethnicity,

and SES was also found.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................ .v
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................. .vi
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ .1
Sources and Effects of Perceived Social Support .................................... .2
Influences of Age, Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and SES ............................... .3
Identifying Mediating and Moderating Variables ....................... ~ ............. 5
METHODS ......................................................................................... 8
Sample ...................................................................................... 8
Measures .................................................................................... 9
RESULTS .......................................................................................... 12
DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 23
Sociodemographic Differences ........................................................ 23
Perceived Peer Pressure ................................................................. 24
General Attitude Toward School ....................................................... 24
CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 26
Research and Social Implications ...................................................... 26
Limitations of the Present Study ....................................................... 26
APPENDD( ......................................................................................... 28
REFERENCES .................................................................................... 29

iv

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE I
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
WEIGHTED AND UNWEIGHTED SAMPLES ............................................. 13

TABLE 2

REGRESSION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

ON PERCEIVED PARENTAL SUPPORT AND

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES ...................................................... 16

TABLE 3

REGRESSION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

ON PERCEIVED PARENTAL SUPPORT,

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES, AND

INTERACTIONS ................................................................................. 17

TABLE 4

REGRESSION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

ON PERCEIVED PARENTAL SUPPORT,

SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES, PERCEIVED

PEER PRES SURE, GENERAL ATTITUDE TOWARD

SCHOOL, AND INTERACTION TERMS ................................................... 19

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1

INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED PARENTAL

SUPPORT AND PERCEIVED PEER PRES SURE ON

ADOLESCENTS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING .................................... 21

FIGURE 2
INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED PARENTAL
SUPPORT AND GENERAL ATTITUDE TOWARD

SCHOOL ON ADOLESCENTS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL
WELL-BEING ..................................................................................... 22

vi

Introduction
Most researchers agree that social support is a complex and multidimensional
construct. However, there is great diversity in the terms used to define social support and
in how it is measured. Cobb (1976) developed an often-cited conceptualization of the

construct (Turner and Turner 1999). He defines social support as:

Information belonging to one or more of the following three classes:

1. Information leading the subject to believe that he (or she) is cared for and loved

2. Information leading the subject to believe that he (or she) is esteemed and valued

3. Information leading the subject to believe that he (or she) belongs to a network of
communication and mutual obligation. (Cobb 19761300)

Implicit in this conceptualization of social support is the significance of the
subject’s perceptions. Research has consistently demonstrated that perceived social
support is more strongly correlated with psychological well-being than are measures of
actual supportive behaviors. For this reason, the present study will focus on perceived
social support as an indicator of psychological well-being.

The complexity of this construct has led some researchers to develop
sophisticated, multidimensional measurements of perceived social support. For example,
the 60-item Student Social Support Scale (8888) was designed to measure several types
of children and adolescents’ perceived social support from multiple sources (Malecki and
Elliott 1999). In an examination of this instrument, Malecki and Elliott (1999) conclude
that the 8888 is a highly reliable measurement of perceived social support for children
and adolescents and is particularly usefiil for this population, as it is sensitive to
developmental differences. However, even studies that rely on less-comprehensive
measures of perceived social support have demonstrated that this construct has significant

effects on adolescents’ well-being.

Sources and Effects of Perceived Social Support

Several studies have sought to identify the most important sources of social
support for adolescents. Although support from friends and teachers is central to
adolescents‘ development, research suggests that parents are the most important source of
perceived social support. Helsen, Vollebergh, and Meeus (2000) found that, for
adolescents, perceived social support from friends depends somewhat upon the degree of
perceived parental support. They argue that adolescents' relationships with their parents
are imperative both for the development of friendships and for psychological well-being.
Beest and Baerveldt (1999) observed that a lack of perceived parental support cannot be
compensated for by social support from friends, suggesting that perceived parental
support is more important for adolescents' development.

Past research has demonstrated that perceived parental support affects
adolescents' development in several ways. First, it is associated with academic
performance for high school students at risk of failure. Richman, Rosenfeld, and Bowen
(1998) found that, for this population, parents were the primary source of the type of
social support associated with academic grades. Perceived parental support was also
shown to affect school attendance, school self-efficacy, and time spent studying. Second,
perceived parental support is negatively correlated with alcohol and substance abuse.
That is, adolescents that perceive high levels of parental support are less likely to have
problems associated with drinking and are at lower risk for substance abuse (Barrera and
Li 1996). Third, perceived parental support is associated with adolescents' psychological

well-being. Helsen et al. (2000) found that degree of perceived parental support is the

best indicator of emotional problems during adolescence. This finding is consistent with
the conclusions of many researchers who have observed an association between level of
perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being (Sim 2000; Helsen

et al. 2000; Barrerra and Li 1996).

Influences of Age. Gender. Race/Ethnicity. and SES

It should not be assumed that the relationship between perceived parental support
and psychological well-being is the same for all adolescents. Researchers have attempted
to address this question by examining differences in the association between perceived
parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being based on gender, age,
race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Several studies have shown that this
relationship may not be the same for boys and girls. In general, perceived parental
support is believed to be more important for girls than for boys (Helsen et al. 2000). For
girls, it has also been demonstrated to be more strongly related to psychological distress
than support from friends. (Barrera and Li 1996).

Past research has shown that the relationship between perceived parental support
and adolescents’ psychological well-being varies with age. In general, older adolescents
report less parental support than younger adolescents (Malecki and Elliott 1999). This
reduction in perceived parental support, between the ages of 12 and 18, appears to be
greater for boys than for girls. (Helsen et al. 2000) When examining patterns of
perceived parental support from preadolescence through college, researchers have found
a U-shaped curve in which perceived parental support decreases from preadolescence (4th
grade) through middle adolescence (10’h grade), and then slightly increases for college

students (Barrera and Li 1996). It should be noted, however, that the majority of studies

examining changes in perceived parental support throughout adolescence have relied on
cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data.

In addition to gender and age differences, several studies have explored the role of
race/ethnicity in the association between perceived social support and adolescents’
psychological well-being. Most studies have observed no racial/ethnic differences in
self-reported social support (Malecki and Elliott 1999; Franco and Levitt 1998; MacNeil,
Stewart, and Kaufman 2000). However, only a limited number have even included
race/ethnicity in their analyses (Barrera and Li 1996).

Fortunately, several researchers have examined the effects of perceived social
support for specific populations of minority adolescents. Coates (1987) studied gender
differences in African-American adolescents’ perceived social support networks. She
found that both males and females were more likely to turn to a friend for emotional
support, rather than a parent. For those adolescents who reported that they would first
rely on a parent for social support, mothers were cited more often than fathers. When
asked to select a person with whom they feel the closest, 27% of males and 37 % of
females chose a parent (Coates 1987). Based on her findings, Coates (1987) concludes
that parents and peers serve distinct social support functions for Afi'ican-American
adolescents.

The effects of perceived social support have also been examined in East Asian
adolescent populations. Using the Social Support Appraisals Scale, Cheng (1998) found
that high levels of perceived social support were associated with lower levels of
depression for both male and female Chinese adolescents. She also observed a reduction

in depression over time for adolescents who reported high levels of perceived social

support. Similar results were found in Sim’s (2000) analysis of the relationship between
perceived social support and depression among Korean adolescents.

Additionally, some researchers have focused on perceived social support among
economically disadvantaged adolescents. Seidman et al. (1999) observed significant
variation in perceived social support among low-income urban adolescents. Following a
systems approach, they found support for six types, or clusters, of family support
(Dysfunctional, Functional-Involving, Detaching, Hassling, Enmeshing, and Functional-
Uninvolving) (Seidman et al. 1999). Adolescents whose family support systems were
consistent with the “Dysfiinctional” category reported the greatest number of depressive
symptoms. As expected, Seidman et al. (1999) found that adolescents in the “Functional-
Involving” category reported the least amount of depressive symptoms. The study
demonstrated that different types of support systems, and levels of perceived support
within them, could have different effects on “at-risk” populations, such as economically

disadvantaged adolescents.

Identifying Mediating and Moderating Variables

 

Several researchers have sought to explain the association between perceived
social support and adolescents’ psychological well-being by identifying possible
mediating variables of this relationship. Yarcheski, Mahon, and Yarcheski (2001)
demonstrated that hopefulness and self-esteem mediate the relationship between
perceived social support and general well-being for early adolescents. Short, Sandler,
and Roosa (1996) also found support for self-esteem as a mediator for this relationship
among older adolescents. While these findings help explain the relationship between

perceived social support and adolescents’ psychological well-being, little is known about

which factors serve as moderators of this relationship. Therefore, the present study seeks
to identify possible moderating variables of the relationship between perceived parental
support and adolescents’ psychological well-being.

It is important to contextualize the relationship between perceived parental
support and adolescents’ psychological well-being when examining possible moderating
variables. What factors in an adolescent’s life would strengthen or weaken the effects of
parental support on his or her psychological being? Similarly, for which adolescents is
the relationship between perceived parental support and psychological well-being
stronger or weaker?

In addition to perceived social support from parents, studies have shown that
peers and school-related circumstances influence adolescents’ general well-being.
Santor, Messervey, and Kusumar (2000) found that peer pressure is a strong predictor of
adolescent risk behaviors. Duncan-Ricks (1992) also observed that peer pressure
strongly influences adolescent girls’ decisions to become sexually active. However, little
is known about the extent to which perceived peer pressure affects the relationship
between perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being.

In addition to peer pressure, researchers have demonstrated that adolescents’
general attitudes toward school can affect their well-being. Baumeister, Flores, and
Marin (1995) found that, among Latina adolescents, having a positive attitude toward
school was a significant predictor of not being pregnant. Mancher and Miller (1999)
have also observed an association between general attitudes toward school and stealing
behavior among adolescents. Little is known about the relationship between general

attitudes toward school, adolescents’ psychological well-being, and the social support

they perceive from their parents. Therefore, the present study will examine how
perceived peer pressure and general attitudes toward school might affect the relationship
between perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being. These
issues will be addressed through the following research questions:
1) How does the relationship between perceived parental support and
adolescents’ psychological well-being differ by age, gender,

race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and mother’s employment status?

2) How does perceived peer pressure affect the relationship between
perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being?

3) How does general attitude toward school affect the relationship between
perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being?

Methods
Sam le

The data used in this study are from the 1990 Survey of Parents and Children
conducted by the National Commission on Children and distributed by the Inter-
university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). The original sample
includes 1,738 parents living with their children in the continental United States. One
parent and one child (if the household contained a child 10-17 years old) completed
telephone interviews. For this reason, households with children 10-17 years of age were
oversampled. Households with Black and Hispanic children were also oversampled.
Parents were asked questions about their concerns and attitudes regarding parenting and
their children. Children were asked questions about their daily activities, fiiends, school,
parents, and their general well-being.

The present study focuses on adolescents and their parents and, therefore, only
includes the sub-sample of 1131 households with children ages 10-17 that completed an
interview. Since certain populations were deliberately oversampled, it was necessary to
weight the data according to specifications provided by ICPSR. Additionally, all
statistical tests of significance in the present study account for the design effect calculated
by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the original survey. The combination of the
sample weights and design effect allow the results of this study to be generalized to the
population of all households in the continental United States that own a telephone and

contain children ages 10-17.

Measures

The sociodemographic variables included in this study are child’s age, gender,
race/ethnicity, family income, mother’s education, and mother’s employment status. Age
was measured as a continuous variable from 10-17. A binary variable was created for
gender (1 = female, 0 = male). Race/Ethnicity was coded into three categories (White,
Black, and Hispanic) and then represented by two dummy variables (Hispanic: 1 =
Hispanic, 0 = Black, non-Hispanic or White, non-Hispanic; and Black: 1 = Black, non-
Hispanic, 0 = Hispanic or White, non-Hispanic). Family income was measured by six
categories (less than $10,000; $10,000-$20,000; $20,000-$3 0,000; $30,000-$40,000;
$40,000-$60,000; and $60,000 or greater). Mother’s education was coded as 0-8 years,
9-11 years, high school graduate, some college, and college graduate.1 Mother’s
employment status was categorized as not employed, employed part-time, or employed
full-time and represented by two dummy variables (part-time: 1 = employed part-time, 0
= employed full-time or not employed; and full-time: 1 = employed full-time, 0 =
employed part-time or not employed).

The dependent variable in this study is adolescents’ psychological well-being.
This variable represents a scale based on nine questions that assess how often the
adolescent feels sad, nervous, happy, etc. (See Appendix 1.) Possible scores range fi'om
0 to 27 and the Chronbach’s alpha for this scale is .631.

The primary independent variable in this analysis is perceived parental social

support. Consistent with Cobb’s (1976) definition of social support, a scale was created

 

‘ It should be noted that the terms “mother” and “father,” as used in this study, include biological, step,
adoptive, and foster parents or anyone identified as the parent of the child or the spouse of the parent

using the following four questions that collectively address the three components of his
firamework.

1) When something is bothering you, are you able to talk it over with your mother
(always, usually, sometimes, or never)?

2) Would you say that your mother respects your ideas and opinions about the important
things in life (always, usually, sometimes, or never)?

3) When something is bothering you, are you able to talk it over with your father (always,
usually, sometimes, or never)?

4) Would you say that your father respects your ideas and opinions about the important
things in life (always, usually, sometimes, or never)?

Possible scores on the perceived parental social support scale range from 0-12 and the
Chronbach’s alpha is .735.

Measures of two possible moderating variables in the association between
perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being were also included
in this analysis. First, the adolescents’ general attitude toward school was assessed by the
following question: Which of the following tells how you feel about going to school...Do
you like it a lot, like it somewhat, like it just a little, or don ’t you like it at all? Second,
perceived peer pressure was measured by a scale that includes questions about whether
the adolescent feels pressure from his/her peers to try cigarettes, marijuana, drink alcohol,
have sex, skip school, or commit a crime. Possible values range from 0-6 and the
reliability analysis resulted in a Chronbach’s alpha of .603.

Descriptive statistics were obtained for each of the variables in the unweighted
and weighted samples. Three OLS regressions were performed using the weighted
sample. The first model regressed adolescents’ psychological well-being on perceived
parental support and the sociodemographic variables to demonstrate that the two
constructs are significantly associated, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, SES,
and mother’s employment status. The second model regressed psychological well-being

on perceived parental support, the sociodemographic variables, and their interactions with

10

perceived parental support. This analysis was conducted to determine how the
relationship between perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-
being varies by age, gender, race/ethnicity, SES, and mother’s employment status.
Finally, a third regression (which included all of the items in Models 1 and 2 plus
perceived peer pressure, general attitude toward school, and their interactions with
perceived parental support) was conducted to determine whether perceived peer pressure
and general attitude toward school significantly moderate the relationship between

perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being.

ll

Results

The descriptive characteristics of the unweighted and weighted samples are
presented in Table 1. The mean age of respondents is 13.53 in the unweighted sample
and 13.60 in the weighted sample. The weighted sample reflects a more equitable gender
distribution than the unweighted sample. However, the racial/ethnic distribution of the
weighted sample is less equitable than the unweighted sample, but more closely
represents the characteristics of the population examined in the present study. A greater
percentage of respondents in the weighted sample have mothers with higher levels of
education and have families with greater incomes than in the unweighted sample.
Reflecting the characteristics of the US. adolescent population, a greater portion of the
respondents in the weighted sample have working mothers, as compared to the
unweighted sample. Unlike the sociodemographic variables, there were few differences
in the distributions of perceived parental support, general attitude toward school,
perceived peer pressure, and psychological well-being when comparing the unweighted
and weighted samples. In general, these four variables are more normally distributed in
the weighted sample than in the unweighted sample.

Table 2 presents the results of regressing psychological well-being on perceived
parental support and the sociodemographic variables. These results demonstrate that
perceived parental support has a significant positive effect on adolescents’ psychological
well-being, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, SES, and mother’s employment
status. This regression also shows that age has a significant negative effect on
psychological well-being, controlling for the other variables in the model. Similarly,

being male or having a mother who works full-time has a significant negative effect on

12

Table 1. Descriptive Characteristics of the Unweighted and Weighted Samples

 

 

Unwei ted Wei ted
Variable % %
Age
10 12.4 10.2
11 10.7 12.4
12 14.1 14.4
13 12.6 12.7
14 11.6 10.2
15 13.6 13.8
16 12.6 12.5
17 12.4 13.7
Mean = 13.53 (uw), 13.60 (w)
Sex
Male 53.8 49.0
Female 46.2 51.0
Race
White 41.3 85.2
Black 28.6 10.4
Hispanic 30.2 4.4
Family Income
Less than $10,000 12.5 6.5
$10,000-S20,000 23.2 13.8
320,000-830,000 15.9 15.2
$30,000-$40,000 15.2 18. 1
$40,000-$60,000 19.8 27.6
$60,000 or greater 13.5 18.8
Mother’s Education
0-8 years 9.8 3.2
9-11 years 1 1.0 7.6
High school 33.5 34.4
graduate
Some college 24.8 27.5
College graduate 20.8 27.2
Mother’s Employment Status
Not Employed 28.3 20.8
Employed Part-time 16.8 19.2
Employed Full-time 54.9 60.0

13

 

Table 1 (cont’d).

 

Unwei ted Wei
Variable % %
Perceived Parental Support
0—3 3.1 2.6
4-6 20.9 21.5
7-9 31.4 42.1
10-12 34.5 33.6
Mean = 8.32 (uw), 8.32 (w)
General Attitude Toward School
Like it a lot 43.6 38.9
Like it somewhat 39.6 45.5
Like it just a little 14.3 12.5
Do not like it at all 2.4 3.0
Perceived Peer Pressure
0 27.7 29.8
1 49.8 50.7
2 12.2 10.0
3 5.0 5.3
4 2.3 2.5
5 — 6 3.0 1.8
Mean = 1.14 (uw), 1.05 (w)
Psychological Well-Being
0-6 2.3 1.9
7-13 32.8 35.0
14-19 62.2 61.3
20-27 2.8 1.8

Mean = 13.70 (uw), 13.51 (w)
(uw = unweighted sample, w = weighted sample)

14

an adolescent’s psychological well-being, controlling for the other sociodemographic
variables and level of perceived parental support. Thus, older male adolescents whose
mothers are employed full-time are most likely to have low levels of psychological well-
being, as compared with other adolescents. This analysis demonstrates a curvilinear
relationship between mother’s employment status and adolescent’s psychological well-
being in that adolescents whose mothers are employed part-time have the highest levels
of psychological well-being, followed by those whose mothers are not employed, and,
finally, adolescents whose mothers are employed full-time. Interestingly, a similarly
shaped relationship was observed between SES, as measured by family income and
mother’s education level, and adolescents’ psychological well-being, although the
regression coefficients suggest a simple negative linear relationship. Converting family
income and mother’s educational level into dummy variables (not shown) revealed that
adolescents with moderate levels of SES had the highest psychological well-being,
followed by those with low SES, and, finally, adolescents with high levels of SES. It
should be noted that race/ethnicity was not significantly associated with psychological
well-being in this model.

Table 3 presents the results of including the interactions between perceived
parental support and the sociodemographic variables in the regression model. These
results demonstrate that perceived parental support exerts a greater positive effect on
psychological well-being for older adolescents than it does for younger adolescents.
Although race/ethnicity was not significantly associated with psychological well-being in
the first model, it became significant when controlling for perceived parental support, the

sociodemographic variables, and their interactions. Specifically, Black adolescents had

15

Table 2. Regression of Psychological Well-Being on Perceived Parental Support

 

 

and Sociodemographic Variables
Psychological Well-Being

Variable b p
Constant 12.756 .000
Perceived Parental Support .748""'"'I .000
Age -.153*** .000
Gender

Female 367*" .000
Race

Black -. 100 .3 18

Hispanic .054 .624
Family Income -.077"* .000
Mother’s Education -.133*** .000
Mother’s Employment Status

Full-time -.334*“ .000

Part-time 579*" .000
R’ .203

 

(b = unstandardized regression coefl’rcient, *p < .05, “p < .01, ***p<.001)

16

Table 3. Regression of Psychological Well-Being on Perceived Parental Support,
Sociodemographic Variables, and Interactions

 

 

Psychological Well-Being

Variable b P
Constant 17.71 1 000
Perceived Parental Support .417" .005
Age -.530*** .000
Sex

Female .134 .393
Race

Black -3.151*** .000

Hispanic .063 .873
Family Income -.380*** .000
Mother’s Education .226" .010
Mother’s Employment Status

Full-time -.489* .010

Part-time 2293*“ .000
Age * Perceived Support 045*“ .000
Female * Perceived Support .035 .057
Black * Perceived Support 413*" .000
Hispanic * Perceived Support -.013 .776
Income * Perceived Support 032"" .000
Mother Edu * Perceived Support -.042"""* .000
Full-time "' Perceived Support .016 .484
Part-time "' Perceived Support 207*" .000
R2 .226

 

(b = unstandardized regression coefficient, I"p < .05, "p < .01, ***p<.001)

17

lower levels of psychological well-being than their White or Hispanic counterparts. Race
also significantly interacted with perceived parental support in its effects on
psychological well-being, with perceived parental support exerting a greater positive
effect on adolescents’ psychological well-being for Blacks, as compared to Whites and
Hispanics. Finally, the curvilinear relationship between SES and adolescents’
psychological well-being is fiirther demonstrated by the seemingly contradictory
interactions between mother’s education, family income, and perceived parental support.

The results of the final model are presented in Table 4. Adolescents’ general
attitude toward school, level of perceived peer pressure, and their interactions with
perceived parental support are introduced in this model. As shown in the table, perceived
peer pressure negatively affects adolescents’ psychological well-being. A positive
attitude toward school, as indicated by a higher score on this item, has a positive effect on
an adolescent’s psychological well-being. The results of this analysis also demonstrate
that perceived peer pressure and adolescents’ general attitudes toward school are
significant moderators of the association between perceived parental support and
adolescents’ psychological well-being. Perceived parental support has a greater positive
effect on psychological well-being for adolescents who perceive high levels of peer
pressure. Similarly, perceived parental support has a greater positive effect on
adolescents who have a negative attitude toward school.

The moderating effects of perceived peer pressure and general attitude toward
school on the relationship between perceived parental support and adolescents’
psychological well-being are also demonstrated in Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 presents the

mean psychological well-being for each level of perceived peer pressure across the range

18

Table 4. Regression of Psychological Well-Being on Perceived Parental Support, Sociodemographic
Variables, Perceived Peer Pressure, General Attitude Toward School, and Interaction Terms

 

Psychological Well-Being

Variable b P
Constant 17.156 .000
Age -.454*** .000
Sex

Female -.318* .045
Race

Black 3356*” .000

Hispanic .492 .217
Family Income -.374*** .000
Mother’s Education .387 *** .000
Mother’s Employment Status

Full-time -.334 .078

Part-time 2247*" .000
Perceived Parental Support 634*” .000
General Attitude Toward School 518*" .000
Perceived Peer Pressure -.572"“'"" .000
Age * Perceived Support 085*" .000
Female * Perceived Support 162*" .000
Black * Perceived Support 425*” .000
Hispanic * Perceived Support -.047 .297
Income * Perceived Support -.124*** .000
Mother Edu "' Perceived Support 064*” .000
Full-time * Perceived Support -.004 .846
Part-time * Perceived Support .522""'”'I .000
Peer Pressure x Perceived Support .100"* .000
School Attitude x Perceived Support .154*" .000
R2 .233

 

(b = unstandardized regression coefficient, *p < .05, "p < .01, l"""'p<.001)

19

of values for perceived parental support. This graph shows that, in general, the greater
level of perceived peer pressure an adolescent experiences, the greater positive effect that
perceived parental support has on the adolescent’s psychological well-being. Both the
negative association between perceived peer pressure and psychological well-being and
the positive association between perceived parental support and psychological well-being
are also evident in this graph.

The positive interactions between general attitude toward school and perceived
parental support on adolescents’ psychological well-being are presented in Figure 2. This
graph demonstrates that a positive attitude toward school and a high level of perceived
parental support are associated with a higher mean score on the psychological well-being
scale. Additionally, it is evident that perceived parental support exerts the greatest
positive effect on psychological well-being for adolescents with a negative attitude

toward school.

20

Figure 1. Interactive Efl‘ects of Perceived Parental Support and Perceived Peer Pressure
on Adolescents’ Psychological Well-Being

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

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21

Mean Psychological Well-Being

Figure 2. Interactive Effects of Perceived Parental Support

and General Attitude toward School on Adolescents’ Psychological Well-Being

 

18

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12

Discussion
Sociodemographic Differences

The present study demonstrates that the relationship between perceived parental
support and adolescents’ psychological well-being differs by certain sociodemographic
variables. Specifically, age, race/ethnicity, family income, mother’s educational
attainment, and mother’s employment status significantly interact with perceived parental
support in their effects on adolescents’ psychological well-being. Perceived parental
support has a greater positive effect on psychological well-being for older adolescents,
Black adolescents, and those whose mothers are employed part-time.

Additionally, perceived parental support has a greater positive effect for
adolescents from families with high incomes and adolescents whose mothers have a low
level of educational attainment. This finding suggests that it is adolescents from
relatively high SES families and those from relatively low SES families that benefit the
most from a high level of perceived parental support. One explanation for this is that
parents with lower-paying jobs and those with very high-paying jobs are possibly more
likely to have work-related stress and to spend the most time away from their children
while on the job. Low-wage jobs usually require employees to work long hours to
minimally meet their families’ economic needs. These jobs can also be physically
demanding and require employees to perform unpleasant tasks that lead to work-related
stress. Similarly, very high-paying jobs often have great intellectual and/or political
demands and can cause parents to be away fi'om their children for long periods. Thus, it
may be especially important for adolescents on both ends of the SES continuum to

perceive high levels of parental support.

23

Perceived Peer Pressure

The results of this study show that adolescents’ perceived peer pressure moderates
the relationship between perceived parental support and psychological well-being. The
positive effects of perceived parental support on adolescents’ psychological well-being
are stronger for those who perceive high levels of peer pressure. This finding is
significant for two reasons. First, it demonstrates that not only does the relationship
between perceived parental support and psychological well-being have mediators, such as
hopefulness and self-esteem (Y archeski, Mahon, and Yarcheski 2001), but it also has
moderating variables, upon the value of which the nature of the relationship depends.
Second, the finding that perceived parental support has a greater positive effect on the
psychological well-being of adolescents who perceive high levels of peer pressure can
help direct social programs or interventions for adolescents and their parents.
Specifically, educators and psychologists can provide further research evidence to parents

of the importance of social support in the family.

General Attitude Toward School

This study also demonstrates that adolescents’ general attitudes toward school
moderate the relationship between perceived parental support and psychological well-
being. For adolescents who do not like going to school, perceived parental support has a
greater effect on the adolescent’s well-being than for those who enjoy going to school.
The underlying reasons for an adolescent’s negative attitude toward school are probably
responsible for this association. For example, if an adolescent does not like going to

school because he or she is bullied or has problems with peer or teacher relations, the

24

adolescent may need greater perceived parental support to avoid feelings of depression or
anxiety. This finding contributes to our understanding of the contexts in which perceived
social support is especially important for adolescents’ well-being and can be of use to

educators and psychologists who develop interventions for adolescents and their parents.

25

Conclusion

Research and Social Implications

The present study has identified two important moderators of the association
between perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being. Future
research should examine other moderators such as family, peer, and community
relationships. Investigating these factors may further demonstrate that age,
socioeconomic status, and racial/ethnic differences exist in the relationship between
perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-being. It is also
important for future research to examine the effects of mother’s employment status on the
relationship between perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-

being, as the results of the present study are somewhat unclear.

Limitations of the Present Study

This study has several limitations that should be addressed. First, it did not use a
sophisticated measurement of perceived parental social support. Several extensive social
support scales exist for adolescents and may better reflect the complexity of this
construct. Therefore, fixture research should examine moderating variables on the
association between perceived parental support and adolescents’ psychological well-
being using a scale such as the 8888, which has been demonstrated to be a highly-
reliable assessment of perceived social support for adolescents (Malecki and Elliott
1999). Second, the racial/ethnic categories used in this study were limited to White, non-
Hispanic; Black, non-Hispanic; and Hispanic. This may oversimplify the effects of

race/ethnicity on the relationship between perceived parental support and adolescents’

26

psychological well-being. It is important for future research to consider this relationship
for Asian American and Native American adolescents also. Finally, the present study
relied on cross-sectional data to examine developmental differences in perceived parental
support and psychological well-being. A longitudinal study would be able to better
assess the effects of age on these variables. Despite these limitations, this study
contributes to our understanding of the effects of perceived parental support on
adolescents’ psychological well-being by identifying two important moderating variables

and demonstrating that this relationship is not the same for all adolescents.

27

Appendix

People have many different moods and sometimes feel differently from day to day. As I
read some descriptions of different feelings, please tell me how often you have days
when you feel this way — either often, sometimes, or hardly ever). How often do you
feel...

Sad and Blue

Nervous, tense or on edge

Happy

Bored

Lonely

Tired and worn out

Excited about something that you’re looking forward to3
Too busy to get everything done

Pressured by your parents

Tmommcowe

 

2 Respondents were given a score of 3 for each “never” answer, 2 for “hardly ever,” 1 for “sometimes,” and
0 for “often.”

3 This item was reverse-scored (never = 0, hardly ever = I, sometimes =2, often = 3) as it represents a
positive feeling, whereas the other items are negative feelings.

28

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