The Effect of Developmental Characteristics of Adolescents’ Perceived Social Support on Social–Emotional Competence from a Cumulative Ecological Resources Theory Perspective

TL;DR

This study explores how different types of perceived social support in adolescents affect their social-emotional competence over time.

Contribution

The study introduces a new framework for understanding how perceived social support influences social-emotional competence through developmental transitions.

Findings

Adolescents' perceived social support can be categorized into four distinct types: Poor, Moderate, Rich, and Separated.

Transitioning to or remaining in the Rich type of perceived social support positively predicts social-emotional competence.

Gender, age, and boarding status influence transitions between types of perceived social support.

Abstract

Cumulative Ecological Resources Theory offers an integrative perspective for social–emotional interventions by overcoming the traditional dichotomy between internal and external resources. As a crucial ecological resource, perceived social support is known to be heterogeneous, yet its mechanism of influence on social–emotional competence remains to be clarified. This study investigates the effect of developmental characteristics of adolescents’ perceived social support on social–emotional competence. A six-month longitudinal study tracked 995 adolescents using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the Delaware Social and Emotional Competency Scale. Based on the results, (1) the adolescents’ perceived social support could be categorized into four types: Poor, Moderate, Rich, and Separated; (2) the Poor type exhibited greater category mobility, whereas the Moderate and Rich types demonstrated higher stability; some adolescents in the Poor, Moderate, and Rich types transitioned to the Separated type; and adolescents in the Separated type were more likely to transition to the Moderate type; (3) gender, age, and boarding status influenced the transition in perceived social support categories; (4) the transition pattern of transitioning to or remaining within the Rich type positively predicted social–emotional competence at T2. The findings support the Cumulative Ecological Resource Theory by revealing heterogeneity in adolescents’ perceived social support and demonstrating that trajectories toward higher resource accumulation significantly enhance social–emotional competence.

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