Content area
Full Text
ABSTRACT
The transition to high school is studied as a time when students may experience disruptions in their social support systems. Peer support, family support, and school belonging were hypothesized to be associated with adolescent adjustment, specifically depressive symptoms. Participants included 104 eighth graders and 101 ninth graders from a middle- to high-income, predominantly white community in southern Rhode Island. In year 2, 60 of the original 8th graders were surveyed as 9th graders. Three hypotheses were examined: Social support declines from 8th to 9th grade; depressive symptoms increase from 8th to 9th grade; and social support is significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The hypotheses were tested using cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Results indicated that 9th graders experienced more depressive symptoms and lower levels of school belonging as compared to the 8th graders. Changes in parent support and peer support were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the transition to high school. Implications for increasing school belonging in the 9th grade are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
For many adolescents, high school is a long-awaited change in status, accompanied by new freedoms and new challenges. Nonetheless, the transition to high school is often associated with negative outcomes including poorer attendance, declines in grades, newly emerging discipline problems, and new feelings of alienation or social rejection. Efforts to account for these changes typically focus on school size, greater anonymity, more challenging academic work, changes in the rule structure, and less adult monitoring. Increasing attention is being paid to the sense of school belonging or connectedness as a factor that contributes to success in this transition. However, few studies have examined the changes in social support that occur between the 8th and 9th grade and their impact on high school adjustment. The current study considers three sources of social support-family, peers, and school belonging-each of which could be disrupted or enhanced in the transition to high school. Two basic questions guide this research. First, what are the changes in the social support system in the transition to high school? second, what is the relationship between each source of social support and adjustment, especially depressive symptoms?
Background
Adolescent development is shaped significantly by the school environment. Yet, little empirical study has focused specifically on changes in social support in the...