Getting the right kind of support: Functional differences in the types of social support on depression for Chinese adolescents

Abstract

The present study adopted a prospective design to explore relationships among various types of social support and depression. Four types of social support, namely network support, instrumental enacted support, socioemotional enacted support, and perceived support, were assessed in a sample of Chinese adolescents. Results revealed that perceived support was related to a reduction of subsequent depression for both male and female adolescents. In addition, instrumental enacted support was a significant predictor of subsequent depression for male adolescents, whereas socioemotional enacted support was a significant predictor of subsequent depression for female adolescents. Functional differences in the types of social support for Chinese male and female adolescents, as well as implications for clinical intervention, are discussed.