Sources and types of social supports and their association with mental health symptoms and life satisfaction among young adults with a history of out-of-home care

Evans, Rhiannon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0239-6331, C. Katz, Colleen, Fulginiti, Anthony and Taussig, Heather 2022. Sources and types of social supports and their association with mental health symptoms and life satisfaction among young adults with a history of out-of-home care. Children 9 (4) , 520. 10.3390/children9040520

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Abstract

Young adults with a history of out-of-home care report poorer mental health and life satisfaction compared to non-care-experienced peers. Social support is a known protective factor for mental health. There is limited evidence, however, on the relationship between sources (e.g., family members) and types (e.g., information) of social support and mental health symptoms and life satisfaction in this population. Reporting cross-sectional survey data from 215 young adults aged 18–22 years with a history of out-of-home care, the current study conducted descriptive, bivariate, and linear regression analysis to examine the different sources and types of support young adults receive and their relation to mental health symptoms and life satisfaction. Participants had high levels of support from family members, friends, and other adults. Most participants had informational support, but less than half had consistent material support. Regression analyses demonstrated that having enough informational and material support were associated with fewer mental health symptoms. Having family support and material support were associated with greater life satisfaction. Further longitudinal research is needed to understand the trajectory between social supports and mental health functioning and life satisfaction.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer)
Additional Information:	This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/
Publisher:	MDPI
ISSN:	2227-9067
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	5 April 2022
Date of Acceptance:	31 March 2022
Last Modified:	16 May 2023 08:08
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/149060

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