FACULTEIT DER MAATSCHAPPIJ- EN GEDRAGSWETENSCHAPPEN
Graduate School of Childhood Development and Education
MASTER
ORTHOPEDAGOGIEK
2016-2017
Masterthesis
Naam student: Rowen Hebing Adres: Helling 214
Woonplaats: Utrecht Telefoon: 06-25271041 Studentnummer: 10529918
E-mailadres: rowen.hebing@outlook.com
Onderwerp: The Moderating Role of Sensory Sensitivity between Perceived Social Support and Depressive Symptoms.
Voorlopige tijdsplanning: startdatum: 22 november 2016, geplande einddatum: 7 juli 2017 Toewijzing aan leerstoelgroep: OOP
The Labour of Love: The Association between Social Support and Depressive Symptoms
Masterscriptie Orthopedagogiek Pedagogische en Onderwijskundige Wetenschappen Universiteit van Amsterdam Naam student: Rowen Hebing Studentnummer: 10529918 Begeleiding: Geertjan Overbeek Tweede beoordelaar: X Amsterdam, Juli 2017
Abstract
This study examined the influence of sensory sensitivity on the relationship between social support by parents and best friends and depressive symptoms in adolescence. Three hundred and five participants aged 11 to 16 years (M = 13.6, SD = 0.90) from multiple Dutch schools and selected by a stratified sampling procedure participated in this study. Results from hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that sensory sensitivity does not influence the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms. However, parental support was found to be a significant protective factor against depressive symptoms in adolescence. Furthermore, higher levels of sensory sensitivity were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms.
Keywords: depressive symptoms; sensory sensitivity; parent support; best friend support; adolescence
Abstract
In dit onderzoek werd de invloed van sensorische sensitiviteit op de relatie tussen sociale steun van ouders en beste vrienden en depressieve symptomen in de adolescentie onderzocht. Driehonderdvijf participanten met leeftijden variërend tussen 11 en 16 jaar (M = 13.6, SD = 0.90) van verschillende Nederlandse middelbare scholen, geselecteerd met behulp van een gestratificeerde steekproef procedure, namen deel aan het onderzoek. Uit de resultaten van een hiërarchische regressie analyse bleek dat sensorische sensitiviteit geen invloed heeft op de relatie tussen sociale steun en depressieve symptomen. Sociale steun van ouders bleek echter een significante beschermende factor te zijn tegen depressieve symptomen bij adolescenten. Daarnaast bleek meer sensorische sensitiviteit samen te hangen met minder depressieve symptomen.
Zoektermen: depressieve symptomen; sensorische sensitiviteit; sociale steun; ouders; beste vriend; adolescentie
The Labour of Love: The Association between Social Support and Depressive Symptoms Adolescence is considered to be a critical developmental period. It is accompanied by multiple transformations at the psychological, physical and social level (Steinberg, 2005). As a consequence, adolescents have to cope with new life stressors, which lead to new
experiences of emotional arousal (Larson & Lampan-Petraitis, 1989). This can be a threat to the emotional stability of adolescents. Early-onset depression is one of the possible
undesirable outcomes (Nelson, 2005). Feeling gloomy, losing weight and a decreased ability to concentrate are examples of symptoms of depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Additionally, a person with a depression can suffer from insomnia, hypersomnia, fatigue or a reduced amount of interest or pleasure in most daily activities. Last, a person with a depression can suffer from repetitive thoughts about suicide or even death (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In the Netherlands, about 13% of 12 to 25 year-olds experienced depressive symptoms in 2012 (https://www.cbs.nl). Depressive disorders are experienced by three to five percent of the general adolescent population (Costello, Mustillo, Erkanli, Keeler, & Angold, 2003). Generally, the age of onset of adult depression is at the age of 14 (Merikangas et al., 2010). Early-onset depression can lead to several outcomes,
including impaired psychosocial functioning, poor academic results (Fergusson & Woodward, 2002), depressive episodes in the future (Burcusa & Iacono, 2007), an increased risk of
suicide attempts (Nock, Green, & Hwang, 2013) and an increased risk of developing psychopathology later in life (Copeland, Shanahan, Costello, & Angold, 2009).
Given these serious negative consequences of depression, research into protective factors is important in order to identify key factors that may help prevent depressive
symptoms (Van Beveren et al., 2016). An example of a protective factor is perceived social support. Perceived social support can be defined as a sense of being important in other peoples' eyes, being loved and cared for, being valued as a person and having someone who will listen and help when needed (Mirowsky & Ross, 1989). The question is whether a
specific group of adolescents gains more or less advantage from perceived social support then other adolescents. Sensory sensitivity might be important in this respect, because a more sensitive person could be more susceptible to social support. Sensory sensitivity is defined as a temperamental dimension with a higher reactivity to stimuli (Strelau, 2009). It is unclear whether sensory sensitivity has a positive or a negative influence on depressive symptoms. Also, the connection between perceived social support, sensory sensitivity and depression has not been investigated before. Therefore, the research question of this thesis will be: 'What is
the influence of sensory sensitivity on the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms in early adolescence?'.
The Relationship between Depression and Perceived Social Support
The interpersonal theory of depression states that behaviors that accompany
depression such as negative feedback seeking and social withdrawal lead to reduced levels of perceived social support (Jacobson & Anderson, 1982). However, others state that low
perceived social support predicts depression (Young, Berenson, Cohen, & Garcia, 2005). Specifically, perceived social support can be seen as a protective factor, reducing the risk of developing depressive symptoms (Dumont & Olson, 2012).A large number of empirical studies have indeed found that a greater perception of perceived social support reduces symptoms of depression (Grav, Hellzèn, Romild, & Stordal, 2012). In 1988 researchers already found that socially supportive relationships can function as a buffer against the effects of negative life events (Cohen, 1988). Zhang, Yan, Zhao and Yuan (2015) distinguished three types of social support, including family support, friend support and others' support. These types of support can serve differently for adolescents, such as with material, emotional, informational, esteem and companionship support (Levitt et al., 2005). While friend support might play a more important role in forming adolescent behavior and thinking (Rueger, Malecki, & Demaray, 2010), parents are more likely to play an important role with important decisions in life (Malmberg, 2001). Because both parents and peers play an important role in the lives of adolescents, both types of social support will be discussed.
Many researchers have found cross-sectional and longitudinal support for the negative relationship between parental support and symptoms of depression. Adolescents with higher levels of parental support experienced less depressive symptoms (Rawana, 2013). Others even found parental social support to be the only significant protective factor against depressive symptoms (Dumont & Olson, 2012). A possible explanation for the reduction of depressive symptoms predicted by parental support is that parents are an ongoing source of emotional support for adolescents (Vaughan, Foshee, & Ennett, 2010). Hankin (2006) even entitles parental support as a strong protective factor against depression, which can increase the resilience and well-being of the adolescent. A previous longitudinal study investigated whether parental support influenced depressive symptoms in young adults or the other way around (Needham, 2008). The author found parental support and depressive symptoms to interact with one another dynamically across the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. In other words, perceived parental support influences the development of
(Needham, 2008). Thus, parental support does seem to be a strong protective factor. Does this apply to peer support as well?
Acceptance by peers is an important part of the self-identity of adolescents. Therefore, it has a strong influence on psychological adjustment (La Greca & Harrison, 2005). In
adolescence, the importance of peers increases, while the importance of one's own family decreases, since the adolescent becomes less dependent of his or her family and spends more time outside their home (Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpelä, Rantanen, & Laippala, 2001). Furthermore, researchers found that a lack of social support by peers predicts an increase of depressive symptoms among adolescents (Rubin et al., 1992). Other research found that a higher quality of social support by peers results in lower levels of depression (Zhang et al., 2015). More specifically, support from best friends is essential to the development of adolescents. Best friends are a primary source of social support during adolescence (La Greca & Harrison, 2005). Having a supportive relationship with a best friend has been related to less depressive symptoms (Noack & Buhl, 2005). Little research exists on the relationship between best friend support and depressive symptoms. Thus, both parental and peer support, especially best friend support, can function as a strong protective factor. But how do parental support and best friend support interact?
Several studies compared perceived social support by parents and perceived social support by best friends. Researchers found that more depressive symptoms predicted reduced levels of social support from best friends, but not from parents (Stice, Rohde, Gau, & Ochner, 2011). The explanation of the authors is that the passivity and social withdrawal of
adolescents with depressive symptoms drives away best friend support, but has less influence on parents, because of the parent's responsibility to care for their child (Stice et al., 2011). From a different perspective, perceived social support was found to be a robust protective factor against depressive symptoms, including both parental and best friend support (Vaughan et al., 2010). Young, Berenson, Cohen and Garcia (2005) found that best friend support is protective among adolescents with high parental support, while best friend support might be a risk factor for adolescents with low parental support. This suggests that when there is a lack of parental support, adolescents turn to their friends for social support, but these relationships do not seem to buffer against depressive symptoms. A possible explanation was given by the authors. These adolescents might be sensitive to the attention of deviant peers (Young et al., 2005). On the other hand, research based on Bowlby's theory of attachment (1973) states that when a child has a supportive relationship with their parents, they become more securely attached, causing them to feel safer in building supportive relationships with their friends in
adolescence, which would be reflected in higher psychological well-being (Helsen,
Vollebergh, & Meeus, 2000). Thus, it is clear that both parental and best friend support have a positive effect on the reduction of depressive symptoms. However, it is unclear how parental and best friend support interact.
Sensory Sensitivity
In addition, the question remains whether a specific group of adolescents benefits more or less from social support then other adolescents. A theory of differential susceptibility argues that variations in sensitivity are innate (Belsky, 1997). This theory argues that children vary in their susceptibility to their environment (Belsky, 1997). Belsky and Pluess (2009) suggested that individuals should be differentially susceptible to environmental influences because of their gene make-up, but should also be disproportionately susceptible to the beneficial effect of supportive experiences. This theory argues that some individuals are more affected than others by the adverse effects of unsupportive conditions and the beneficial effects of supportive conditions. The authors discuss several possible causes for this
difference in susceptibility, such as phenotypic temperamental, endophenotypic and genotypic characteristics (Belsky & Pluess, 2009). Other scholars have also stated that individuals most likely to be influenced by negative environmental conditions are also most likely to benefit from supportive environmental conditions (Ellis, Boyce, Belsky, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & van Ijzendoorn, 2011).
With regard to susceptibility markers on the phenotype level, scholars have argued that individual differences exist in susceptibility to sensory stimuli, such as light, loudness, smell or taste (Strelau, 2009). In other research the authors argue sensory sensitivity to be a useful conceptualization of how temperamental factors may interact with parental behavior to create psychological problems, such as depression. The authors found sensory sensitivity to be strongly related to depression (Liss, Timmel, Baxley, & Killingsworth, 2005). Aron, Aron and Davies (2005) describe not only negative consequences of sensory sensitivity, but
positive consequences as well. A sensitive person reacts more emotionally, but this
emotionality can have a positive outcome. The emotionality facilitates learning and memory by providing feedback, making the person more susceptible to positive factors in the
environment as well as to negative ones (Aron et al., 2005). However, not much research has been conducted on the subject of sensory sensitivity, especially when related to depression and social support.
Thus, it might be possible that sensory sensitivity has a connection to the development of depressive symptoms. This has not been studied so far. Depressive symptoms, perceived social support and sensory sensitivity combined might help to increase our understanding of protective factors against depression. Therefore, the research question of this thesis will be: 'What is the influence of sensory sensitivity on the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms in early adolescence?'. The expectation is that sensory sensitivity functions as a moderator between perceived social support and depression. Specifically, it is possible that the beneficial effects of high levels of perceived social support are strengthened by higher levels of sensory sensitivity, causing the adolescent to experience less depressive symptoms. This hypothesis is based on the findings of Aron, Aron and Davies (2005). At the same time, it is possible that the effects of low levels of perceived social support are
strengthened by higher levels of sensory sensitivity, causing the adolescent to experience more depressive symptoms. This hypothesis is based on the findings of Liss, Timmel, Baxley and Killingsworth (2005).
In this study, the difference between parental support and best friend support will be explicitly investigated. The expectation is that both parental support and best friend support reduce depressive symptoms among adolescents. This hypothesis is based on findings of Vaughan, Foshee and Ennett (2010). Last, it is expected that both parental and best friend support are effected in the same way by sensory sensitivity. Therefore, the levels of both parental and best friend support are expected to be strengthened by higher levels of sensory sensitivity, causing the adolescent to experience less depressive symptoms, or the levels of both parental and best friend support are expected to be reduced by higher levels of sensory sensitivity, causing the adolescent to experience more depressive symptoms.
Method Design and Procedure
A stratified sampling procedure has been used to attain the sample for the current study. First, 222 high schools in the Netherlands were selected. These schools were approached to participate by sending them a letter introducing the research and making a follow-up phone call. Three schools decided to participate in the study. Second, the research team, together with the school administrations, decided which and how many classes would be selected in each school. Third, from April to May 2017, the questionnaires were
administered to the adolescents by master students. All of these students were given
instructions regarding the content of the questionnaire and the administration procedure in a classroom situation. In one of the schools, the questionnaires were administered by teachers
from the school. They had the same instructions as the master students. Adolescents filled in the questionnaire in their class during a regular lesson (45 to 50 minutes long) at school. Both adolescents and parents were informed about the content and purpose of the study. Parents gave permission through passive consent. Therefore, parents had to send a letter if they did not want their child to participate in the study. All parents agreed to the participation of their children, but some students called in sick, and thus missed the questionnaire assessment. In most classes, a teacher was available to assist the undergraduate in distributing the
questionnaires among the students and keeping order.We explained to the adolescents that they were not allowed to talk about their answers in the questionnaires with other students and guaranteed that their information would not be shared with a third party (for example teachers or parents).
Participants
This study included 305participants. The participants were in the first, second or third grade of VMBO, HAVO or VWO. This study did not select participants based on other general factors, such as ethnicity or gender. The sample consisted of 148 girls (53.2%) and 130 boys. The other 27 participants did not enter their gender. Concerning the participants’ educational level, 200 students (66%) followed lower vocational education programs, and 103 students (34%) were enrolled in middle or higher-level education programs. The other two participants did not enter their educational level. The adolescents’ average age was 13.6 years (SD = 0.90; min–max = 11.3-16.0 years). About 70.2% of the adolescents were from an indigenous Dutch background, and most adolescents (78.1%) came from intact, two-parent families.
Measures
Depressive Symptoms. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Youth Self Report (Achenbach et al., 2008). The Youth Self-Report consists of a depressive symptoms subscale consisting of nine items on a 3-point scale ranging from 1 not at all to 3 often. Adolescents were asked to give an indication of the frequency of the depressive symptoms in several ways, such as 'I feel worthless or inferior'. Cronbach's alpha was .87 for the
internalizing problems scale (Achenbach et al., 2008). Multiple studies found the content, criterion, and construct validity and reliability of the Youth Self Report to be adequate
(Achenbach et al., 2008; Ebesutani, Bernstein, Martinez, Chorpita, & Weisz, 2011). Ebesutani et al. (2011) confirmed the validity and reliability to be adequate for adolescents in particular. In the current research, Cronbach's alpha was .78.
Social Support from Parents. Social support from parents was assessed using the NRI scale (Furman & Buhrmester, 2009). The NRI scale consists of a social support from parents subscale consisting of nine items on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 none to 5 couldn't be more. Adolescents were asked to give an indication of the frequency of the perceived social support from parents in several ways, such as 'To what extent do your parents let you know that you can do a lot of things well?'. Participants answered the questions based on the support of both of their parents and when coming from a one parent family based on the support of the one parent that raises them. Cronbach's alpha was .94 for the support from mothers scale and .95 for the support from fathers scale (Furman & Buhrmester, 2009). Furthermore, the authors found high internal consistency for all scales and moderately high stability over a one year period. In the current research, Cronbach's alpha was .77.
Social Support from Best Friends. Social support from best friends was assessed using the NRI scale (Furman & Buhrmester, 2009). The NRI scale consists of a social support from best friends subscale consisting of nine items on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 none to 5 couldn't be more. Adolescents were asked to give an indication of the frequency of the perceived social support from best friends in several ways, such as 'Does your best friend admire and respect you?'. Cronbach's alpha was .95 for both same-sex friends as for other-sex friends (Furman & Buhrmester, 2009). The authors found high internal consistency for all scales and moderately high stability over a one year period. In the current research, Cronbach's alpha was .80.
Sensory Sensitivity. Sensory sensitivity was assessed using the HSP scale (Aron & Aron, 1997). The HSP scale consists of a sensory sensitivity subscale consisting of 12 items on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 I fully disagree to 5 I fully agree. Adolescents were asked to give an indication of the frequency of sensory sensitivity in several ways, such as 'Loud sounds annoy me'. Cronbach's alpha was .87 in one of the studies the authors conducted and .85 in another (Aron & Aron, 1997). Furthermore, the measures have good content validity. A more recent study found a Cronbach's alpha of .89 and the results demonstrated the HSP scale to be a valid and reliable measure of Sensory Sensitivity (Smolewska, McCabe, & Woody, 2006). In the current research, Cronbach's alpha was .75.
Results
First, in order to verify if gender affected any associations found in this study, differences between boys and girls were calculated for all main variables using independent T-tests using SPSS. Second, the Pearson correlations were computed in order to examine associations between depressive symptoms, sensory sensitivity, best friend support and parent
support. Third, in order to investigate the moderating role of sensory sensitivity in the relation between social support from parents and best friends and depressive symptoms, a linear regression analysis was performed with depressive symptoms as dependent variable and an interaction between parent support and sensory sensitivity and an interaction between best friend support and sensory sensitivity as independent variables (controlling for main effects of the support and sensory sensitivity variables). In order to calculate these interaction effects, all variables were centered. Age and gender were entered as control variables in the first step of the regression model.
Descriptive Statistics
Basic descriptive statistics of the main variables (depressive symptoms, sensory sensitivity, parental support and best friend support) are reported in Table 1. Because of missing answers on items within scales of the variables, the amounts of participants varied between variables. In order to verify if gender affected any associations found in this study, differences between boys and girls were calculated for all main variables using independent T-tests. Levels of depressive symptoms and best friend support significantly differed between boys and girls (see Table 1). Girls appeared to report both more depressive symptoms and more best friend support then boys. No significant associations were found between gender and the other main variables. Age appeared to have no effect on the main study variables. Pearson Correlations
Pearson correlations were computed between all main variables (depressive
symptoms, sensory sensitivity, parental support and best friend support) in order to examine basic bivariate associations between these variables (see Table 2). Depressive symptoms appeared to be significantly correlated with sensory sensitivity and parental support. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with higher levels of sensory sensitivity and with lower levels of parental support. Furthermore, sensory sensitivity was significantly correlated with best friend support, with higher levels of sensory sensitivity associating with higher levels of best friend support. Last, parent support and best friend support correlated significantly, such that higher levels of parental support were associated with higher levels of best friend support. No other significant associations were found.
Regression Analysis
Table 3 reports the results of the regression analysis, with step 1 involving age and gender, step 2 age, gender and the independent variables (best friend support and parental support) and step 3 all variables (including moderators). Step 1 predicted 5% of the variance in adolescents’ depressive symptoms, step 2 predicted 22% and step 3 predicted 24% of the
variance in adolescents’ depressive symptoms, meaning that step 3 – including the moderators – did not add significantly to the prediction of depressive symptoms. In all three steps, gender was a significant predictor for depressive symptoms. Girls appeared to report more depressive symptoms then boys. Furthermore, parent support appeared to be a significant predictor for depressive symptoms, even when controlled for this gender difference. Specifically, higher levels of parental support predicted less depressive symptoms. Furthermore, sensory
sensitivity appeared to be a significant predictor for depressive symptoms, with higher levels of sensory sensitivity predicting more depressive symptoms. No other variables predicted depressive symptoms significantly. Thus, no moderating effect of sensory sensitivity was found. According to these results, sensory sensitivity does not affect the association between parental or best friend support and depressive symptoms.
Discussion
This study examined the association between parent- and best friend support and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. In addition, we examined whether there would be a moderating effect of sensory sensitivity on the relationship between social support by parents or best friends and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. The results
demonstrated that parent support was related to less depressive symptoms, while best friend support was not. Furthermore, sensory sensitivity was significantly related to more depressive symptoms. No moderating effect of sensory sensitivity was found.
Thus, our results showed that parental support is a significant protective factor against depressive symptoms in early adolescence. This is in accordance with the findings of earlier research (Rawana, 2013; Dumont & Olson, 2012; Vaughan et al., 2010; Hankin, 2006). However, best friend support appeared not to be a protective factor against depressive symptoms. This finding is in contrast with the outcomes of several earlier studies, which did find that best friend support is a significant protective factor against depressive symptoms (La Greca & Harrison, 2005; Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2001; Zhang et al., 2015; Noack, & Buhl, 2005). A possible explanation is that these earlier studies all used participants between 13 and 19 years old. In the current study, participants were between 11 and 16 years old, with a large majority of participants in early adolescence – not older than 14. Research shows that the importance of peers increases in adolescence, while the importance of one's own family and parents decreases during adolescence (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2001). Thus, because the participants in the current study just entered adolescence, they might still be before this turning point. The significant association between parental support and depressive symptoms supports this hypothesis even more. Furthermore, our results showed that sensory sensitivity
is a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms. This is in accordance with the findings of earlier research (Liss et al., 2005). A possible explanation is that adolescents that are more sensitive to stimuli from the environment are more attuned to possible threads and are therefore more physiologically reactive (Liss et al., 2005).
Our study found no significant moderating effect of sensory sensitivity on the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms. Earlier research argued that sensory sensitivity may be a useful conceptualization of how temperamental factors may interact with parental behavior to create psychological problems, such as depression (Liss et al., 2005). The hypothesis of the current research was based on this reasoning and on
differential susceptibility theory (Belsky, 1997). It is possible that this theory just does not apply to sensory sensitivity in the way Liss et al. (2005) suggested. Furthermore, it is possible that no effect was found in the current study because of the non-clinical sample we used. In Table 1 mean scores are reported for all variables, and it appears that on average participants have low scores on depressive symptoms and average to high scores on parental and best friend support. Thus, we seem to have analyzed data from a group of well-adjusted, typically developing adolescents. This could explain the absence of the predicted associations, since higher and lower scores on these variables may be needed to calculate associations. Another possibility is that the questions regarding depressive symptoms were rather confronting for adolescents actually coping with depressive symptoms. Because some participants did not fill in the questions regarding depressive symptoms, it is possible that these adolescents were the ones coping with depressive symptoms. These participants should have scored high on depressive symptoms, but because they did not fill in the questions, the results were possibly biased.
An interesting additional finding of our present study is that parental support and best friend support appeared to be positively associated to one another, with more parental support associating with more best friend support. Research based on Bowlby's theory of attachment (1973) states that when a child has a supportive relation with their parents, they become more securely attached, causing them to feel safer in building supportive relationships with their friends in adolescence, which would be reflected in higher psychological well-being (Helsen et al., 2000). Results found in the current research are in accordance with this idea.
Furthermore, sensory sensitivity appeared to be related to depressive symptoms, with higher levels of sensory sensitivity associating with more depressive symptoms. Thus, even though a moderating effect of sensory sensitivity on the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms was not found, sensory sensitivity does have a connection to
depressive symptoms. This is in accordance to earlier research (Liss et al., 2005). The authors argue that a physiological tendency to process information at lower thresholds of stimulation may predispose adolescents to be more physiologically reactive, which makes sensory sensitivity a risk factor for depression (Liss et al., 2005). The current research adds sensory sensitivity as a possible protective factor against depressive symptoms. Possibly, sensory sensitivity does make adolescents more physiologically reactive, but not only negatively, but also positively. Therefore, adolescents with higher levels of sensory sensitivity might be more reactive to positive stimuli from the environment, which associates with less depressive symptoms.
Strengths and Limitations
In this study social support has been found to be a predictor of depressive symptoms. However, one problem occurs when speaking of prediction in this study. The questionnaires have been filled in by participants at one time point. It is thus not possible to know whether social support predicts subsequent depressive symptoms over time, when depressive
symptoms could also predict subsequent levels of experienced social support. Indeed, previous longitudinal research has shown that when depressive symptoms are reduced by treatment, the level of perceived social support increases (Vaughn, McCall, Reboussin, & Rapp, 2000). The authors explain that supporting a person with depressive symptoms can be a burden, which over time can lead to rejection of the person with depressive symptoms
(Vaughn et al., 2000). Second, only three schools participated in the study, which leads to the question of whether these findings are generalizable. Future research could make sure more schools participate in their study or search for differences between schools participating in the study and schools that refused. Third, a limitation to this study is that depressive symptoms were measured in a non-clinical sample. Consequently, only few participants reported high levels of depressive symptoms and few participants reported low levels of parental and best friend support. These adolescents are doing very well in normal high schools, which might have altered the results, causing that there were no effects to be found. A suggestion for future research is to use a clinical sample when studying depressive symptoms or depression among adolescents.
On the other hand, results from the current study can be generalized to the general population and not only the clinical population of adolescents. Therefore, it can be stated that adolescents receiving more parental support are actually in part protected against depressive symptoms. Furthermore, even though no moderating effect of sensory sensitivity has been found on the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms, sensory
sensitivity and depressive symptoms seem to associate. Unfortunately, sensory sensitivity appears to be a risk factor for depressive symptoms. However, sensory sensitivity is a relatively new construct to research. Thus, it is a construct that needs further exploration.
Thus, especially for early adolescents, parental support appears to be very important, because of its protection against depressive symptoms. As Henry Ward Beecher once quoted: 'There is no friendship, no love, like that of the parent for the child'.
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Table 1
Means and Standard Deviations of Variables by Gender
Total Girls Boys
Variable N M SD N M SD N M SD F Depressive Symptoms 261 0.24 0.31 130 0.29 0.33 109 0.18 0.27 5.676* Sensory Sensitivity 305 3.48 0.92 148 3.65 0.86 130 3.30 0.94 0 .912 Parent Support 288 3.32 0.52 140 3.38 0.50 123 3.28 0.51 0.001 Best Friend Support 297 3.02 0.61 145 3.24 0.49 125 2.80 0.68 9.290** Note: * p < .05, ** p < .01.
Table 2 Pearson Correlations (1) (2) (3) (4) (1) Depressive symptoms - .376** -.277** .053 (2) Sensory Sensitivity .376** - -.035 .157** (3) Parent Support -.277** -.035 - .211**
(4) Best Friend Support .053 .157** .211** -
