Gender differences in emotional support and depressive symptoms among adolescents: a prospective analysis

Investigated components of perceived emotional support, including support from family members, nonfamily adults, and peers, as predictors of depressive symptoms in a sample of 333 high school students (age 14-18) using a prospective design. Analyses of panel questionnaire data at two points in time suggest there are significant gender differences both in the quality of perceived support reported by adolescents and in the importance of support variables as predictors of depressive symptoms. Although there are no gender differences in the magnitude of perceived support from family members, girls report higher emotional support from both nonfamily adults and peers than boys report. Simple correlations between family support and depression are significantly stronger for girls than for boys. Results of hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for initial level of symptoms, reveal that whereas both nonfamily adult and friend components of perceived support are significant predictors of changes in symptoms for girls, none of these variables significantly predicts changes in symptoms for boys in this sample. In addition, initial symptoms predict changes in family support for girls but not for boys.