Benefits to Adolescents of Informal Helping Relationships with Their Parents and Peers

Abstract

93 male and 181 female adolescents (Grades 9 to 13) indicated (1) the amount of stress they experienced in their day-to-day living, (2) their satisfaction with the help they received from, their mothers, fathers, and peers, and (3) perceptions of their well-being in three conceptually distinct areas (life satisfaction, various affective states, and mental and physical wellbeing). The satisfaction with help measures were significantly correlated with the well-being measures, controlling for levels of experienced stress. In addition, the satisfaction with help measures operated as moderators of the stress-well-being relationship. Experienced stress was less likely to be associated with poor wellbeing for adolescents who were the most satisfied with the help they received from the three sources.