From Social Support to Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being: the Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation and Prosocial Behavior and Gender Difference

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) whether social support relates to subjective well-being (SWB) directly and indirectly through emotion regulation (including cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and prosocial behavior in adolescents and (b) whether such associations differ across gender. A total of 512 Chinese adolescents ranging in age from 10 to 17 were surveyed. Results showed that cognitive reappraisal and prosocial behavior mediated the relationship between social support and SWB; moreover, multigroup analyses indicated gender differences. For male adolescents, only indirect pathways through cognitive reappraisal and prosocial behavior from social support to SWB were significant. For female adolescents, a significant direct pathway from social support to SWB was also found. Applications and limitations are discussed.