Connections Between Parental Reciprocity and Emerging Adult Depressive Symptoms and Loneliness: The Role of Peer Social Support

Emerging adulthood is a developmental period marked by elevated mental health concerns; both theory and empirical research suggest that parental relationships play a salient role in emerging adult mental well-being. Additionally, peer social support has been explicated in the mental health of emerging adults, with evidence suggesting that it may serve as a mediating link between parent-emerging adult-child relationships and mental well-being. The present study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between the parent-emerging adult relationship, namely, parental relationship reciprocity, and peer social support, in association with depressive symptoms and loneliness among emerging adult college students. We hypothesized that (a) lower levels of parental relationship reciprocity would be related to higher levels of depressive symptoms and loneliness among emerging adults. We further hypothesized that (b) peer social support would mediate the relationships between parental relationship reciprocity and emerging adult depressive symptoms and loneliness. The findings supported our first hypothesis. Hypothesis two was partially supported. Peer support fully mediated the relationship between parental relationship reciprocity and loneliness; however, peer support only partially mediated the relationship between parental relationship reciprocity and depressive symptoms. Implications regarding the utilization of peer social support to promote emerging adult mental well-being are discussed. L'émergence de l'âge adulte est une période de développement caractérisée par des préoccupations élevées en ce qui concerne la santé mentale. Tant la recherche théorique qu'empirique suggère que les relations avec les parents jouent un rôle déterminant dans le bien-être mental des jeunes adultes. De plus, la place du soutien social des pairs a été examinée en ce qui a trait à la santé mentale des jeunes adultes, les données suggérant qu'il peut servir de lien de médiation dans les relations parents-jeunes adultes-enfants et le bien-être mental. La présente étude se sert de la modélisation exploratoire par équations structurelles pour examiner les liens entre les relations parents-jeunes adultes, la réciprocité de la relation parentale et le soutien social des pairs, en association avec les symptômes de dépression et la solitude parmi de jeunes adultes inscrits à l'université. Nous avions formulé les hypothèses suivantes : a) les niveaux les plus bas de réci