Conceptualizing the Prospective Relationship Between Social Support, Stress, and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents Randy Patrick Auerbach & Joseph S. Bigda-Peyton & Nicole K. Eberhart & Christian A. Webb & Moon-Ho Ringo Ho Published online: 29 December 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010 Abstract The goal of the current study is to examine the relationship amongst social support, stress, and depressive symptoms within a transactional and diathesis-stress frame- work using a multi-wave, longitudinal design. At the initial assessment, adolescents (n =258) completed self-report measures assessing social support (peer, classmate, parent, and total), dependent interpersonal stress, anxious symp- toms, and depressive symptoms. Additionally, participants reported stress and symptomology in each of the four waves spanning six months. Results of time-lagged, idiographic, multilevel modeling indicated that stress mediated the relationship between lower parental, class- mate, and total social support and subsequent depressive, but not anxious, symptoms. In contrast, lower levels of peer support were not associated with higher levels of stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. Additionally, only class- mate support deficits significantly moderated the relation- ship between stress and depressive symptoms. Overall, the results suggest that deficits in parental and classmate support may play a greater role in contributing to adolescent depression as compared to deficits in peer support. Keywords Depression . Stress generation . Transactional model . Diathesis-stress model . Adolescence Adolescence is a period marked by rapid change, transition, and growth in which many individuals experience depressive symptoms (Hankin et al. 2007). By the age of 18 approxi- mately 15–25% of adolescents will have experienced a major depressive episode (Lewinsohn and Essau 2002), however, subclinical levels of depressive symptoms are also a concern given their association with negative outcomes including academic difficulties, impaired cognitive functioning, and interpersonal instability (Avenevoli et al. 2008; Hammen et al. 2008, 1999). One of the most robust concurrent and prospective predictors of depressive symptomology is stress (Grant et al. 2004). However, even severe stress is not linked to psychopathology in all individuals. Consequently, researchers have begun to examine integrative models with the aim of better understanding the underlying relationship between vulnerability factors, stress, and depressive sympto- mology. One such factor that plays a prominent role in the development, onset, and maintenance of adolescent depres- sion is perceived social support (e.g., Stice et al. 2004). The research reported in this article was supported by a McGill University Social Sciences and Humanities Student Research Grant Awarded to Randy P. Auerbach and a Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation (CPRF) awarded to John R.Z. Abela. R. P. Auerbach (*) : J. S. Bigda-Peyton Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School—McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA e-mail: rauerbach@harvard.mclean.edu N. K. Eberhart RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA C. A. Webb Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA M.-H. R. Ho Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore J Abnorm Child Psychol (2011) 39:475–487 DOI 10.1007/s10802-010-9479-x