Perceived Social Support and Attachment Styles In the Prediction of Adolescent Subjective Well-being

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the role of attachment style and perceived social support levels on adolescents' subjective well-being levels. Another aim of the study is to examine the effects of gender variable on attachment style, social support and subjective well-being levels. For these purposes, data were collected from a total of 706 adolescent participants, including 336 girls (47.6%), 362 boys (51.3%) and 8 (1.1%) participants who did not specify their gender between the ages of 14-17. Adolescent Subjective Well-Being Scale, Three-Dimensional Attachment Styles Scale and Perceived Social Support Scale Revision (ASDS-R) were used as data collection tools. The role of gender, attachment styles and perceived social support on subjective well-being levels was examined using hierarchical regression analysis with the data obtained at the end of the data collection process. According to the findings of the study, it was determined that gender, attachment styles and perceived social support variables significantly predicted subjective well-being; with the inclusion of perceived social support in the model, it made a significant contribution of 17% to the total explained variance. In the light of the findings obtained from the study, it is seen that there is a positive and significant correlation between subjective well-being and secure attachment style, a negative and significant correlation with anxious-anxious attachment style, and no significant relationship with avoidant attachment style. It was also found that subjective well-being showed a significant difference according to gender. The results of the study were discussed in the light of the relevant literature in the context of adolescents and various suggestions were made to practitioners and researchers.