| Description |
Adolescence is a critical time of growth characterized by constant change in all aspects of human development i.e., social, cognitive, psychological, and biological. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how different levels of positive social environments (community, school, family, and friend), characterized as providing various forms of support, affect behaviors (prosocial and risky behaviors) and health outcomes (depressive symptoms) over the course of adolescence. Additionally, this study examines the link between depressive symptoms and positive social environments while considering potential behavioral mechanisms (prosocial and risky behaviors) and developmental differences between males and females. Using grade stratified (6th-12th) regression analyses, this study found that the influence of concurrent positive social environments on behavioral and health outcomes are extremely nuanced in that the magnitude of these effects depend on developmental stage (i.e., grade), developmental outcome (behavior and depressive symptoms), and for depressive symptoms, effects not only varied by developmental stage, but also by gender. Results suggest that adolescence is more than just one transitional period but rather encompasses many transitions and turning points that influence how positive social environments affect adolescent behavior and health outcomes. |
