Social Connectedness in Adolescence: Examining the associations of social support and trust with well-being and life satisfaction across cultural and social contexts

This dissertation focused on two important indicators of social connectedness, namely perceived social support and trust, and their associations with well-being, especially in adolescents. Although previous research has highlighted the importance of social support and trust for well-being, the strengths of these associations have varied across studies. Moreover, research on trust among adolescents was limited. Therefore, the main objective of this dissertation was to examine factors that explain the variation in the association between social support and trust, on the one hand, and life satisfaction and well-being on the other hand (Chapters 2, 3, and 4). In addition, due to the unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic during this PhD project, Chapter 5 extended the dissertation's scope to investigate changes in adolescents’ trust during this period. While the dissertation also examined certain questions across the life course (Chapter 3), it focusses primarily on adolescence, which lays the foundation for well-being across the lifespan (Chapters 2, 4, and 5). This dissertation demonstrated that the associations between social support and trust and well-being in adolescence vary depending on the sources of social support, types of trust, and the countries in which the studies were conducted. Specifically, Chapter 2, using multilevel regression analyses, revealed that perceived support from family had the strongest association with adolescent life satisfaction, followed by teachers and classmates, while perceived support from friends showed the weakest association. Moreover, these associations vary across countries/regions, with higher levels of national-level trust amplifying the association between classmate support and adolescent life satisfaction. Chapters 3 and 4, using variable-centered and person-centered approaches, respectively, revealed that the variability in the associations between trust and well-being and life satisfaction, especially across different types of trust. Chapter 3 used a meta-analytic approach to provide a comprehensive overview of the empirical evidence on the association between trust and subjective well-being across the lifespan. Interpersonal trust showed the strongest association with subjective well-being, followed by generalized trust, and institutional trust showed the weakest association. Chapter 3 also showed that the association between trust and well-being was more important in societies with higher levels of national-level trust. The findings in Chapter 4 suggested that when adolescents have higher levels of interpersonal trust, they are less likely to report lower levels of life satisfaction, even when they have lower levels of institutional trust. In addition, Chapter 5, using latent basis growth curve models, showed that adolescents' trust in others remained relatively stable over time. However, their trust in institutions was subject to change during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taken together, these findings underscore the need for research to distinguish between different sources of support, types of trust, countries, and the socio-cultural context of different countries. While social connectedness is generally positively correlated with well-being in adolescence, it is important to recognize the variation in effects. The findings suggest that the proximal social environment, which includes family and school contexts, plays a particularly crucial role in adolescent well-being. Therefore, fostering a trusting and supportive atmosphere within families and schools is essential.