More than half of teenagers report consistently receiving the social and emotional support they need, according to a recent study published online on July 16 in the National Health Statistics Reports, a publication from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

The study, led by Benjamin Zablotsky, Ph.D., from the NCHS, examined self-reported data from teenagers aged 12 to 17 years. The research utilized data from the National Health Interview Survey and the National Health Interview Survey-Teen to estimate the prevalence of social and emotional support among adolescents and explore differences in health and well-being outcomes based on the level of support received.

The study found that 58.5 percent of teenagers reported always or usually receiving the social and emotional support they needed in 2021 to 2022. Variations in support levels were observed across different demographic groups, including sex, race and Hispanic origin, sexual or gender minority status, parental education, and family income. Teenagers who always or usually received support were less likely to report poor or fair health, symptoms of anxiety or depression, very low life satisfaction, and poor sleep quality.

Interestingly, the study also highlighted a discrepancy between teenagers' self-reports and their parents' perceptions. Parents tended to report higher levels of perceived social and emotional support for their teenagers compared to the teenagers' own assessments.

"Parents were consistently more likely to report higher levels of their teenagers' level of social and emotional support compared with their teenagers," the authors noted. They emphasized the importance of collecting data directly from teenagers to gain a better understanding of these differences. "Collecting the teenager's perspective in addition to parent-reported data for social and emotional support has advantages for understanding why these differences may occur."

This study underscores the significance of social and emotional support for teenagers' health and well-being, and the need to consider both adolescent and parental perspectives in research and policy-making.