Author ORCID Identifier:

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8578-5000

Date of Graduation

12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Bridges, Ana

Committee Member

Ham, Lindsay

Second Committee Member

Eidelman, Scott

Keywords

Depression; Latinx; Social Support; Stress; Youth

Abstract

Although previous meta-analyses have found significant relationships between social support and youth outcomes, neither has included ethnicity as a moderator or even described the ethnic breakdown in the studies analyzed (Chu et al., 2010; Rueger et al., 2016). Studies that have looked at the relationship between social support and outcomes in Latinx youth have found mixed findings. This study examined the relationship between social support and depression in Latinx youth living in the United States. This study also explored differences in the strength of the relationship between social support and depression in several previously studied moderators (function of social support, quality versus quantity, type of social support, source of social support, developmental level, gender, and stress. Additionally, it explored the relationship between social support and depression in discriminated samples and nativity (U.S. born, foreign-born). Through a systemic literature review, 15 studies with 27 effect sizes were identified. A hierarchical meta-analysis was conducted to determine the association between depression and social support, which allowed for modeling nested data in the study. Results found a moderate significant negative relationship between social support and depressive symptoms. Moderation analyses were not significant.

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