• Energy Research

Despite the growing interest in perceived social support as a means of achieving sustainable psychological development and well-being in the various contexts of the adolescent, its definition and composition remain unclear. The aim of this study is to test both the hierarchical order and the types and sources of a theoretical model of the social support perceived by adolescents. The model is based on the theories of Tardy and Lin, as well as on the findings of recent studies on the construct. Three theoretical models are compared using the structural equations method. The participants were 1081 randomly selected secondary school students (aged 12–18 years) from the north of Spain, who completed the APIK Perceived Social Support Questionnaire. The model positing that perceived social support comprises a hierarchical first level formed by sources of support (family, friends and teachers) and a lower second level derived from the first one, formed by types of support (emotional, material and informational), proved to be the first-choice solution. The results establish a solid theoretical base for both future studies on perceived social support during adolescence and possible educational interventions designed to improve social support for teenagers.

Although there is a growing interest in identifying the variables that enhance student school adjustment, there is a lack of understanding of the mechanisms involved in it during adolescence. Despite there being works that confirm the positive relationship between school climate and academic performance, it is still unresolved which of the more specific aspects of climate are linked to this performance, as well as the degree to which an individual variable such as resilience can play a mediating role between both; these unknown factors constitute the objective of this study. A total of 731 students (mean age, Mage = 15.20 years; Standard Deviation, SD = 1.62) from the Basque Country participated; they completed the PACE-33 -school climate scale-, the CD-RISC10 -resilience scale- and the EBAE-10 -perceived academic performance subscale-. The full mediation model and the partial mediation model were tested. The results show that the model of choice is that of partial mediation: the resilience mediates the relationship between two specific aspects of the school climate (peer relationship and teachers’ ability to motivate) and perceived academic performance, and a third specific aspect (teachers’ expectations) has a direct relationship with perceived academic performance. These findings highlight the importance of attending to variables specific to the context in which the subject interacts, with the role of the teacher being especially important, in addition to promoting the development of resilience, due to the weight it has on the perception that students have about their school performance.