Comparison of teen- and parent-reported estimates of social and emotional support, 2021 to 2022

Comparison of teen- and parent-reported estimates of social and emotional support in 2021 to 2022 | Image Credit: © Pormezz - © Pormezz - stock.adobe.com.

In a recent National Health Statistics (NHS) Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 58.5% of teenagers in the July 2021 to December 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) reported they always or usually received the social and emotional support they needed. Many demographic characteristics resulted in differences, and those who always or usually received support were less likely to report fair or poor health, along with several other quality of life characteristics. Further, parents consistently reported higher perceived levels of their teenager's social and emotional support, compared to the teen's self-report.

To estimate the prevalence of self-reported social and emotional support among teens aged 12 to 17 years, investigators of the NHS Report used data from the NHIS and NHIS-Teen surveys. These data were also used to describe differences in "health and well-being outcomes by level of support received, and compare teen- and parent-reported estimates for social and emotional support overall and by selected teen and family characteristics," explained the study authors.

The investigative team noted that teenagers with emotional and social support are better off to handle stressors such as biological and social transitions, and are less likely to experience a variety of adverse physical and mental health outcomes.

Using the NHIS and NHIS-Teen, the report aimed to meet the following analytical goals, according to authors:

• Describe self-reported social and emotional support from teens aged 12 to 17 years, evaluate how the percentage of teenagers who always or usually receive this support varies by selected teen and family characteristics
• Study if differences exist between teens who always or usually receive support and those who do not
• Compare teen- and parent-reported estimates of the teens' perceived social and emotional support overall, and by selected teen and family characteristics.

"NHIS is a primary source of information on the health of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population," explained the study investigators in the report. "Detailed health interviews are collected about one randomly selected household adult (known as the Sample Adult), and, if present, one randomly selected household child (known as the Sample Child). Adults respond on their own behalf, while a parent or guardian answers on behalf of the child."

NHIS-Teen, a web-based self-administered follow-back survey, is a 15-minute online health survey for teens whose parents completed the NHIS Sample Child interview before providing permission for the child to participate. The teen survey covers physical activity, screen time, friendships, bullying, and symptoms of poor mental health and resilience, reported by the teen.

In all, 1176 teenagers aged 12 to 17 years completed the teen survey, with a total of 4424 parents of teenagers the same age having completed the NHIS Sample Child interview.

Using the survey question—"How often do you get the social and emotional support you need?”—levels of social and emotional support were assessed. Response options were "always," "usually," "sometimes," "rarely," and "never." Five health and well-being outcomes, including poor or fair health, anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, very low life satisfaction, and poor sleep quality, were selected from the NHIS-Teen that had previously been associated with social support.

For social and emotional support, 27.5% of teenagers reported they always received support they needed, while 31% reported they usually received it. 21.7% reported they received support sometimes, 12.5% reported they rarely received support, and 7.4% of teenagers reported they never received the support they needed.

In total, 58.5% of teenagers always or usually received social and emotional support, while boys (64.8%) were more likely than girls (52.0%) to have always or usually received support.
By race and ethnicity, Black teenagers (42.3%) were less likely than Asian (60.8%) and White (66.3%) teens to have always or usually received support. Sexual or gender minority teens (43.9%) were less likely to have always or usually received support compared to those who were not a sexual or gender minority.

Among teenagers who stated they always or usually received support, compared to those who did not always or usually receive support, they were less likely to be in poor or fair health (4.8% vs 13.8%), experience anxiety (12.9% vs 33.1%), depressive symptoms (8% vs 31.1%), have very low life satisfaction (1% vs 13.9%), and have poor sleep quality (36.9% vs 67.1%), respectively.

"Overall, and for all subgroups, parents were more likely to report that their teenager always or usually received the support they needed compared with their teenager’s perception of if they always or usually received the support they needed," the investigators found.

"Moreover, these discrepancies were not limited to any one subgroup of teenagers but were present to varying degrees regardless of the teen- and family-level characteristic examined. This suggests a systematic bias where parents consistently report higher levels of social and emotional support compared with their teenager's perception, and in doing so may underestimate their teenager’s perceived need for social and emotional support."

Reference:

Zablotsky B, Ng AE, Black LI, et al. Perceived social and emotional support among teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2022. National Health Statistics Reports. No. 206. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2024. doi: 10.15620/cdc/156514.