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The Role of Relations

Do Disadvantaged Adolescents Benefit More from High-Quality Social Relations?

Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, elin.olsson{at}sofi.su.se

The article interrogates whether the social background of adolescents affects (1) the quality of their relations with parents and teachers, and (2) the potentially beneficial effects of these relations on school-related and psychological outcomes. Previous studies suggest that social background does affect the quality of social relations, although weakly, and that these in turn affect various outcomes. However, the results are inconclusive as to whether the quality of social relations of different importance for adolescents from different social backgrounds, and such an interaction effect could be predicted from different perspectives. The data are based on a nationally representative sample of Swedish adolescents between 10 and 18 years of age (n = 2,645) and include several aspects of social background, social relations and outcomes. The data are ideally suited to this question, in that information about social relations and outcomes is child-reported, while information on social background is parent-reported and based on register data. The results confirm that social relations are conducive to various outcomes, and show that disadvantaged adolescents have weaker relations with parents and teachers. Furthermore, they imply that relations with teachers are of particular importance for disadvantaged adolescents’ school and psychological outcomes, while parental relations are equally important for both advantaged and disadvantaged adolescents.

Key Words: parents • psychological well-being • resilience • school • self-esteem • social background • social support • teachers

Acta Sociologica, Vol. 52, No. 3, 263-286 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0001699309339802


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