Positive youth development is a holistic approach that considers both internal (e.g., life skills and positive psychosocial characteristics) and external (e.g., coach and parent) developmental assets. The positive youth development framework has largely been used to examine multi-sport and recreational/high-school level programmes as a means to understand how participation within these environments can contribute to positive psychosocial development. The aim of the present thesis, comprised of four distinct studies, was to understand how a positive youth development approach might be applied to and integrated within the performance environment of British swimming. Study 1 comprised a two-stage investigation focused on identification and consensus related to a specific set of psychosocial assets appropriate for swimming. Following a content analysis of existing literature, a dialectical methodology was utilised to interview a panel of 10 experts from professional (coach and practitioner) and academic fields within swimming and youth sport. Five higher order categories containing 17 internal assets emerged; namely, self-perceptions, behavioural skills, social skills, approach characteristics and emotional competence. In Study 2, coaches (n=181) attitudes towards and perceptions of the 17 psychosocial assets were examined via a bespoke quantitative survey. The five-factor higher order model that emerged from the first study was quantitatively tested and supported. Coach characteristics were also examined regarding coaches overall value of the assets. Results indicated that assets within self-perceptions, behavioural skills and approach characteristic groups were more valued than those within social and emotional categories. Full-time, paid coaches provided higher value ratings for all asset groups compared to part-time, volunteer coaches. Study 3 replicated and extended Study 2 by examining attitudes of British swimming parents (n=249) towards the psychosocial assets, in conjunction with perceptions of their parenting style and levels of social support provided to their children within a swimming environment. Structural equation modelling was used to test hypothesised relationships between parental perceptions of parenting style, social support availability and value placed on the five internal groups of assets. Results indicated that parents asset value profiles were very similar to those of swimming coaches, with swimming specific assets of self-perceptions, behavioural skills and approach characteristics valued more than the less specific assets within social and emotional subgroups. Further, parents who reported high levels of esteem support also placed greater value on all assets apart from self-perceptions, and parents who reported a warm style were more likely to provide this esteem support. vi Finally, Study 4 examined perceptions of autonomy supportive coach and parenting styles and social support availability in addition to motivational goal orientation, perceived sport competence and self-esteem in a sample of 246 swimmers. Hypothesised relationships between coach and parenting style, perceived social support availability and the asset related outcomes were tested using structural equation modelling. Results revealed that autonomy supportive coach and parenting styles both positively predict respective perceptions of social support availability. Athletes also reported that coach social support positively predicted both task and ego orientation, while parental emotional support positively predicted task orientation only. Both task and ego orientation positively predicted perceived sport competence which, in turn, positively predicted self-esteem. Overall, the findings of this thesis revealed a comprehensive list of internal assets that were highly valued by both coaches and parents, although the assets contained within the social and emotional groups were valued to a lesser degree, prompting calls for greater awareness on the relevance and applicability of these assets within British swimming. Furthermore, the styles that coaches and parents operate within positively predict the types of perceived social support availability which, in turn, predict internal asset value and level. Specifically, an autonomy supportive coaching style and a parenting style characterised by a high degree of warmth are both thought important elements to promote, with parental esteem and emotional support found to be most related to internal asset value and level, respectively. Links between social support, motivational goal orientation, perceived sport competence and self-esteem were also tested and supported. Overall, therefore, this thesis provides a unique contribution to the sport psychology and positive youth development literature by illustrating key areas of development (i.e., the internal assets) and by demonstrating one mechanism through which a degree of this development occurs (i.e., social support).

Previous research has implicated social support in a wide range of contexts, yet despite the extensive quantity of research, we are yet to fully understand the underlying mechanisms. Research into these mechanisms will not only have theoretical implications but also applied implications. This thesis examined the mechanisms underpinning social support in an achievement context. It is presented as series of three interrelated chapters, which comprise the four studies conducted. These are preceded by an introduction, and succeeded by a general discussion. The studies focused upon social support: the first examining the effects of a social support intervention within a performance context, the remaining three studies investigating perceived support and performance-related outcome variables within the coach-athlete relationship. The first study examined social support in a performance context assessing the influences of support upon the stress response. A neurocognitive approach found that when compared to participants in a non-support group, individuals who were given support showed less brain activations in the anterior cingulate cortex, a region associated with the initial stress response. However, results displayed that participants did not perceive support in the same way; not all participants who were given the support manipulation reported being supported. Studies two and three used multivariate generalisability theory to examine the relationship between perceived support and various outcome variables at the perceiver, target and relational levels of analysis. A univariate analysis revealed that the relational component was the most influential followed by the perceiver. Social support was positively associated with self-confidence, self-efficacy and positive emotions at the relational level of analysis. The fourth study used qualitative methods in order to delve further into how athletes judge the supportiveness of their coaches and the antecedents of perceived support. The study found that the relationship between a coach and an athlete was the biggest contributing factor in perceived support judgements. This judgement relied heavily on the previous experiences that the athlete had shared with the coach. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that to understand the mechanisms underlying how social support effects various outcome variables, studies need to be conducted investigating how individuals develop their perceptions of support. This thesis has demonstrated that individuals perceived support in different ways. The final three studies showed that the supportiveness of one coach may be viewed differently by different athletes. Thus, coaches will not be viewed as supportive by every athlete that they work with. Consequently, interventions aimed at increasing levels of perceived support may not be successful unless the coach and athlete are optimally matched to create a highly supportive relationship. Theoretical and applied implications, in addition to future research are discussed throughout this thesis.

The typical clinical presentation of depression is defined primarily from a Western perspective and may have limited cross cultural applicability. Yet, these descriptions characterise practice and diagnosis in Libya. Therefore, a study was conducted to identify symptoms of depression and cultural factors in Libya. Following a pilot study with 83 British non-clinical participants, a study was carried out in Libya using standardised questionnaires, with depression (BDI-II) as the dependent variable, sex as fixed factor, and individualism (IND), collectivism (COL), familism (FAM), social support (MSPSS) and self-esteem (RSE) as covariates. The sample comprised 169 Libyan non-clinical participants all scales were back translated for Arabic versions, and sufficient reliability and validity conditions were achieved. ANCOVA showed a significant effect on depression of gender (females > males) after controlling for all covariates. Self-esteem was an independent negative predictor of depression. Secondly, a qualitative study was conducted to gain insights into the experience and perceptions of depression in a Libyan clinical sample. Fifteen female and seven male out-patients were interviewed and iterative thematic content analysis was used to identify key emphases on an inductive basis. Six super-ordinate themes encompassed: symptoms; recognition of depression; treatment choices; stigma; sources of support; and perceived causes of depression. Social withdrawal, feelings of guilt, loss of the “old” self, loss of weight, sleeping disturbance and somatic symptoms were the reported symptoms. Religion was cited the most effective coping strategy. Formal psychiatric interventions were accepted but taking antidepressants was not favored. Little distinction was made between serious mental illness and less serious conditions. Explanations for depression encompassed familial relationships, professional roles and other cultural factors. There were notable gender differences regarding social support, expected behaviour and the posited causes of depression, which reflect the differentiated male and female roles in Libyan society.

LGBT* youth are over-represented among homeless youth and they face unique circumstances from their non-LGBT* homeless peers, such as increased risks of psychological distress (Fredriksen-Goldsen et al. 2014). Through multi-group, structural equation modeling, I compare the effects of time homeless on mental health outcomes (e.g., psychological distress) as measured by the Kessler 6 (K6) scale mediated by social support across non-LGBT*, LGB, and trans* groups. Findings indicate that social support is a significant mediator between the time a youth is homeless and their mental health outcomes, regardless of LGBT* status. Youth who are homeless six months or longer have worse mental health and fewer social supports than youth who are homeless less than six months. Additionally, the more social support a youth has, the higher their mental health is; however, individuals assigned female at birth have fewer social supports than males.

Utilizing social support as the theoretical foundation for this research, the study proposes and tests the Mentoring Relational Process Model (MRPM). The influence of support sought, relational maintenance strategies, and support obtained on the critical graduate outcomes of relational satisfaction, research self-efficacy, perceived time-todegree, and relational quality is examined. Data collected from 310 doctoral students through an online survey is used to test the MRPM. Over 50% of the variance in relational satisfaction and relational quality, respectively, is predicted by the MRPM. Research selfefficacy and perceived time-to-degree were not well-predicted by the current data.

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) face the unknown as they negotiate their multiple roles and identities within the graduate school and classroom setting as teachers, students, and researchers. The purpose of this study is to identify the role that institutionalized socialization, social support, and behavioral observation and modeling play for GTAs as they navigate their way through the organizational socialization process. Interviews with twenty two current and former graduate teaching assistants from a Communication department at a large, southeastern university (GSU) were conducted and analyzed. Findings indicate that institutionalized socialization, which exists at both the graduate school and departmental level, serves to both reduce and create uncertainty and anxiety for GTAs based on messages communicated and also serves the purpose of relationship formation. In examining the social support aspect, findings indicate that the socialization process is facilitated for GTAs through House‘s (1981) four categories of emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support. Finally, behavioral observation aids in the socialization process for GTAs. Observation is used by GTAs to obtain information about teaching behaviors, specifically what they should and should not do in the GSU classroom. Observation also highlighted both positive and negative aspects of the departmental culture and helped GTAs to understand how things work in the department. Implications, limitations, ideas for what can be done to improve the process for GTAs, and areas for future research are also discussed.

<p>The aim of this study was to examine the relations between sense of coherence (SOC), perceived social support and mood, the study also included gender and civil status in the analysis. In the analysis mood was the dependent variable. The study included 81 respondents, all students from Växjö university, who answered a survey with three parts: SOC 13, Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), and an own constructed instrument that measured perceived social support. The result showed that those with a high SOC tended to have a greater mood. High scores on perceived social support also were related to a greater mood. No significant interaction effects was found between SOC and perceived social support. In the whole sample SOC was the strongest predictor for MACL. Women reported higher social support from friends than men, but this variable had no effect on women’s MACL. Among men the perceived social support from friends was the strongest predictor for MACL.</p>

<p> </p><p>With this study I wanted to capture the experience of support and increase the knowledge of what it means for women who are living with a husband who suffers from dementia. To do so I conducted four interviews and used an informal questionnaire. The result shows that there are four key words that can symbolize what the women experience as support: communica-tion, freedom, understanding and knowledge. The women’s experience of support range from meaningful and secure to not satisfying and complicated. Living with a husband who suffers from dementia has made their lives very different from before. But even if they sometimes are in a tough situation they want to take care of their husbands. Being able to go away a few hours or half a day once a week, can sometimes be enough and gives the women a sense of satisfaction. On the other hand it is not certain that the support offered is what the women need or that it is satisfactory for the husband. The link between the women’s experience of support and that of their husband is strong. And if the husband is not pleased nor will the wife be.</p>

Loneliness in the workplace has received relatively little attention in the literature. The research surrounding loneliness tends to focus almost exclusively on personal characteristics as the primary determinant of the experience, and largely ignores the workplace as a potential trigger of loneliness. As such, personality tends to be overestimated as the reason for loneliness, whilst only modest emphasis is given to environmental factors, such as organisational environments. Therefore, the overall aim of this thesis was to explore the notion of loneliness in the workplace, with a particular emphasis on examining the antecedents and outcomes of its development in work contexts. The first stage of the research included the development and empirical examination of a scale measuring work-related loneliness. A 16-item scale was constructed and tested for its reliability and factor structure on a sample of 514 employees from various organisations. Exploratory factor analysis indicated two factors best represent the data, namely Social Companionship and Emotional Deprivation at Work. For the main study, a theoretical model was constructed whereby various antecedents (personal characteristics, social support, job characteristics, and emotional climate) were hypothesised to influence the development of work-related loneliness, which in turn was thought to affect employee attitudes and wellbeing. Employees from various organisations were invited to participate in the online research via email, which generated 362 submissions from diverse occupational groups. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to assess the hypothesised model, which was evaluated against a number of fit criteria. The initial results provided limited support for the Loneliness at Work Model. Consequently, a number of adjustments were necessary to obtain sufficient fit. The modified model suggests that organisational climate (comprising climate of fear, community spirit at work, and organisational fit) serves to simultaneously predict the emotional deprivation factor of loneliness (made up of seven items) and employee attitude and wellbeing. The results indicate that environmental factors such as fear, lack of community spirit, and value congruence play a role in the experience of work-related loneliness and have an overall negative effect on employee withdrawal behaviours and job satisfaction. The findings from this study offer insight into possible areas for organisational intervention and future research.

This study investigated the intrapersonal and interpersonal context of female dieting and partner support for dieting in 44 heterosexual couples. Participants completed questionnaires assessing self and relationship functioning, dieting levels and eating disordered attitudes, and weight-loss support frequency and helpfulness, in both a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. As predicted, a) higher levels of unhealthy dieting were significantly related to more negative views of the self (e.g., lower self-esteem), and b) lower perceived levels of support from the partner were significantly related to higher levels of eating-disordered attitudes, anxious attachment, and lower relationship satisfaction. However, testing more complex causal models showed that self-esteem played a pivotal role. First, tests confirmed that the impact of self-esteem on unhealthy dieting was mediated by more disordered attitudes to eating. Second, those with low-self-esteem were much less likely to diet in an unhealthy fashion with more frequent and positive partner support, whereas high self-esteem women were not influenced by the support offered by their partners. These findings did not apply to the frequency of healthy dieting, with the important exception that more frequent partner support encouraged healthier dieting, and they held up when plausible third variables were statistically controlled. The findings suggest that dieting behaviour is influenced both by individual differences and the nature of support in intimate relationship contexts.