In simple terms, perceived social support (PSS) is described as a person's sense of the availability of support from their social group. It refers to how people consider their loved ones and others—family, friends, partner, colleagues, etc.—to be supportive and responsive to their needs at times of vulnerability. The perception of social support has a significant influence on an individual's mental wellness and overall health.

Individuals’ need of a strong perceived social support is undeniable because of the following reasons:

• Perceived social support influences individuals' well-being and indicates how effectively they deal with life's challenges.

• Perceived social support has a stronger association with mental health outcomes than received social support in the manner that those who report higher levels of perceived social support are more likely to rate any form of received social support positively.

• Even when individuals with strong perception of social support are alone, they feel supported because they trust the network surrounding them. Inversely, persons with poor perceived social support may feel alone even while surrounded by others.

PSS mitigates negative impact of childhood adversity

Perceived social support (PSS), operates as a protective factor, decreasing the impact of various ACEs on health-risk behaviours (Henderson-Posther, 2022) (Garduno, 2021). Another study on older people aged 50 and over in Ireland found that perceived social support had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between ACEs and depression/anxiety, as well as symptoms of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), emphasising the role of perceived social support in improving mental health outcomes in older adults (McCutchen et al., 2022). Research on students at a Mid-South university also discovered that perceived social support, particularly from a significant other, modulated the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and cannabis usage, having a distinct influence on their association (Hubbard et al,, 2022). Over a 7-month period, 138 homeless patients were examined, and 45% had four or more ACEs, showing the need of social support in developing protective resilience (Vishwanath & Maxwell, 2023). In people with poor perceived social support (PSS), the link between ACEs and depressive symptoms is particularly robust. ACEs and inadequate social support are linked to an elevated risk of NSSI and suicide in Chinese adolescents, particularly in adolescent females; this highlights the need for initiatives to strengthen social support in mental health interventions (Wan et al., 2019). Cheong et al. (2017) found that enhancing social support, or possibly perceived social support, may help lessen the burden of depression in older persons exposed to ACEs, particularly among those reporting abuse.

Bibliography

Cheong, E. V., Sinnott, C., Dahly, D., & Kearney, P. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and later-life depression: perceived social support as a potential protective factor. BMJ open, 7(9). doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013228

Garduno, L. S. (2021, Nov 19). How Influential are Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on Youths?: Analyzing the Immediate and Lagged Effect of ACEs on Deviant Behaviors. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 1-18. doi:10.1007/S40653-021-00423-4

Henderson-Posther, M. L. (2022). Examining the Role of Social Support and Neighborhood Deprivation in the Relationship Between Multiple ACEs and Health Risk Behaviors (Paper 5913). Dissertations and Theses. doi:https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7784

Hubbard, S. M., King, S., Elder, S. J., Woodward, M. J., & Teeters, J. B. (2022). Exploring Social Support as a Moderator between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Cannabis Use. Cannabis, 5(1). doi:10.26828/cannabis.2022.01.000.52

McCutchen, C. N., Hyland, P., Maercker, A., Thoma, M. V., & Rohner, S. L. (2022, Sep 23). The Effects of Social Support on ACEs and Mental Health in Ireland. Journal of Loss & Trauma, 28(4), 377-388.

Vishwanath, P., & Maxwell, K. (2023). Screening People Experiencing Homelessness for Adverse Childhood Events. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 19(8), 104727.

Wan, Y., Chen, R., Ma, S., McFeeters, D., Hao, J., & Tao, F. (2019). Associations of adverse childhood experiences and social support with self-injurious behaviour and suicidality in adolescents. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 214(3), 146-152.