Abstract

Many studies showed that the support gained from important others (parents and peers) has a strong influence on adolescents' well-being. The present study has the aim to evaluate which source of support (parents or peer) has a stronger impact on youths' perception of well-being, measured as life satisfaction and absence of psychological symptoms. The sample is composed by 5102 students (49,5% males), ranging age from 11 to 15 years old. Results show that even if parental support decreases during adolescence and peer support increases, parental support seems to be the main protective factor against feeling psychological distressed and not satisfied of life. This is particularly true for females.