Connections count: how adaptive coping links supportive relationships to military adolescents’ wellbeing

Guided by the theory of developmental contextualism and Weiss’ (1969) fund of sociability hypothesis, this analysis of 1,011 adolescents in military families examines the associations between both family and non-family supportive relationships and their psychosocial wellbeing outcomes (i.e., school engagement, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and self-efficacy) and the role of adaptive coping as a linking mechanism explaining how relationships are connected to military adolescents’ wellbeing. Both family and non-family supportive relationships were associated with more adaptive coping and, in turn, adaptive coping was generally associated with greater psychosocial wellbeing. Further, coping served as a linking mechanism between miliary adolescents’ family and non-family supportive relationships and their wellbeing outcomes. These findings highlight (1) the importance of supportive relationships both inside and outside of the family and (2) the need for services and resources for military adolescents to help them develop and maintain a variety of positive, supportive relationships and learn adaptive coping skills.