Social support may be of particular importance for vulnerable adolescents' development and health and can help them to cope with stressful life events. However, knowledge of perceived social support among adolescents in Residential Youth Care (RYC) is sparse. The present study therefore aimed to investigate perceived social support among adolescents in Norwegian RYC (N = 304, mean age 16.3 years, girls 57.2%), using a short form of the Social Support Questionnaire. The results were compared with adolescents in the general population. The findings revealed that adolescents in RYC reported a lower number of support persons compared with the general population. Both populations reported a decreasing number of support persons as they aged, except for girls in RYC. The adolescents in both populations were satisfied with the support perceived, especially those with the highest number of support persons. However, social support providers differed between the two populations; RYC adolescents reported their extended family, other sources of support, and the institutional staff more often and their parents less. The findings are important for adolescents living in RYC, as knowledge of their social support network could influence the current practices and ensure contact with important support persons, affecting their development and health.

Background Residential youth care (RYC) institutions aim to provide care and stability for vulnerable adolescents with several previous and present challenges, such as disrupted attachments, wide-ranging adverse childhood experiences, mental health problems, and poor quality of life (QoL). To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to provide knowledge of the associations between perceived social support and QoL and to explore the potential moderating effect of perceived social support on QoL for adolescents who have experienced maltreatment and polyvictimization. Methods All RYC institutions with adolescents between the ages 12–23 in Norway were asked to participate in the study. A total of 86 institutions housing 601 adolescents accepted the invitation, from which 400 adolescents volunteered to participate. The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Interview was used to gather information on maltreatment histories and degree of victimization; the Kinder Lebensqualität Fragebogen was used to measure QoL through several domains (overall QoL, physical well-being, emotional well-being, and self-esteem); and the Social Support Questionnaire was used to measure perceived social support. Linear regression and independent samples t-test were used to study the associations between perceived social support and QoL as well as the potential moderating effect of perceived social support in the association between maltreatment history and QoL. Results Perceived social support was positively associated with QoL for both girls and boys, with domain-specific findings. A higher number of different types of support persons was associated with overall QoL, emotional well-being, and self-esteem for boys, but only with self-esteem for girls. Individual social support from RYC staff and friends was associated with higher QoL for girls. However, perceived social support did not moderate the association between maltreatment history and reduced QoL for either sex. Conclusions This study emphasizes the importance of maintaining social support networks for adolescents living in RYC, the crucial contribution of RYC staff in facilitating social support, and the potential value of social skills training for these vulnerable adolescents. Furthermore, a wider range of initiatives beyond social support must be carried out to increase QoL among adolescents with major maltreatment and polyvictimization experiences.

IntroductionEarly intervention by identifying children at risk and providing necessary support is vital to prevent stunted psychosocial development and mental health issues. In this regard, schools are important intervention arenas, reaching all students at a universal level. The need for enhanced efforts is well recognised in Norwegian policy documents, whereas school social workers can represent significant roles in supporting teachers with expanded knowledge on psychosocial factors, mental health and relevant interventions. Despite the clearly stated needs for interprofessional competence in school, limited research has been conducted, and there are no national standards or guidelines for school social workers’ practice. Thus, this scoping review’s overall objectives are to systematically map the existing research on social workers’ roles and responsibilities in Norwegian primary schools.Methods and analysisA scoping review will be conducted, using the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley. Four of their defined goals will be of significance: (1) examine the extent, range and nature of the research activity; (2) determine the value of undertaking a full systematic review; (3) summarise and disseminate research findings; (4) identify research gaps in the existing literature. Systematic searches will be conducted in relevant databases and search portals, including snowballing and manually searching reference lists. Publication language is restricted to English and Norwegian, the date range is from 1 January 2000 until 31 October 2022, and inclusion requires focus on social workers in a Norwegian primary school context. The data will be screened using the screening data extraction software Covidence. A thematic analysis of the literature will be carried out.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not considered necessary as the aim of this scoping review is to investigate already published materials. Findings will be submitted as scientific papers and at conferences as part of the main project.

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Adolescents in residential youth care (RYC) are at high risk for negative psychological and social development outcomes, as they have a high prevalence of mental health problems and perceive less social support than adolescents in the general population. Associations between perceived social support and mental health problems have been investigated, but no in-depth analyses have been published. Such knowledge is crucial to optimize vulnerable adolescents’ care while living in RYC. The present study, therefore, aims to investigate associations between the symptom load of four psychiatric disorders (the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment) and perceived social support (the Social Support Questionnaire) among 400 adolescents in Norwegian RYC facilities. The results reveal that a higher number of different types of support persons was associated with lower symptom loads for emotional disorders. In addition, girls reported lower emotional symptoms when perceiving support from their father, friends, and RYC staff, while boys reported more behavioral symptoms with father support and lower behavioral symptoms with staff support. Authors conclude that RYC staff and friends hold important roles in providing social support when parental support is absent. Authors recommend maintenance of social networks for adolescents in RYC and further development of staff members’ relational skills and competence.