Social Support Among Minoritized Emerging Adults With Serious Psychological Health Issues

This convergent mixed method study examines the role of social support in the lives of minoritized emerging young adults with serious mental illness (YA-SMI), focusing on how they perceive and experience support from family, friends, and other sources. Data were gathered from 114 YA-SMI (ages 18-34) participating in a recovery program. Descriptive analyses revealed that 44% of participants reported family as their only source of support, while others relied on a combination of supports or reported no support. Ordinal logistic regression revealed that growing up in a household with mental illness was associated with lower odds of being in a higher support category, compared to no support. Qualitative interviews (n = 57) identified four themes: types of support, qualities of support by source, pathways to treatment, and loss. Findings suggest that YA-SMI benefit from diverse support, with non-family members providing crucial informational support. Implications for policy, practice and research are discussed.