Profiles and Transitions of Adolescents' Differentiation of Self and Perceived Social Support: Associations With Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms

We aimed to investigate the coexistence, profiles, and transitions of differentiation of self (DoS) and perceived social support (PSS), and the associations between transitions and adolescents' loneliness and depressive symptoms. We surveyed 1342 adolescents (Age: M = 14.14, SD = 1.60) in November 2019 (T1), November 2020 (T2), and November 2021 (T3). We conducted cross‐lagged panel modeling (CLPM), latent profile analysis (LPA) using dimensions of DoS (i.e., emotional reactivity, I position, emotional cutoff, fusion with others) and PSS (i.e., family, peers, and others), and random intercept latent transition analysis (RI‐LTA). CLPM revealed that PSS influenced subsequent DoS. LPA and RI‐LTA identified nine transitions between four profiles (Parallel Low DoS and PSS; Low I Position and PSS; Parallel High DoS and PSS; Low I Position and High PSS). Stable or decreasing DoS and PSS characterized risk for loneliness and depressive symptoms, whereas synchronic increasing of I position and PSS characterized risk for loneliness.