Abstract
Social support networks of adolescents in residential child care. A comparative analysis with normative population. There are many researches on the theme of social support, what reveals the large interest around this concept. Its effects on health are well known, although specific mechanisms relating social support and health are still being investigated. The aim of this study is analysing structure (size and composition) and three functional dimensions (confidence, instrumental help and affection) of adolescent's social support networks in residential child care. The kind of social support provided by different people of their networks (father, mother, brothers, care workers, friends, etc.) is analysed by means of a social support questionnaire. The same questionnaire was applied in a large sample of adolescents from general population, who do not have any relation with Child Welfare services, in order to compare results between both groups.
