Feeling Needed and Useful during the Transition to Young Adulthood

A more complete understanding of the role of social relationships during the transition to young adulthood should include the extent to which adolescents believe that others see them as needed and useful. Two samples of late adolescents (Ns = 237, 298) aged 18 to 25 years completed measures of feeling needed and useful by family and friends. Feeling needed and useful by family and friends did not differ across demographic groups, was associated with greater received support, and predicted psychological well-being above-and-beyond received support. Future research should examine how social relationships provide late adolescents with the opportunity to be needed and useful at a time of life when they are seeking to establish their place in the social world.