Differentiating the impact of family and friend social support for single mothers on parenting and internalizing symptoms

•Family and friends are important yet distinct sources of social support for single mothers.•Both family and friend support related to more parenting support, but only friend support related to fewer internalizing symptoms.•There was a significant interaction between family and friend support on internalizing symptoms. When friend support was high, family support augmented friends’ benefits on single mothers’ internalizing symptoms.•Latent profile analysis indicated single mothers who primarily relied on family support were at higher risks for internalizing symptoms.