Adolescent Friendship Research Articles

Relationship between adolescent friendship networks and contraceptive use and unintended pregnancies in early adulthood in the United States

ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between reproductive attitude of friends during adolescence, and unintended pregnancy outcomes and contraceptive non-use during early adulthood. Study DesignWe used longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 1866). Adolescent friendship network structures were constructed from the first wave of data to assess reproductive attitudes of friends, measured via 3 subscales: attitude toward contraceptive use, attitude toward sex in adolescence, and attitude toward pregnancy in adolescence. We then used multilevel logistic regression to examine the relationship of friends’ reproductive attitudes in adolescence with unintended pregnancy and contraceptive non-use in adulthood. ResultsAround one-third of the sample experienced at least one unintended pregnancy, and 12% reported contraceptive non-use. Being friends with individuals who are not accepting of adolescent pregnancy reduced the likelihood of an unintended pregnancy in young adulthood (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.67–0.94); this association varied by sex, being significant only for females (aOR:0.75; 95% CI: 0.58–0.96). Additionally, friends’ acceptability of adolescent sex increased the odds of contraceptive use in later life. Individuals with friends who held negative attitude toward contraceptive use during adolescence were more likely to be non-users in later life (aOR:1.37; 95% CI: 1.03–1.81). ConclusionsOur results suggest a relationship between adolescent social networks and reproductive health outcomes in young adulthood, highlighting the importance of friendship networks for young individuals’ reproductive well-being. ImplicationsAttitudes held by adolescent friends regarding contraceptive use, adolescent sex, and adolescent pregnancy have significant, and distinct associations with an individuals’ later-life reproductive health outcomes. Future research should consider evaluation of social network-based sexual and reproductive health interventions aimed at adolescents.

Reprint of: What is(n’t) a friend? Dimensions of the friendship concept among adolescents

Much research in network analysis of adolescent friendships assumes that friendships represent liking and social interaction, friendships are directed, and friendships are equivalent to one another. This study investigates the meaning of friendship for eight diverse cohorts of sixth graders. Analysis of focus group and survey data suggests that these adolescents construe friendship as a multidimensional role relation composed primarily of relational norms, expectations for mutual behavior. Their friendship definitions may also include mutual liking and interaction, and other structural expectations such as reciprocity, homophily, and transitivity. Lastly, boys and girls weight these dimensions differently in defining friendship.

�When I play football with my friends � there is no time that I feel sad�: an exploration of adolescents� friendship networks in Ethiopia

The patterning and role of adolescent peer networks in low- and middle-income countries is under-researched and dominated by a �crisis childhoods� framing. Using qualitative research in Ethiopia, this paper seeks to counter this framing, exploring how gender, marital status, location and disability shape adolescent friendships, in-person and online. Our findings show that trusted friends provide emotional support and information, including about academic studies, work, puberty and marriage, but the peer networks available largely depend on gender and location. Urban adolescents, especially boys, are more likely to have friendships and older peer mentors linked to in-school and community-based adolescent clubs, and online peer networks, while their rural counterparts are more likely to participate in adolescent-only cultural traditions. Married girls and adolescents with disabilities appear to have fewer opportunities to establish peer networks, due to restrictive social norms and discrimination. The paper concludes by highlighting the context-specific and gendered dynamics of peer networks and children�s cultures in shaping adolescent development and wellbeing.

Comparative analysis of the concepts of “real” and “virtual” adolescent friendship

Comparative analysis of the concepts of “real” and “virtual” adolescent friendship

How to make services adolescent friendly? A cross-sectional study on awareness of adolescent friendly health clinics in Central India.

India's flagship program on adolescent health - Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) emphasises the importance of strengthening Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) under its facility-based approach for improving the health of adolescents. AFHCs are intended to provide targeted intervention in six domains - nutrition, injuries & violence (including gender-based violence), mental health, sexual & reproductive health, substance abuse and noncommunicable diseases. The current study was conducted to assess the determinants of awareness and utilisation of AFHC services in districts with RKSK services in Madhya Pradesh. In total, 1605 adolescents (both males and females) within the age group of 10-19 years were included in the study. Multistage stratified random sampling was employed to enrol participants from three districts of Madhya Pradesh, where AFHC services have been launched. The mean age of the participants was 15.07 ± 2.32 years. Only 153 (9.5%) adolescents were aware of AFHC services. On multivariate logistic regression, awareness of AFHC was seen to be associated with being aware of RKSK, being a part of the peer educator-led peer group, having had adolescent health days organised in the village and belonging from one of the financially better off districts. Utilisation rate of AFHC services was lower still - at 2.74%. Both awareness and utilisation of AFHC services remain very low among adolescents. There is a pressing need to focus on awareness generation campaigns - via mass media, but more importantly, through community health workers and peer educators - in order to sensitise target beneficiaries about the available services.

Supplemental Material for Drug Use Talk in Adolescent Friendship Interactions: Long-Term Effects of Social Learning on Lifetime Diagnosed Substance Use Disorders

Supplemental Material for Drug Use Talk in Adolescent Friendship Interactions: Long-Term Effects of Social Learning on Lifetime Diagnosed Substance Use Disorders

The covariant relationship between adolescent friendship networks and bullying: A longitudinal social network analysis

The covariant relationship between adolescent friendship networks and bullying: A longitudinal social network analysis

Situational Analysis of Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram at One of the Districts of Gujarat.

Rastriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) is a holistic approach implemented for betterment of adolescent health. Barriers in the implementation can be identified by conducting the situational analysis of any program. The present study is a part of the multi-centric study conducted at Sabarkantha district for situational analysis of RKSK. To assess the implementation of various components under RKSK at various levels of health facilities, 2) to identify the barriers faced by services providers in RKSK implementation, and 3) to identify the perception of beneficiaries regarding RKSK. A Cross-sectional study using a mixed method approach was conducted to review the implementation of the RKSK program at Sabarkantha district. In-depth interview of health personnel involved in implementation of RKSK was conducted using pre-structured and pre-tested interview guide. Ongoing sessions of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) were examined, and exit interview of adolescents was conducted. Adolescents residing within limits of the defined facility were also interviewed. Frequency and percentages were used for descriptive analysis, and a thematic qualitative analysis approach was used for qualitative aspects. RKSK was implemented successfully at Primary Health Centers. Infrastructure for AFHC was inadequate particularly at higher care facilities. Weekly Iron Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) was successfully implemented in the district. Overall sessions conducted at AFHC were found to be satisfactory. Adolescents interviewed in the community were satisfied with the services delivered to them under RKSK. For better implementation of RKSK, there is a need to focus on certain issues such as inadequate infrastructure of AFHCs, the lack of trained counselors, unavailability of sanitary pads, and inadequate participation of adolescents from the community in availing RKSK services.

Betrayal, Trust and Forgiveness among Adolescent Friendship Groups in Pakistan

Objective: A lot of research has been conducted on betrayal among married couples, but literature regarding betrayal in context to same-gender adolescent friendship is scarce. This study was designed to assess whether betrayal, trust and quality of friendship predict forgiveness. The study further aimed to find out the impact of age, gender, and education on adolescents’ forgiveness. Method: A cross-sectional survey was administered on 400 adolescents enrolled in educational institutions of Pakistan. Results: Betrayal was found to negatively predict emotional forgiveness (β= -.152, p<0.01), but it didn’t predict decisional forgiveness (β= -.071, p>0.01). Trust (β=.180, p<0.01) and quality of friendship (β=.202 p<0.01) were found to positively predict both emotional (β=.179, p=0.01) and decisional forgiveness (β=.344, p<0.01). Moreover, age and educational level predicted betrayal, emotional and decisional forgiveness; whereas, gender was found to predict only betrayal and emotional forgiveness. Conclusion: Betrayal from close friends is getting prevalent these days, shattering the individual's trust as well as affecting the quality of relationship and forgiveness, thus needs serious consideration.

Supplemental Material for Autonomic Reactivity to Social Rejection, Peer Difficulties, and the Buffering Effects of Adolescent Friendships Following Early Psychosocial Deprivation

Supplemental Material for Autonomic Reactivity to Social Rejection, Peer Difficulties, and the Buffering Effects of Adolescent Friendships Following Early Psychosocial Deprivation

Analysis of the Use of Close Friend Feature on Instagram as a Social Networking Site Using Communication Privacy Management Theory

The development of digital media technology gave rise to social media, especially Instagram which is a site used to exchange information and fulfill social communication needs in various circles. This study specifically analyzes the use of the Close Friend feature found on Instagram social media which is used for various objectives of each user. The research method uses descriptive quantitative content analysis through text analysis from various previous studies related to the use of the Instagram feature. One study showed that the effectiveness of the Instagram feature in increasing adolescent friendships in the digital era was dominant in the Close Friends feature as much as 61.2%. Close friends feature (close friend) was promoted because of the self-disclosure factor, as well as the convenience of users in uploading Instagram stories. The level of openness to the high categorydue to the proximity selecting and content sharing on this feature. The close friends feature is considered more private for Instagram users because they are free to choose their audience and upload based on their needs and desires. It was also mentioned how users manage their privacy when using the Instastory feature on Instagram social media where the privacy management is based on the Communication Privacy Management (CPM) criteria or Communication Privacy Management and is seen in the usage strategy when using the Insta Story feature on Instagram. Informants tend to have different reasons behind their decision to reset their privacy when using their social media.

Dyadic analysis of adolescent friendships behaviours during pain: Comparison of those with chronic pain versus those without chronic pain.

Social context has been found to influence pain intensity and tolerance. The aims of this study were to determine the impact of one type of social context on the painful experiences of adolescents with and without chronic pain by examining interactions within and across friendship dyads during experimental pain. Each adolescent in 61same-sex friendship dyads (30 dyads with a chronic pain member) across three sites participated in the cold pressor task and acted as the observer during their friend's participation. They also completed a battery of measures to capture friendship features and pain outcomes. Pain intensity was measured using an 11-point numeric scale. Pain tolerance was measured by the length of time in the cold pressor device. Videotapes of their interactions were coded for verbal and non-verbal behaviours. A series of Actor Partner Independence Modelling, Hierarchical Multiple Regression and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance was used to analyse the data. Friendship features were not associated with pain intensity or tolerance. Both members of dyads with a chronic pain member used fewer non-attending behaviours when they were observing their friend resulting in participants in those dyads having lower pain tolerance. Moreover, within dyads, one's friend's behaviours when experiencing pain influenced pain tolerance but only for those dyads with a chronic pain member. Strategies aimed at improving social interactions for adolescents with chronic pain while they are experiencing pain are discussed. Research is needed to understand how different peer relationships influence pain tolerance in adolescents with chronic pain. During pain, patterns of interactions differ within and between adolescent friendship dyads when one has chronic pain (CP) versus controls. Dyads with a CP member use fewer non-attending behaviours despite non-attending behaviours rated as more helpful. Pain intensity was solely related to the participant's behaviour. Amongst dyads with a CP member, pain tolerance was also influenced by their friend's behaviours. Friends of adolescents with pain engage in more unhelpful behaviours perhaps decreasing the ability of CP adolescents to engage in social activities.

Constellations of family closeness and adolescent friendship quality

AbstractObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the association between family relationship constellations and adolescent friendship quality in a more holistic way and disentangle gender differences on their associations.BackgroundFamily relationships are important for adolescent friendship, but little is known about how mother–adolescent and father–adolescent relationships work in the context of each other.MethodLatent profile analysis was conducted in a sample of 326 ethnically diverse high schoolers (ages: 14–19 years; 60.4% female) to identify different combinations of mother– and father–adolescent closeness and their associations with friendships for adolescent boys and girls.ResultsFindings revealed five family relationship patterns: Cohesive (22%; high closeness with both parents), Alliance With Mother (9%; high mother–adolescent closeness only), Alliance With Father (10%; high father–adolescent closeness only), Disengaged (22%; low closeness with both parents), and Average (36%; average closeness with both parents) profiles. Adolescents in Cohesive families had high conflict resolution, and adolescents in alliance families had high companionship, whereas adolescents in Disengaged and Average families had the worst friendships. Adolescent boys in Disengaged families had the poorest friendships in all four domains when compared to adolescent girls in Disengaged families and adolescent boys in other family types; mother–adolescent closeness was important for adolescent boys' validation and intimate exchange. Adolescent girls' friendship quality generally was highest in Cohesive families.ConclusionFindings highlight the importance of simultaneously accounting for relationships with both parents from the family systems perspective.ImplicationsBeing close to at least one parent is critical for adolescent social–emotional and friendship development, and this is especially important for adolescent boys' friendship quality.

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators of Adolescent Friendly Reproductive Health Services in the World: A Qualitative Systematic Review Protocol

Background: Adolescents need services that improve their physiological, cognitive, emotional, and social alteration into adulthood. Since the adolescent health needs have been identified, the focus of service delivery has mainly been on access to sexual health care assistance, including HIV issues. Objectives: This systematic review aims to assess the perceived barriers and facilitators of adolescent friendly health services in the world because teens are a positive and energetic force for the present and future of a community. Methods: All qualitative studies from 2000 to 2019 have been considered in this review. The searched databases include Cochrane Central Register, MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and the Ovid platform. The studies included those conducted on all gender and ethnic groups adolescents between 10 to19 years that received health services, as well as their families and health care providers. Selected studies will be critically appraised by two independent reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist for qualitative research. Qualitative data will be extracted from papers using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI SUMARI (System for the Unified Management, Assessment, and Review of Information) by two independent reviewers. Qualitative research findings will, where possible, be integrated using JBI SUMARI and the meta-aggregation approach, and the final synthesized findings will be graded according to the ConQual approach for establishing confidence in the output of qualitative research synthesis and illustrated in the summary of results. Conclusions: This systematic review addresses perceived barriers and facilitators of adolescent friendly health services in the world. Developing and extending young people’s demands is a concern for all societies. So the results of this study can help us to discover barriers and providers of adolescent friendly health services, and by removing barriers and strengthening facilitators, we will promote the possibility of adolescents accessing adolescent friendly health services.

Do high school friends still matter for health behavior in adulthood? Variations in smoking trajectories by adolescent peer smoking networks, race/ethnicity, and gender

Peers play an influential role in the initiation of smoking during adolescence. However, there has been limited literature examining whether adolescent peers are associated with longer-term patterns of smoking. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine whether age-based trajectories of smoking likelihood from adolescence to adulthood are associated with the number of adolescent friends who smoked and how this association differs by race/ethnicity and gender. Findings using multilevel growth curve models indicate that individuals who have more adolescent friends who smoked have higher probabilities of smoking during adolescence than those with no adolescent smoking friends. As individuals age into adulthood, the association between adolescent friends’ smoking behavior and individual-level smoking begin to dissipate but does not completely disappear. Further analyses show that there are no differences in this association by gender, but there are differences by race/ethnicity. These findings suggest that high school friends continue to be associated with trajectories of smoking even twenty years after high school. These results indicate that anti-smoking campaigns should take a network approach to preventing smoking in adolescence as well as recognize that the same campaign strategy may not work for all groups.

THỰC TRẠNG VÀ ĐỀ XUẤT QUY TRÌNH SỬ DỤNG VIDEO LÀM MẪU GIÁO DỤC KĨ NĂNG KẾT BẠN CHO THIẾU NIÊN RỐI LOẠN PHỔ TỰ KỈ

Using videos as a model in the process of educating how to make friends for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders has a number of benefits: assist them in recognizing the processes necessary to put skills into practice, generalize, and improve their ability to apply skills in real-life situations. In order to generalize the current state of knowledge of teachers and parents about the level of necessity, meaning, steps to use, advantages, and challenges in the process of using video as a model for adolescents with ASD, the paper conducts a survey on 125 teachers and 101 parents. On this foundation, a three-stage procedure for using video as a model is proposed: (1) Stage 1: Getting ready to watch video; (2) Stage 2: Using video; (3) Stage 3: Wrapping up and practicing. For the most effective education process of life skills education for adolescents with ASD, it is vital to have synchronous coordination between forces and to build technological basis.

Friendship network formation in Chinese middle schools: Patterns of inequality and homophily

Previous studies on adolescent friendship network formation emphasize the roles played by individual characteristics, structural opportunities, and endogenous tie formation processes. This study extends previous studies in three major aspects: 1) developing and testing theories of status differential (i.e., friendship ties are more likely to run from low status subjects to high status subjects than vice versa) and differential homophily (i.e., homophily is stronger between high status subjects than between low status subjects) through modeling tie-mixing effects of individual characteristics, 2) including qualitative analyses to elaborate selected mechanisms, and 3) comparing selected friendship patterns between China and the U.S. The extended framework is applied to analyzing survey data obtained from 4,094 students in six middle schools in China. The results show that friendship ties are unevenly distributed by individual characteristics (status differential is confirmed for five of the seven characteristics examined), there is significant tie homophily (stronger homophily among high status subjects than among low status subjects is observed for five of the seven characteristics examined with three of them being statistically significant), and endogenous tie formation processes such as reciprocity, transitivity, and preferential attachment are strongly present. Although some of these patterns are common to both China and the U.S., there are also notable differences between the two. Lastly, I discuss the implications and limitations of this study.

Socialization processes within adolescents' relationships with parents and peers predicting couples' intimate partner violence in adulthood: A social learning perspective.

Previous studies have established that individual characteristics such as violent behavior, substance use, and high-risk sexual behavior, as well as negative relationships with parents and friends, are all risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV). In this longitudinal prospective study, we investigated whether violent behavior, substance use, and high-risk sexual behavior in early adulthood (ages 22-23 years) mediated the link between family conflict and coercive relationship talk with friends in adolescence (ages 16-17 years) and dyadic IPV in adulthood (ages 28-30 years). A total of 998 individuals participated in multimethod assessments, including observations of interactions with parents and friends. Data from multiple reporters were used for variables of interest including court records, parental and self-reports of violence, self-reports of high-sexual-risk behaviors and substance use, and self- and romantic partner-reports of IPV. Longitudinal mediation analyses showed that violent behavior during early adulthood mediated the link between coercive relationship talk with friends in adolescence and dyadic IPV in adulthood. No other mediation paths were found and there was no evidence of gender differences. Results are discussed with attention to the interpersonal socialization processes by which IPV emerges relative to individual risk factors.

Here for You: Attachment and the Growth of Empathic Support for Friends in Adolescence.

Attachment was examined as a predictor of teens' empathic support for friends in a multimethod longitudinal study of 184 U.S. adolescents (58% Caucasian, 29% African American, 13% other) followed from ages 14 to 18. Adolescents' secure state of mind regarding attachment at 14 predicted teens' greater capacity to provide empathic support during observed interactions with friends across ages 16-18 (Baverage = .39). Teens' empathic support was generally stable during this period, and less secure teens were slower to develop these skills. Further, teens' attachment security predicted the degree to which friends called for their support (Baverage = .29), which was associated with teens' responsiveness to such calls. The findings suggest that secure attachment predicts teens' ability to provide empathic support in close friendships.

Quality over quantity: A transactional model of social withdrawal and friendship development in late adolescence.

The aim of this study was to test a longitudinal, transactional model that describes how social withdrawal and friendship development are interrelated in late adolescence, and to investigate if post‐secondary transitions are catalysts of change for highly withdrawn adolescents’ friendships. Unilateral friendship data of 1,019 adolescents (61.3% female, 91% Dutch‐origin) from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) cohort were collected five times from ages 17 to 18 years. Social withdrawal was assessed at 16 and 19 years. The transactional model was tested within a Structural Equation Modeling framework, with intercepts and slopes of friendship quantity, quality, and stability as mediators and residential transitions, education transitions, and sex as moderators. The results confirmed the presence of a transactional relation between withdrawal and friendship quality. Whereas higher age 16 withdrawal predicted having fewer, lower‐quality, and less‐stable friendships, only having lower‐quality friendships, in turn, predicted higher age 19 withdrawal, especially in girls. Residential transitions were catalysts of change for highly withdrawn youth's number of friends: higher withdrawal predicted a moderate increase in number of friends for adolescents who relocated, and no change for those who made an educational transition or did not transition. Taken together, these results indicate that the quality of friendships—over and above number of friends and the stability of those friendships—is particularly important for entrenching or diminishing withdrawal in late adolescence, and that relocating provides an opportunity for withdrawn late adolescents to expand their friendship networks.