Children’s friendship quality trajectories from middle childhood to early adolescence and prediction from sex

Abstract

We investigated the development of children’s self-reported positive (Companionship and Recreation, Validation and Caring, Help and Guidance, Intimate Disclosure, and Conflict Resolution) and negative (Conflict and Betrayal) friendship quality from the third to sixth grades using The National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development data (NICHD SECCYD; n = 1,364; M age = 9.03 years; 51.70% boys at recruitment). Consistent with expectations, growth models suggested that children reported higher positive, and lower negative, friendship quality with age. Boys had significantly lower positive friendship quality at third grade and slower increases than girls. Boys had slower decreases in negative friendship quality than girls. It is possible that different social orientations explain sex differences in friendship quality trajectories. Further research is needed to explore other factors that might account for individual differences in friendship quality trajectories.

Does Internalizing Disorders Predict a Decline in Friendship Quality? The Negative Impacts of Depression and Anxiety on Friendship Quality

“…Hanya saja, signifikansi klinis dari temuan ini perlu ditelaah secara hati-hati, mengingat studi ini Furthermore, the results of this study also confirmed the results of a number of previous pieces of research, which showed that female adolescents have higher positive friendship quality than male adolescents (Biggs et al, 2012;Kouwenberg et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2020). This difference may be caused by differences in the features of friendship between those of males and females.…”

“…This difference may be caused by differences in the features of friendship between those of males and females. Female adolescent friendships are normally marked by the presence of self-disclosure, support, closeness, and togetherness (Kuttler et al, 1999;; while friendship amongst male adolescents is marked by higher levels of autonomy and low levels of selfdisclosure (Cross & Madson, 1997), causing the friendships of male adolescents to take longer to exit and recover from negative friendship, compared to those of female adolescents (Xu et al, 2020).…”

“…Results from a number of studies have indicated that friendship is a source of the feeling of togetherness and support (Rubin et al, 2006), is the place to train social abilities (Santrock, 2012), and is related to improvements in academic achievement and a number of other adaptive abilities (Gallardo et al, 2016;Košir & Tement, 2014;Lee, 2012). Furthermore, the results of a number of previous pieces of research have also indicated the existence of differences in the features of friendship, between those of males and of females, wherein females tend to show higher levels of the positive friendship compared to the levels shown by males (Biggs et al, 2012;Kouwenberg et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2020).…”

“…Sejumlah hasil studi menunjukkan bahwa persahabatan merupakan sumber rasa kebersamaan dan dukungan (Rubin et al, 2006), menjadi tempat melatih kemampuan sosial (Santrock, 2012), dan berhubungan dengan peningkatan prestasi akademik dan sejumlah kemampuan adaptif lainnya (Gallardo et al, 2016;Košir & Tement, 2014;Lee, 2012). Lebih lanjut, sejumlah hasil penelitian sebelumnya juga menunjukkan adanya perbedaan fitur persahabatan antara laki-laki dan perempuan, ketika perempuan cenderung menunjukkan tingkat persahabatan positif yang lebih tinggi dibanding laki-laki (Biggs et al, 2012;Kouwenberg et al, 2013;Xu et al, 2020).…”

Do Gender and Age Moderate the Relationship between Friendship Quality and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Community Children and Adolescents?

“…With respect to age, research has shown that friendship quality increases from middle childhood to adolescence and throughout adolescence (Sánchez-Queija & Oliva, 2015;Way & Greene, 2006;Xu, Eggum-Wilkens, & Bradley, 2020): loyalty, intimacy and self-disclosure seem to increase during adolescence (Buhrmester, 1990;Rubin et al, 2008;Weiss & Smith, 2002). Furthermore, Rubin et al (2008) reported that friendships at age 7 to 8 focus on convenience and rewards/costs; whereas friendships at age 10 to 11 focus on loyalty and sharing the same values.…”