Pre-adolescent chumship as a buffer against psychopathology in adolescents with weak family support and weak parental bonding

Abstract

This study examines the degree to which the existence of a pre-adolescent "chum" interacts with family and social environments to buffer mental distress in adolescents. 831 high school students participated in this study, (male: 355; female: 476; mean age 16.7 +/- 1.0). Subjects were administered questionnaires assessing psychopathology and support systems. A pathway analyses model was used to investigate pathways and their interrelationships from chum to psychopathology and from social and family support to psychopathology. Only when adolescents experience weak parental bonding does chumship have a role in buffering distress.

Social support as a predictor of school bonding and academic motivation following the transition to Italian middle school

“…We expected that social support from a friend or the other parent would compensate for unsupportive or negative relationships with parents. Contrary to the recent empirical literature on the compensatory role of friendship vis-à-vis poor family relations (e.g., Bachar et al, 1997;Gauze et al, 1996;Sesma, 2001), there was little evidence of any compensatory processes by friends: Support by a friend did not generally compensate for low levels of support from either one's mother or father. In family-oriented societies like Italy, it is difficult to imagine another relationship compensating in even a small way for strained family bonds.…”

“…Sesma (2001) found that adolescents' friendship intimacy was associated with wellbeing when adversity was high and when child-parent closeness was low. Similarly, Bachar, Canetti, Bonne, Kaplan De-Nour, and Shalev (1997) discovered that among Israeli high-school students who reported weak parental bonding, those who did not report having a chum in preadolescent years were more maladjusted than those who reported having a best friend. Taken together, these findings suggest that friendship may have a role in compensating for vulnerabilities and distress when the family environment is unsupportive.…”

Interparental Conflict and Youth Maladjustment: The Buffering Effects of Pets

“…Interpersonal protective factors include the nature of the parentÀchild relationship (Krishnakumar & Buehler, 2000) the relationship with a sibling (Kempton, Armistead, Wierson, & Forehand, 1991), or the presence of a good friendship (Bachar, Canetti, Bonne, De-Nour, & Shalev, 1997). Children frequently treat their pets as friends and consider them special family members, therefore it is reasonable to suggest that this childÀpet relationship can also serve as a protective factor for children experiencing interparental conflict.…”