The need to belong: Girls' trajectory perspectives on friendship forming in the school setting

Abstract

This article is based on pair and group interviews with 40 girls in lower secondary school in Sweden and examines their perspectives on friendship forming. Constructivist grounded theory was used throughout the study. The findings address girls' trajectory perspectives on friendship forming and how the school setting, gender norms and social exclusion anxiety influence their friendships over time. In particular, they highlight a fear of being excluded as associated with the school setting. This fear shows how friendship forming and bullying connect to each other by highlighting how the need to socially belong is the most important thing in school.