The presence of a best friend buffers the effects of negative experiences.

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to examine how the presence of a best friend might serve as protection against the effect of negative experiences on global self-worth and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA axis). A total of 103 English-speaking male (n = 55) and female (n = 48) participants from Grade 5 (M = 10.27 years) and Grade 6 (M = 11.30 years) completed booklets about their experiences that occurred 20 min previously and how they felt about themselves at the moment, and they provided saliva multiple times per day over the course of 4 consecutive days. Having a best friend present during an experience significantly buffered the effect of the negativity of the experience on cortisol and global self-worth. When a best friend was not present, there was a significant increase in cortisol and a significant decrease in global self-worth as the negativity of the experience increased. When a best friend was present, there was less change in cortisol and global self-worth due to the negativity of the experience.

The Neuro-Environmental Loop of Plasticity: A Cross-Species Analysis of Parental Effects on Emotion Circuitry Development Following Typical and Adverse Caregiving

“…Specifically, it is well known that social buffering occurs across the lifespan, with different individuals being more effective 'buffers' at different stages of development. For example, having a best friend present during a stressful experience had a cortisol buffering effect in early adolescent males and females (Adams et al, 2011). In addition, romantic partners can buffer stressful experiences (either psychologically or physiologically) in adulthood (Ditzen et al, 2007;Kirschbaum et al, 1995).…”

Drivers of human development: How relationships and context shape learning and development1

“…Peer relationships help children and adolescents understand themselves and their values, which can be important for identity development (Parker, Rubin, Price, & DeRosier, 1995). Having friends has been shown to decrease loneliness, increase self-esteem, promote school satisfaction and engagement, avert some victimization, and, through support, to buffer the mental health consequences of bullying and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation (Adams, Santo, & Bukowski, 2011;McLaughlin, Hatzenbuehler, & Hilt, 2009). Peer interactions, however, can also reinforce risk-taking and antisocial behaviors through modeling and reinforcement, particularly when in groups unaccompanied by adults (e.g., Silva, Chein, & Steinberg, 2016).…”

Neighborhood Poverty and Allostatic Load in African American Youth

“…Research involving children and adolescents suggests that receipt of emotional support from parents [11][12][13] and peers 14,15 is capable of offsetting some of the risky neuroendocrine, metabolic, inflammatory, and cardiovascular profiles that tend to develop after exposure to adversity. 1,2 We investigated the possibility that the receipt of emotional support during adolescence has a protective effect, reducing the impact of increases in neighborhood poverty on AL in rural African American youth.…”