Abstract
The main of the present study was to analyse the importance of friends in the development of social skills and in the adolescent’s wellbeing. A total of 5695 Portuguese adolescents with a mean age of 15.46 (SD=1.80), attending the 8th, 10th and 12th years of schooling in mainland Portugal were included in the Health Beha viour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Comparisons of means (ANOVA) were performed between adolescents who do not have friends and those who have one or more friends and a logistic regression model to analyse the condition of having no friends. Adolescents who have one or more friends showed higher averages for life satisfaction, social skills, family relationship and screen time. On the other hand, adolescents who do not have friends have a higher average of social alienation and psychological symptoms. The negative impact of not having friends during adolescence is evident and influences the development of social skills and the relation of the adolescents with the family. Preventing social isolation and its consequences is essential, as is the inclusion of peers in developed programs. The results highlight the essential role of friends for well-being, for the development of social skills and the relationship of adolescents with family.
| Original language | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 85-94 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Psicologia da Criança e do Adolescente |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Friends
- Social skills
- Wellbeing