PS276 Chapter 10: Changes in the Nature of Friendship
Document Summary
In childhood, friendship defined in terms of companionship but in adolescence intimacy becomes part of definition. During middle adolescence (13-15), especially among girls, concerns about loyalty/anxiety about rejection become more pronounced and temporarily overshadow concerns about intimate self disclosure. Older adolescent peer conflicts typically over private matters, but younger adolescents conflicts are often over perceived public disrespect/friendships more fragile and easily disrupted by betrayal. Girls" friendships on average don"t last as long as boys" Anxiety over dating and heightened feelings of insecurity cause adolescent girls to temporarily place great deal on emphasis of trust/loyalty to close friends. Over course of adolescence friendship quality increases steadily leading to gains in social competence. Asian americans report more dissatisfaction with friendships but rate of improvement is the same. Adolescents who use internet a lot for social networking are less socially isolated than peers. Become more responsive to close friends, less controlling, more tolerant.
