FRIENDSHIP IN ADOLESCENCE: TYPES, INFLUENCE OF FRIENDS - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The friendship in adolescence becomes one of the fundamental pillars for young people who have just gone through puberty, since adolescence is a time full of change and uncertainty for most people. This period in people's lives begins at approximately twelve years of age.

Adolescence extends until the individual enters the adult world by starting work or entering an institution of higher learning. During this time, the person's focus shifts from family (the reference group in childhood) to friends.

Therefore, for a teenager, friendships become one of the most important concerns in his life. The influence of a circle of friends can be extremely positive or have negative consequences, so it is necessary to pay attention to the friendships of the youngest to intervene if necessary.

Influence of friends

Adolescence is a time full of change and very complicated for most people. During this period the behaviors, beliefs and ways of seeing the world that were acquired during childhood no longer serve.

In addition, both the body and the mind are transformed at these ages due to the typical hormonal changes of puberty.

Due to this, the adolescent needs to acquire new points of reference to navigate through all these changes and, in general, most young people at these ages find them in the figure of friends.

As adolescents begin to be independent and seek some distance from their parents, friends can also become their new reference group.

In this sense, the difference between a good and a bad friendship is very marked: while good friends can lead the adolescent to give their best, a bad influence usually has very negative consequences.

How do friendships influence a teenager?

There are many ways in which a good friendship can add value to the life of a young man just entering puberty. Here we will see some of the most important.

Feeling of belonging

Due to the uncertainty that the changes of adolescence bring with them, people who are going through this period of their lives need to feel part of something greater.

A good group of friends can help your adolescent feel protected and valuable, as well as increase his or her self-confidence and independence.

Some studies have even shown that forming close friendships in adolescence can help prevent all kinds of emotional problems in adult life, especially those related to stress and anxiety.

Emotional Support

One of the major causes of estrangement between a teenager and his parents is that young people often perceive that adults are unable to understand them.

Although this is often not true - since we have all been through similar experiences - it is easier for a teenager to find support in their group of friends.

By seeing more people their own age who are experiencing similar problems and emotions, the adolescent will feel more understood and validated in their emotions and experiences.

Help to understand your role in the world

During childhood, most people base their self-esteem and well-being on being able to do what their loved ones expect of them.

However, in adolescence this changes, requiring young people to find their own place in society.

For this, a group of friends can be very beneficial, by showing the adolescent different ways of behaving, being and thinking and allowing them to choose among these the ones that best suit their needs.

Experiences with the opposite sex

Often childhood friendships are limited to people of the same sex. However, in the case of most people, an interest in the opposite sex begins to appear in adolescence, and groups of friends can serve as a platform for experimentation to develop the first couple relationships.

What are good friendships like?

According to different studies, good friendships are characterized mainly by three elements: integrity, care and joy.

Integrity

The first quality required to form a good friendship has to do with the ability to trust the other person. For someone to be a good friend of ours, we need them to meet some characteristics:

- Must be an honest person; that is to say, that he avoids lying and that he usually really says what he thinks. In this way, when you give us your word, we can trust it.

- We must be able to count on the other person, in that we know that they will help us in the moments when we really need help.

- It has to be someone loyal, in the sense that they can keep a secret from us and not criticize us behind our backs.

- The two people who form the friendship relationship should feel comfortable being vulnerable to each other. If you have a hard time being yourself with a friend, the friendship formed will not be very deep or long lasting.

Watch out

A good friend has to be able to offer us support at times when we need it most. To do this, some of the characteristics that the other person must possess are empathy, listening skills and the ability not to judge what the other says.

Joy

Finally, it is practically impossible (and undesirable) to form a deep friendship with a person whose worldview is essentially negative.

Studies reveal that optimistic, humorous, and confident people form much longer and deeper friendships.

Types of friendship in adolescence

According to the researchers, there are mainly three types of friendship in adolescence: useful, pleasure and admiration.

Useful

They are friendships based on what the other person can bring us. Therefore, they are not especially durable: as soon as we can no longer extract value from the other person, they tend to end.

Pleasure

They are those in which the bond that unites us to another person has to do with an activity that we share with them. For example, it would be the kind of friendship that is formed by playing on a team or playing in a group with other people.

Of admiration

They are based on a true feeling of respect and admiration for the other person, and are usually formed when we meet someone whose values ​​and points of view we share. They are the deepest and most durable of the three.

References

1. "Healthy Friendships in Developing Adolescents" in: Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Department of Health & Human Services: hhs.gov.
2. "Friendships Throughout Adolescence" in: Marriage and Family Encyclopedia. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Marriage and Family Encyclopedia: family.jrank.org.
3. "Friendship" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "The 13 Essential Traits of Good Friends" in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
5. "The 3 Kinds of Friendships" in: Marie Claire. Retrieved on: April 24, 2018 from Marie Claire: marieclaire.com.