Close friendship as understood by socially withdrawn, anxious early adolescents.
The aim of the present study was to explore the social cognitions of socially withdrawn anxious early-adolescents regarding the concept of friendship. From a pool of children referred to an after-school social skills and social contact program, 38 withdrawn/anxious participants were identified and matched with community controls. Interviews regarding their expectations of a best friend revealed that withdrawn/anxious participants tended to focus on their own needs in their concepts of friendship and frequently referred to friendship as a source of help. They also tended to ascribe their best friendship to the circumstantial interactions of classmates or neighbors. Control participants more frequently mentioned the intimacy of a close friendship, which is considered a core defining feature of true friendship. Within the community sample, older participants displayed a more mature understanding of friendship, whereas there were no age effects within the socially anxious group.
Schneider
Barry H
BH
School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada. barry@uottawa.ca
Tessier
Nicholas G
NG
D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D012918:Social Alienation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires