You may need to thank your teenage best friend for more than you think—a new study published in Psychological Science has linked happy, high-quality adolescent friendships to a healthy adult life.
Over the course of the study, a group of 171 students and their self-nominated best friends filled out questionnaires about their friendship at several times between the ages of 13 to 17. Additionally, each participant’s health was measured at ages 25, 26 and 27, with a focus on their experiences with anxiety and depression as well as their BMI.
The results showed that good quality friendships during the teenage years were associated with better overall health at age 27. The authors also noted decreased levels of anxiety and depression in those who had quality childhood and adolescent friendships.
The report also studied the participants’ willingness to “conform to peer norms” as children. The results also showed that this inclination leads to better mental and physical health later in life, due to a lessened sense of emotional strain during childhood.
“These results indicate that remaining close to—as opposed to separating oneself from—the peer pack in adolescence has long-term implications for adult physical health,” says Joseph P. Allen, the study’s author. “From a risk and prevention perspective, difficulty forming close relationships early in adolescence may now be considered a marker of risk for long-term health difficulties.”
This report teaches an important lesson to children and teens about the benefits of keeping healthy, life-enriching friendships; if their so-called “friends” are treating them poorly, it may come to affect them later on in their lives. Encourage your children to find happy relationships with their peers, and as adults, they will thank you for it.
