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Introduction: The mechanism underlying the positive longitudinal link between adolescents' friendship quality and their well‐being is unclear. The present study was performed to investigate whether this longitudinal association between friendship quality and well‐being was established via adolescents' global self‐esteem, and to examine gender differences in these associations. Methods: Online questionnaire data were collected in two waves (in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019) from 1298 Dutch adolescents aged 11–17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls). Results: Multigroup path analyses revealed a significant indirect effect between friendship quality and well‐being over time via global self‐esteem for girls. For boys, significant direct effects of friendship quality on global self‐esteem and well‐being were found, but no significant indirect effect. Conclusions: The findings indicate that higher‐quality friendships improve boys' global self‐esteem and well‐being directly, and that they affect girls' well‐being indirectly and positively, by improving their global self‐esteem. These results suggest that preventive and intervention‐based strategies for the promotion of well‐being during the developmental stage of adolescence should incorporate focus on friendships, global self‐esteem, and gender specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying perpetration and victimization are common and problematic occurrences during adolescence. Typically, bullying incidents involve different bullying roles. However, little is known about the developmental stability and changes in these roles. In the present study, we aimed to assess the stability and changes in bullying roles and examine risk and protective factors associated with bullying involvement. A total of 1711 Chinese early adolescents (47.4% girls, Mage = 11.99) participated in the study at two time points approximately 6 months apart. Three subgroups of bullying were identified: bully‐victims, victims, and the uninvolved. In terms of stability and changes, the uninvolved were the most stable over time, while victims and bully‐victims tended to become the uninvolved. Bully‐victims also tended to become victims. Early adolescents with higher levels of parental psychological control and depression symptoms were more likely to be victims or bully‐victims. Higher levels of depression symptoms increased the risk of transitioning from being the uninvolved or bully‐victims to becoming victims. Higher levels of friendship quality were associated with higher odds of being the uninvolved or transitioning from being victims or bully‐victims to becoming the uninvolved. Our findings indicate that bullying roles were relatively stable, with some changes over time. The results also highlight the important function that parental psychological control, friendship quality, and depression symptoms can play in preventing and intervening in bullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe aim of this study was to examine the impact of a child self-regulation program on the self-perception and friendship quality of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study employed a semi-experimental research design with a pre-test-post-test methodology and a control group. The statistical population for this research comprised all 9-12-year-old girls diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in Tehran during the 2021-2022 period. The sample size consisted of 30 participants, with 15 assigned to the experimental group and 15 to the control group, selected from the statistical population using an available sampling method. While the control group remained on the waiting list, the experimental group received a child self-regulation program. The research instruments utilized were Harter's self-perception scale (2012) and Zohrevand and Hejazi's (2001) friendship quality assessment. The results indicated that the self-regulation intervention had a significant impact on enhancing self-perception and friendship quality during the post-test and follow-up stages. These findings provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of self-regulation programs, which can be utilized by counselors and psychologists to enhance self-perception and friendship quality among children with ADHD.Extended abstractIntroductionAttention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that often starts in childhood and continues into adulthood (Singh, Kumar, Kaur, Mandal & Kumar, 2022). Literature shows that children with ADHD overestimate their own competence (Varma & Wiener, 2020); for example, in this population, their self-perceptions are often inconsistent with objective measures of performance or parent and teacher ratings of competence. This may lead children with ADHD to have unrealistic self-perceptions (Hoza, Mrug, Gerdes, Hinshaw, Bukowski, Gold & et al., 2005). However, studies show that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have less stable friendships compared to neurotypical children (Powell, Riglin, Ng-Knight, Frederickson, Woolf, McManus & et al., 2021) and tend to be more friendly with people who have a learning or behavioral problem (Marton, Wiener, Rogers & Moore, 2015). Current strategies for treating children with ADHD mainly focus on pharmacological treatments, but these treatments often do not meet children's and families' needs (Villodas, McBurnett, Kaiser, Rooney & Pfiffner, 2014), and have shown a limited effect (Swanson, Baler & Volkow, 2011). As such, the importance of psychological interventions, especially self-regulation interventions, is becoming increasingly important to reduce and even resolve these problems in individuals with ADHD. The use of self-regulation interventions, such as cognitive behavior therapy, is one of the most common and widely used interventions, and it can be very effective (Guderjahn, Gold, Stadler & Gawrilow, 2013).Research QuestionsDoes the child's self-regulation program effectively change the self-perception of children with ADHD?Does the child's self-regulation program effectively improve the quality of friendship in children with ADHD?" or "What is the impact of a self-regulation program on the quality of friendship for children with ADHD?Literature ReviewIn line with the effectiveness of self-regulation training, the results of Moradi, Hashemi, Farzad, Beyrami & Ketamati (2009) showed that teaching self-regulation strategies, motivational behaviors and verbal self-education have significant effects on reducing hyperactivity symptoms of students with ADHD. They are active. In another study, Ebrahimi & Taher (2019) found that self-regulation training is effective in increasing the social skills of students with mild mental retardation by improving the ability to plan, self-review and organize. The results of Abolghasemi, Barzegar & Rostamoghli (2015) also indicate the effectiveness of self-regulation training on improving students' self-efficacy and quality of life.MethodologyThe design of the research was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and follow-up with a control group. The sample consisted of female students aged 9 to 12 years with ADHD who were studying in schools in Tehran in 2022. The students were selected by education consultants who received a diagnosis of ADHD. For a more accurate diagnosis, a semi-structured clinical interview was conducted to these children. Finally, a sample of 30 students was selected based on the entry criteria and they were replaced in two experimental and control groups (15 experimental people, 15 control people). Both groups completed the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 2012) and the Friendship Quality Questionnaire (Hejazi & Zohrevand, 2001) as a pre-test. The experimental group then participated in 12 sessions of 45 minutes based on the child's self-regulation intervention, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Immediately after the end of the training sessions, the self-perception scale and the quality of friendship were assessed as a post-test for both groups. They were then followed up after 2 months.resultsThe results of this analysis show that there was a significant interaction between stages (pre-test, post-test, follow-up) and groups (experimental and control) for several of the research variables, including self-perception and quality of friendship. The Bonferroni test indicated that the experimental and control groups were significantly different from each other in terms of the research variables at all stages of the study, and that the improvement in self-perception and the quality of friendship observed in the experimental group was stable over time and still present at the follow-up phase. Overall, these results suggest that the child's self-regulation education was effective in improving the self-perception and quality of friendship of the children in the experimental group, and that this effect was sustained over time.

Abstract Background Social integration with friends has an important role in shaping adolescents’ behavior and determining their wellbeing. Friendship features such as companionship, trust, closeness, intimacy, and conflicts all form the concept of friendship quality. The quality of friendships can either enhance or impede mental development during adolescence. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to understand the association between friendship quality and adolescents’ mental wellbeing. Methods In November 2020 and later in August 2022, the search for evidence was conducted on five databases (Medline, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, and PsycINFO). Only peer-reviewed quantitative studies published from January 2000 to August 2022 that investigated friendship quality as their exposure variable in relation to six constructs of subjective wellbeing (mood, loneliness, life satisfaction, happiness, self-esteem, and subjective wellbeing) were included. After screening for eligibility, two reviewers independently extracted the data based on population characteristics, study design, exposure and outcome variables, outcome measures used, and results. Risk of bias assessment was performed utilizing the NIH Quality Assessment Tool. Narrative evidence synthesis was performed based on the constructs of subjective wellbeing. Results Forty-three articles out of 21,585 records were included in the review. The relationship between friendship quality and depression has been investigated extensively in the literature and negative (beneficial) associations were found in eighteen studies out of twenty-three. Poor peer relationship was associated with loneliness in nine studies out of ten. All seven studies on life satisfaction and quality of peer connection found a positive association. In five studies, better peer relationship was found to be associated with happiness. A positive association between friendship quality and self-esteem was observed in five out of six applicable studies. Friendship quality was found to be positively associated with subjective well-being in all of five included studies. Conclusions Although majority of the included studies were cross-sectional in nature, this review demonstrates the paramount value of promoting healthy friendship to adolescents’ subjective wellbeing constructs. Interventions that aim to promote subjective wellbeing among adolescents should consider the development and maintenance of healthy friendships. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42020219312.

Social connections are critical for mental and physical health; however, the developmental pathways to children's social connectedness outcomes are not well understood. This study examined the pathways from children's inhibitory control at 4 years to two social connectedness outcomes – loneliness and friendship quality at age 10 – through behavioral problems at age 7. As part of a longitudinal study (N = 291, 54% girls), children's inhibitory control was assessed via a Go/No-Go task when children were 4 years old. Mothers reported on children's behavioral problems at ages 4 and 7 years. Children reported on their friendship quality and loneliness at ages 7 and 10 years. Greater inhibitory control at 4 years predicted lower behavioral problems at 7 years, which in turn predicted better friendship quality and lower loneliness at 10 years. Indirect effects from inhibitory control at 4 years to loneliness and friendship quality at 10 years via behavioral problems at 7 years were significant. Findings suggest that inhibitory control in early childhood may play a key role for the development of social connectedness in middle childhood via its impact on children's behavioral problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has documented that body dissatisfaction is positively related to social anxiety. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation. Based on person-environment interaction theory, this study aimed to examine the chain mediation effect of feeling of inferiority and family cohesion in the relationship between body dissatisfaction and social anxiety among adolescents and whether this mediating process was moderated by friendship quality. A total of 972 students (M = 15.77, SD = 0.856) were enrolled in this study. All participants completed questionnaires regarding adolescent body dissatisfaction, feeling of inferiority, family cohesion, friendship quality and social anxiety. Our study found that body dissatisfaction was positively associated with social anxiety. Feeling of inferiority and family cohesion were found to play a chain-mediated role in the relation between body dissatisfaction and social anxiety. In addition, friendship quality plays a moderating role in the relationship between body dissatisfaction and social anxiety. According to the person-environment interaction theory, this study not only confirms the effect of body dissatisfaction on social anxiety in a collectivist culture, but also reveals the mechanism of the role of individual characteristics (feeling of inferiority) and external environmental factors (family cohesion) in the relationship between body dissatisfaction and social anxiety, and the moderating effect of friendship quality on the whole mechanism. These findings show lights on how body dissatisfaction is associated with social anxiety in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the moderating effect of technology use for friendship maintenance in the associations between self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and friendship quality, measured 6 months later (Time 2). Participants were 1,567 seventh and eighth graders (51% female; 51% white; M age = 13.47) from the United States. They completed questionnaires on friendship quality at Time 1, and self-isolation during COVID-19 and technology use for friendship maintenance and friendship quality at Time 2. The findings revealed that self-isolation during COVID-19 was related positively to technology use for friendship maintenance and negatively to Time 2 friendship quality. Higher technology use for friendship maintenance buffered against the negative impacts on friendship quality associated with self-isolation during COVID-19, while lower technology use had the opposite effects on Time 2 friendship quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Basic Psychological Needs Theory posits that satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, competence) is a prerequisite for many positive outcomes, especially the psychological well-being of adolescents. The present study tested the three social context factors (parenting style, friendship quality, and school climate) on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs of adolescents and examined which factors are more unique to Indonesian adolescents. In this cross-sectional survey, we included 1500 junior high school students (boys = 717, girls = 783). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data. The current study revealed that parenting style, friendship quality, and school climate all predict the basic psychological needs satisfaction. Parenting style and friendship quality are likely to become stronger contributors to better satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs than school climate. This finding was consistent for gender and type of school categories. The current study will contribute to in-depth analysis on designing an effective future intervention program in improving adolescents' psychological needs satisfaction that can improve adolescent's psychological well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Expressive flexibility, or the ability to both up‐ and down‐regulate emotional expressions in social interactions, is thought as an indicator and a consequence of healthy interpersonal relationships. The present longitudinal study examined bidirectional associations between expressive flexibility and friendship quality in early adolescence. Since prior research found inconsistent results regarding the adaptiveness of expressive flexibility, which indicated the necessity to consider individual variability in the process, we further tested the potential moderating effect of social anxiety in the links from expressive flexibility to friendship quality. Methods: Participants from two junior high schools in eastern China (N = 274; 50.4% female; Mage = 13.56) were surveyed at three time points with 6‐month intervals. Expressive flexibility, friendship quality, and social anxiety were all assessed via self‐reported scales. Results: According to the cross‐lagged model results, friendship quality significantly predicted increased expressive flexibility over time. Conversely, the longitudinal association from expressive flexibility to friendship quality was not significant, but the interaction between expressive flexibility and social anxiety significantly predicted later friendship quality. Further analyses via the Johnson–Neyman technique revealed that expressive flexibility only positively predicted friendship quality for adolescents with lower levels of social anxiety. Conclusion: Our results suggest that expressive flexibility is not always socially adaptive, so practical interventions that aim to improve youths' social adjustment via expressive flexibility training might need to consider the role of individual characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social skills have been known to predict bullying tendencies in adolescence. However, knowledge about the mechanisms by which social skills are linked to bullying tendency remains limited. The present study investigated whether friendship quality would mediate the link. A sample of 204 adolescents (16-18 years old; 163 girls; 41 boys) studying in Yogyakarta state high schools completed an online self-report of Bullying Tendency Scale, Social Skills Scale, and Friendship Quality Scale. Mediation analysis was conducted using PROCESS macro. Results showed that friendship quality could not mediate social skills with bullying tendency therefore hypothesis of this study was denied. However, by including gender, it was found that friendship quality has a significant role as a mediator for boys. Higher social skills were associated with higher friendship quality, and then higher friendship quality was associated with higher bullying tendency. It can be concluded that social skills are important for boys and girls to exercise positive interaction with peers and to have high friendship quality. However, it is more important for boys to have high friendship quality with positive peers.

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a child self-regulation program on the self-perception and friendship quality of children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study employed a semi-experimental research design with a pre-test-post-test methodology and a control group. The statistical population for this research comprised all 9- 12-year-old girls diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in Tehran during the 2021-2022 period. The sample size consisted of 30 participants, with 15 assigned to the experimental group and 15 to the control group, selected from the statistical population using an available sampling method. While the control group remained on the waiting list, the experimental group received a child self-regulation program. The research instruments utilized were Harter's self-perception scale (2012) and Zohrevand and Hejazi's (2001) friendship quality assessment. The results indicated that the self-regulation intervention had a significant impact on enhancing self-perception and friendship quality during the post-test and follow-up stages. These findings provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of self-regulation programs, which can be utilized by counselors and psychologists to enhance self-perception and friendship quality among children with ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mother-child cohesion and friendship quality have been shown to be protective factors against the development of children's depressive symptoms. However, the possible direct and indirect pathways from these two important interpersonal relationships to children's depressive symptoms need to be further elucidated. Moreover, these associations have not been examined from a developmental perspective. Therefore, this study examined the direct and indirect relations among developmental trajectories of mother-child cohesion, friendship quality, and depressive symptoms in children.Methods: A total of 4078 Chinese children (45.2 % girls, Mage = 9.90 years, SD = 0.73) participated in assessments at five time points across 2.5 years, employing six-month intervals. Latent growth curve modeling was conducted to examine the direct and indirect relations among the developmental trajectories of mother-child cohesion, friendship quality, and depressive symptoms.Results: The developmental trajectories of both mother-child cohesion and friendship quality were negatively and directly associated with the developmental trajectory of children's depressive symptoms. The developmental trajectory of friendship quality was indirectly associated with the developmental trajectory of depressive symptoms through the mediating role of mother-child cohesion.Limitations: This study did not investigate father-child cohesion and other important psychological mechanisms linking interpersonal relationships to depressive symptoms.Conclusions: The findings documented the direct and indirect relations among mother-child cohesion, friendship quality, and depressive symptoms from a developmental perspective, which suggested that prevention and intervention efforts target improving mother-child cohesion and friendship quality to reduce children's depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friendship quality plays an essential role for adolescents in achieving optimal life satisfaction. However, previous studies have failed to explain friendship quality and life satisfaction fully. This study examines the role of basic psychological need satisfaction in the relationship between friendship quality and life satisfaction. A total of 450 respondents consisting of three groups of 150 early, middle, and late adolescents participated in this study. Data were collected using quota and convenience sampling methods. Friendship quality, basic psychological need satisfaction, and life satisfaction were measured using the McGill Friendship Questionnaire–Friend's Functions, Sub-scale Satisfaction of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, and the Indonesian version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The hypothesis was tested using regression analysis and SOBEL macro for SPSS. The results show that basic psychological need satisfaction acts as a full mediator between friendship quality and life satisfaction (indirect effect = .330, z = 8.383, p .05). In addition, the satisfaction of the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness can also be a full mediator between friendship quality and life satisfaction. This finding can be an alternative in explaining this relationship between friendship quality and life satisfaction. In addition, the findings can also be used to develop mental health programs for adolescents.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether loneliness and friendship quality are bidirectionally associated with one another over time. Based on the Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018) and the classical definition of loneliness (Peplau & Perlman, 1982), such a bidirectional association would be expected, but empirical research in this regard is limited. We used data from 615 adolescents (Mage = 10.77 years at Wave 1; 53.5% girls) in a three-wave longitudinal study with one-year intervals between successive measurement waves. Loneliness was measured using the peer-related loneliness subscale of the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents. Friendship quality was measured using the help and closeness subscales of the Friendship Qualities Scale. To test our hypothesis we estimated a cross-lagged panel model. Higher friendship quality was associated with lower levels of concurrent loneliness, which is in line with findings of previous research. However, no significant across-time predictions were found between the two constructs. Hence, using a sample of early adolescents, we could not provide evidence supporting important aspects of the aforementioned loneliness theories.

Background: Social integration with friends has an important role in shaping adolescents’ behavior and determining their wellbeing. Friendship features such as companionship, trust, closeness, intimacy, and conflicts all form the concept of friendship quality. The quality of friendships can either enhance or impede mental development during adolescence. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to understand the association between friendship quality and adolescents’ mental wellbeing. Methods: In November 2020 and later in August 2022, the search for evidence was conducted on five databases (Medline, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, and PsycINFO). Only peer-reviewed quantitative studies published from January 2000 to August 2022 that investigated friendship quality as their exposure variable in relation to six constructs of subjective wellbeing (mood, loneliness, life satisfaction, happiness, self-esteem, and subjective wellbeing) were included. After screening for eligibility, two reviewers independently extracted the data based on population characteristics, study design, exposure and outcome variables, outcome measures used, and results. Risk of bias assessment was performed utilizing the NIH Quality Assessment Tool. Narrative evidence synthesis was performed based on the constructs of subjective wellbeing. Results: Forty-three articles out of 21,585 records were included in the review. The relationship between friendship quality and depression has been investigated extensively in the literature and negative (beneficial) associations were found in eighteen studies out of twenty-three. Poor peer relationship was associated with loneliness in nine studies out of ten. All seven studies on life satisfaction and quality of peer connection found a positive association. In five studies, better peer relationship was found to be associated with happiness. A positive association between friendship quality and self-esteem was observed in five out of six applicable studies. Friendship quality was found to be positively associated with subjective well-being in all of five included studies. Conclusions: Although majority of the included studies were cross-sectional in nature, this review demonstrates the paramount value of promoting healthy friendship to adolescents’ subjective wellbeing constructs. Interventions that aim to promote subjective wellbeing among adolescents should consider the development and maintenance of healthy friendships. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42020219312. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research has documented that childhood maltreatment is associated with increased risk of child aggression. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying the relationships between childhood maltreatment and reactive and proactive functions of aggression. Therefore, the present study examined whether callousunemotional traits mediated the relationships between childhood maltreatment and two subtypes of aggression and whether these mediating processes were moderated by friendship quality. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2407 adolescents between 11 and 16 years (M age = 12.75, SD = .58) in Shanxi province, China. Participants filled out questionnaires regarding childhood maltreatment, callous-unemotional traits, aggression, and friendship quality. The results indicated that childhood maltreatment was significantly and positively associated with proactive and reactive aggression, and these relationships were partially mediated by callous-unemotional traits after controlling for demographic variables. Friendship quality moderated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and proactive aggression as well as callous-unemotional traits and proactive aggression. These relationships became weaker for adolescents with high levels of friendship quality. Friendship quality did not moderate the effects of childhood maltreatment and callous-unemotional traits on reactive aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Adolescents with chronic pain (ACP) often experience impairments in their social functioning. Little is known about the consequences of these impairments on peer relationships of ACP. This study applied social network analysis to examine whether adolescents with more pain problems are less popular (RQ1), adolescents with similar pain problems name each other more often as being part of the same peer group (RQ2), dyads with an adolescent experiencing more pain problems report less positive (eg, support) and more negative (eg, conflict) friendship qualities (RQ3), and positive and negative friendship qualities moderate the relationship between pain and emotional distress (RQ4). This study used data from the first wave of a longitudinal study (N = 2767) which followed up Swedish adolescents from 19 public schools. For RQ1-3, Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure was applied. For RQ4, standard multilevel models with observations of adolescents nested within schools were estimated. Results showed that ACP were not less popular than adolescents without chronic pain. Second, ACP nominated each other more often as being part of the same peer group. Third, results regarding friendship quality showed that adolescents with more pain problems perceived the relationship with their friends as less positive (eg, support) and more negative (eg, conflict) than adolescents with less pain problems. Finally, positive and negative friendship qualities moderated the relationship between pain and emotional distress. This study contributes to the literature on the importance of peer relationships of ACP. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine change in four features of best friendship quality (intimacy, companionship, reliable alliance and conflict) from age 19 to 30 by gender and investment in romantic life. To this end, 363 participants (58% women) were asked about the quality of the relationship with their best friend and their level of investment in romantic life at ages 19, 20, 21, 22, 25 and 30. Latent growth curve analysis revealed a slight increase in reliable alliance and companionship and a slight decrease in intimacy in the early 20s followed by a steeper drop for these three features (quadratic trajectories), while conflict declined linearly. Women reported higher levels of intimacy and companionship and less conflict than men did at 19 years old. Also, their intimacy diminished throughout their 20s, slightly at first but more strongly thereafter. For men, it was lower early on and remained stable afterwards. Finally, investment in romantic life at age 19 was associated with change in intimacy levels shared with their best friend. This study confirms that features of best friendship quality change differently from one another during emerging adulthood and demonstrates the influence of gender and investment in romantic life on these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to the traditional "variable-centered" approach, this study used a "person-centered" approach to reveal the distinct profiles of aggressive behavior among 851 Chinese college students, and tested how these profiles were related to two potential protective factors (emotional intelligence and self-esteem) and one outcome (friendship quality). Our results showed five different profiles (labeled as low, hostile, indirect, moderate, and high aggression groups) that exhibited different characteristics of aggressive behavior and differential associations with the protective and outcome variables. Three groups (the low, hostile, and indirect aggression groups) had higher levels of emotional intelligence and friendship quality than the other two groups (the moderate and high aggression groups). In terms of self-esteem, the low aggression group showed higher self-esteem than did the hostile, indirect, and moderate aggression groups, who in turn showed higher self-esteem than did the high aggression group. The study suggests that using the "person-centered" approach may considerably deepen our understanding of aggressive behavior among college students and its relationship with other variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents spend increasing amounts of time using social media, but whether social media use has a beneficial or harmful role in internalizing problems and well-being during adolescence remains under debate. The present study explored associations of social media use and friendship quality with adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being both concurrently and longitudinally, including the exploration of interactive effects between social media use and friendship quality and the examination of gender differences. Online questionnaire data collected in Spring 2018 and Spring 2019 from 1,298 Dutch adolescents aged 11–17 years (mean age 13.7 ± 1.1 years, 53.2% girls) were used. Path analyses showed that, cross-sectionally, girls (not boys) who used social media more frequently had more internalizing problems and lower well-being. Boys and girls with higher-quality friendships reported fewer concurrent internalizing problems and higher concurrent and longitudinal well-being; the association with internalizing problems was significantly stronger for girls as for boys. We found no significant interaction between social media use and friendship quality. Thus, the present study indicates that social media use and friendship quality have unique roles in adolescents' internalizing problems and well-being. Furthermore, the findings support the importance of gender-specific approaches to decrease adolescents' internalizing problems and enhance their well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how children's secure base script knowledge and friendship quality were related to bullying and victimization experiences and their emotional, academic, and behavioral adjustment. Participants were 581 children (49.6% males) aged 9 to 13 years old and one of their main caregivers (74% mothers, 23.6% fathers, 2.4% legal guardians) recruited through cluster sampling in Singapore. Most of the children were ethnic Chinese (58.2%), along with Malays, Indians, and Others (e.g. Eurasians). Children's secure base script knowledge was related to less bullying and victimization, which in turn was related to greater positive emotional state, better academic achievement, less aggression, and fewer social problems. Friendship quality did not add unique variance, highlighting the central protective role of attachment representation in the context of school bullying. The findings provide support for the security-competence link in an Asian context, and point to the importance of enhancing children's familial experiences as part of preventive efforts in combating school bullying.

This study was designed to explore the role of gender, parental raring behavior, friendship quality and shyness in the feeling of loneliness during adolescence through the ecological model of human development and the contextual-developmental perspective. ‎‎211 adolescents’ students (‎133 females, 78 males‎) from five high ‎schools in Tehran (Iran) participated in correlational research design (a non-experimental study) and ‎completed the self-report scales including: Loneliness Scale, Short EMBU, Revised Cheek–Buss ‎Shyness Scale, and Friendship–Unfriendship Attachment Inventory ‎‎(SACRAL)‎. The results showed that parenting behavior, shyness, and friendship quality were correlated with loneliness. Moreover, the findings indicated that the low level of friendship quality and high level of parenting behavior in both rejection and over-controlling had a positive correlation with the high level of loneliness in adolescents. In addition, the result showed that male adolescents feel lonelier than female adolescents. The results obtained from the current study provide a number of implications, which can be beneficial in proposing intervention efforts directed toward promoting ideal development and growth during teenage years.

This study examined the roles of grandparent-child cohesion and friendship quality in left-behind children’s positive and negative affect compared with non-left-behind children. Data from 557 participants indicated that grandparent-child cohesion and friendship quality predicted children’s emotional adaptation. Friend trust and support and intimate exchange had a stronger predictive effect on positive affect among non-left-behind children. Moreover, the interaction effects between grandparent-child cohesion and friendship quality on children’s positive affect supported the reinforcement model, while the interaction effects on negative affect supported the reinforcement model among left-behind children but supported the compensation model among non-left-behind children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some adolescents may be more likely to be influenced by parents and peers in their development of externalizing behavior than others. Recent research indicates that sensory processing sensitivity may underlie such differences in sensitivity to environmental influences, and specifically that individuals with higher sensory processing sensitivity may be similarly highly reactive to both negative and positive social contexts. Data from a two-wave, two-year longitudinal questionnaire study with 177 adolescents (M age = 13.34 years, SD age = 1.05) were used to test the hypothesis that the associations between negative relationship quality with parents and best friend and later increased adolescents' externalizing behavior and between support from parents and best friend and later decreased adolescents' externalizing behavior would be stronger for adolescents with higher sensory processing sensitivity. Our hypothesis was partly confirmed, with results showing that a stronger negative relationship quality with best friend was only predictive of a subsequent increase in externalizing behavior for adolescents who scored higher on sensory processing sensitivity. More research is needed to investigate whether sensory processing sensitivity functions as a trait that is associated with increased sensitivity to environmental stimuli regardless of valence, especially in the context of negative and positive social exposures such as peer and parent environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent sociometric research has described students with special educational needs (SEN) as less accepted and experiencing more social difficulties than their classmates without SEN. This study addresses the social participation of students with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) in regular schools while also focusing on the quality of their best friendship. In this longitudinal study, 313 secondary students, including 46 with MLD, were first examined while at Grade 7 (T1) and 2 years later at Grade 9 (T2). In line with previous studies, the students with MLD held reduced peer acceptance, had fewer friendships, and engaged less often in social interactions with peers than their typically developing classmates on both administrations. However, students with MLD held positive perceptions of social self-concept and friendship quality, with the two measures being positively associated. At T2, students with MLD reported poorer socio-emotional skills, which were positively correlated with their perceptions of both social self-concept and friendship quality. The paper concludes by outlining the importance of supporting students' socio-emotional development through implementing relevant school-based interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-rumination refers to the excessive discussion of negative issues, which has been associated with internalizing problems and friendship quality. Two studies were conducted to explore (a) the construct validity of Co-rumination Questionnaire and (b) the relationship between co-rumination and life satisfaction. Study 1 demonstrated the validity of the two-dimensional model of co-rumination. Findings indicated that the revised short version of the Co-rumination questionnaire comprises 10 items, involving "Supportive Discussion" (SD) and "Obsessive Whining" (OW). Study 2 focuses on the relationship between co-rumination and life satisfaction, aiming to explore the adaptive mechanisms of it. Middle school students (n = 2614; 51.8 % boys; M = 14.11 years, SD = 1.42) were investigated based on responses to questionnaires. Results revealed that co-rumination positively correlated with life satisfaction, whereby "SD" positively associated with life satisfaction, while "OW" negatively associated with it. Friendship quality was shown to serve as an intermediate mechanism of "SD" promoting life satisfaction, while it suppressed the negative effect of "OW". The effect of "OW" on life satisfaction differed between genders with the maladaptive result of "OW" being observed only in girls but not boys. The findings both directly and indirectly indicate the adaptability of co-rumination, revealing that "the more we co-ruminate, the happier we are." • Proposed a two-dimensional model of co-rumination and revised the CRQ • Co-rumination showed adaptability, and it was advocated "directly" by "SD" and "indirectly" by "OW". • Friendship quality played a positive mediating role in the SD model and suppressed the negative effects of the OW model. • The OW model exhibited gender differences, with boys showing adaptability while girls did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of friendship quality in adolescents with and without ADHD. The participants were 115 adolescents (61 ADHD, 54 non-ADHD), ages 13–18. The adolescents completed questionnaires assessing the quality of their relationships with their best friends, social perspective taking, anxiety and depression. Their parents completed questionnaires assessing the adolescents' social skills, oppositional behaviors, and conduct problems. Being female was associated with higher levels of friendship quality. Although ADHD status did not predict friendship quality among 13–15 years old adolescents, having a diagnosis of ADHD was negatively associated with friendship quality among 16–18 years old adolescents. Friendship stability, anxiety, social perspective taking, and social skills were positive predictors of friendship quality over and above gender, age and ADHD status whereas oppositional behavior was a negative predictor of friendship quality. Social perspective taking mediated the relationship between friendship quality and anxiety and social skills mediated the relationship between oppositional behavior and friendship quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous researches have shown that self-control is a significant promoter of prosocial behavior, the mechanism behind this relationship is still unclear. According to the organism–environment interaction model and self-control model, this study researched whether life satisfaction played a mediating role between self-control and adolescents' prosocial behavior and if friendship quality played a moderating role between self-control and prosocial behavior. This study used a longitudinal tracking research (T1&T2; and the interval between T1&T2 is 6 months). A total of 1182 Chinese middle school students participated the survey. They were between 12 and 15 years old (average age: 14.16 years old, SD = 1.29). Results indicated that life satisfaction played a mediating role between self-control and adolescents' prosocial behavior. Furthermore, this direct relationship in the link between self-control and prosocial behavior was significant when adolescents had a good-quality friendship. These results highlight that life satisfaction plays an important role in the relationship between self-control and prosocial behavior. The present study further determined that a high-quality friendship was an important factor that amplified this direct effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study mainly focused on college students amidst the COVID-19 outbreak and aimed to develop and examine a moderated mediation model between access to epidemic information and life satisfaction. Friendship quality as a moderator, and perceived stress as a mediator. A sample of 1032 college students participated in this study and completed questionnaires regarding access to epidemic information, perceived stress, friendship quality, and life satisfaction. Findings indicated that 1) access to epidemic information was strongly related to life satisfaction; 2) perceived stress acts as a mediator in the positive relationship between access to epidemic information and life satisfaction; 3) friendship quality moderated the relationship between access to epidemic information and perceived stress as well as perceived stress and life satisfaction, and such that there was a stronger association between access to epidemic information and perceived stress for college students with high friendship quality. But the relationship between perceived stress and life satisfaction became weaker for college students with high friendship quality. The results illuminate the mechanism to theoretical and practical implications for improving college students' life satisfaction during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the representation of friendship during middle childhood and its impact on aggressive behavior. The literature shows that friendship is almost a "gym of social skills," which, in turn, are protective factors against aggressive behavior; in this regard, the quality of friendship is especially important, but this quality becomes less and less accessible to direct observation as children grow older and spend most of their time in the externally regulated environment of primary school. To assess friendship quality requires allowing children to present their own perspective on the relationship, a goal that we have tackled through drawing. Children aged 6–11 years were individually asked to draw themselves and a close friend in two situations (i.e., relational wellbeing and relational distress) and to complete a 20-item scale of physical and verbal aggression. Data were analyzed with three main aims, namely, (1) to show if and how the representation of two core features of relationships (i.e., relatedness and individuality) changes according to the situation and/or according to the children's gender; (2) to focus on the representation of distressing situations to verify if they coincide with forms of conflict and if they differ according to the children's gender; and (3) to verify if the strength of indices of relatedness and individuality, both in situations of wellbeing and distress, predicts children's tendency to enact aggressive behaviors. The results confirm that relatedness is the dominant feature of friendship, especially in the situation of wellbeing and when the situation becomes distressing. Conflict is not always present when children do not feel fine with their friends; boys and girls do not differ significantly in this regard, but they do differ in terms of the management of relatedness and individuality when problematic situations arise. In line with previous studies, sex is the main predictor of aggressive behavior with peers, with boys more at risk than girls; however, the capacity to relate with one's own friend even in difficult times (in which boys are not inferior to girls) predicts lesser aggression with peers in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting has been reported to exert significant short-term and long-term impact on the offspring's personality, behavior, and relationships during their lifespan. The present study aimed to assess the impact of positive parenting on the trait emotional intelligence, prosocial behavior (altruism) and friendship quality of adolescents. The sample of present study comprised 350 adolescents (208 boys and 142 girls) aged between 14 and 16 year (M = 15. 46 year, SD =.86) and their parents. The data were collected from two public and two private sector schools of Lahore, Pakistan. Parenting Style Scale (Batool and Mumtaz Pakistan Journal of Psychological Reseaech, 30(2), 225–248, 2015), the Emotional Intelligence Scale for Children and Adolescents (Batool and Hayat Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 16(2), 17–26, 2018), the Altruistic Personality Scale (Rushton et al. Personality and Individual Differences, 1, 292–302, 1981), and the Intimate Friendship Scale (Sharabany 1974) were employed. The final model of a mediational path analysis revealed that positive parenting had a statistically significant indirect impact on the prosocial behavior of adolescents via emotional intelligence (R2 =.24). As the friendship quality of adolescents concerns, positive parenting had statistically significant direct and indirect impact (via emotional intelligence and prosocial behavior) on it (R2 =.28). Gender appeared as a significant covariate of both prosocial behavior and friendship quality. Based on the results, we suggest parents to practice positive parenting styles and recommend emotional intelligence training of adolescents to promote prosocial behavior and better relationship with friends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the representation of friendship during middle childhood and its impact on aggressive behavior. The literature shows that friendship is almost a “gym of social skills,” which, in turn, are protective factors against aggressive behavior; in this regard, the quality of friendship is especially important, but this quality becomes less and less accessible to direct observation as children grow older and spend most of their time in the externally regulated environment of primary school. To assess friendship quality requires allowing children to present their own perspective on the relationship, a goal that we have tackled through drawing. Children aged 6–11 years were individually asked to draw themselves and a close friend in two situations (i.e., relational wellbeing and relational distress) and to complete a 20-item scale of physical and verbal aggression. Data were analyzed with three main aims, namely, (1) to show if and how the representation of two core features of relationships (i.e., relatedness and individuality) changes according to the situation and/or according to the children’s gender; (2) to focus on the representation of distressing situations to verify if they coincide with forms of conflict and if they differ according to the children’s gender; and (3) to verify if the strength of indices of relatedness and individuality, both in situations of wellbeing and distress, predicts children’s tendency to enact aggressive behaviors. The results confirm that relatedness is the dominant feature of friendship, especially in the situation of wellbeing and when the situation becomes distressing. Conflict is not always present when children do not feel fine with their friends; boys and girls do not differ significantly in this regard, but they do differ in terms of the management of relatedness and individuality when problematic situations arise. In line with previous studies, sex is the main predictor of aggressive behavior with peers, with boys more at risk than girls; however, the capacity to relate with one’s own friend even in difficult times (in which boys are not inferior to girls) predicts lesser aggression with peers in general.

We examined whether emerging adults would engage in mobile phone use (MPU) when given the opportunity to socialize face-to-face with a close friend in a laboratory setting. Sixty-three U.S. college student friendship dyads rated their friendship quality in an online survey before coming into the laboratory together. When they arrived for their appointment, they were asked to wait together in a room for 5 min. A hidden camera recorded each dyad. Friends then separately rated the quality of the interaction. We coded time spent using mobile phone in seconds. A hierarchical regression conducted at the level of the dyad controlling for friendship quality and gender showed that more MPU was associated with lower quality interactions. We discuss findings in terms of the potential for MPU to interfere with the development of friendship intimacy.

Previous research shows a link between rejection sensitivity (RS) and various psychological disorders; however, its relation to the positive psychological construct of mental well‐being remains unstudied. This study investigates the relationship between RS and mental well‐being while taking the role of friendship quality into consideration for 323 emerging adults using decision tree analysis. In training (R2 =.29) and test trees (R2 =.18), RS had the strongest relationship with mental well‐being where those higher in RS had lower mental well‐being scores. For those lower in RS, higher combined (same‐sex and opposite‐sex) friendship quality was associated with higher mental well‐being. Whereas for those higher in RS, higher same‐sex friendship quality was associated with higher mental well‐being. As our findings indicate, friendship quality may play a buffering role for emerging adults, keeping their mental well‐being at more preferable levels especially for those with higher RS. Implications for future studies and interventions to boost friendship quality are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding and regulating emotions influence children's friendships. Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) have difficulties in understanding emotions and in controlling themselves. Τhe present study examines how children's friendships and their quality may be affected by emotion understanding and regulation skills. Participants were 64 children with ADHD, 64 children with SLD, and 64 typically developing (TD) children (Mage = 9.77 years, SD = 1.22) who answered questionnaires about their friendships, and their emotion understanding and regulation. Results showed that ADHD children had less friends, lower friendship qualities, worse understanding of emotions and control of their impulsivity, and used less cognitive reappraisals to regulate emotions, followed by SLD children and finally by TD children. Children with SLD reported using more expressive suppressions for regulating emotions. For all children, emotion understanding and regulation predicted higher friendship quality. The results support the significance of understanding and regulating emotions upon the quality of children's best friendships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Mental health problems have become a global crisis of the 21st century, with adolescence being a typical period of the outbreak of these problems. However, the profiles and transition of mental health problems in Chinese adolescents remain unclear. In addition, protective and risk factors that shape mental health problems require further clarification.Methods: We measured depression, anxiety, and stress as indicators to identify the profiles and transition patterns of mental health problems among Chinese adolescents, as well as environment-related predictors (i.e., friendship quality, parental psychological control, and autonomy support). A total of 722 participants (376 females; Mage  = 15.21, SDage  = 0.74) completed a set of questionnaires at two time points with a 1-year interval (T1: November 2018; T2: November 2019).Results: The profile analysis revealed two groups: healthy and troubled. The development of mental health problems included four trajectories: steady low, steady high, increasing, and decreasing. Results indicated that parental autonomy support and friendship quality exerted protective and buffering effects, whereas parental psychological control acted as a risk factor for mental health problem profiles. Furthermore, friendship quality had a unique predictive effect on the decreasing trajectory.Conclusions: The profiles of mental health problems showed high concurrency of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and developmental trajectories were largely stable over time. Friendship quality, parental autonomy support, and psychological control predicted the profiles of the mental health problems of Chinese adolescents, and only friendship quality predicted the transition from a troubled to healthy profile over 1 year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Adolescents endeavor to meet their social needs, to be accepted and to develop close friendship relationships. However, quality and close relationships may not always be possible.Identity development may be affected if adolescents cannot be included in social groups and cannot establish quality friendship relationships. This can be caused to false identity of adolescents who have not yet gained the ability to develop a original identity. Methods: The study group consisted of three high schools, determined according to the entrance score of secondary education in Sivas city center and 510 students enrolled in secondary education with general aptitude exams in the 2017-2018 academic year. Social Exclusion Experiences Scale for Adolescents, False Identity Scale for Adolescents and Friendship Quality Scale were used as data collection tools. Results: According to the regression analysis findings, it was observed that false self and acceptance variables predicted significant negligence, which is the sub-dimension of social exclusion variable. It significantly predicts the exclusion sub-dimension of the social exclusion variable of proximity and acceptance variables. Conclusıon: The results of this study will contribute to adolescent identity development and will provide guidance to parents and teachers in order to establish a healthy friendship relations.

Many things play a role in the tendency to engage in cyberbullying. This study aimed to identify the determinant factors of the tendency to engage in cyberbullying by adolescents in Java. A sample of 1038 teenagers aged between 12 and 18 who used internet-connected electronic information and technology equipment. The measuring instruments used in this study included a cyberbullying tendency scale, an empathy scale, a self-esteem scale, a friendship quality scale, and an emotion regulation scale. Path analysis was used to process the data. The data showed that self-esteem served as a predictor of cyberbullying tendency whose relationship was negative only when it was mediated by emotion regulation. Friendship quality was a predictor of cyberbullying tendency both in a direct fashion and mediated by empathy.

Abstract Objectives. The main purposes of this study were to explore: a) the relationships between massive use of Social Networks sites (SNs) in adolescence, school burnout levels and friendship quality; b) gender differences in massive and problematic use of SNs. Material and methods. A number of 140 Italian high school students (M=72.9%) aged 16-18 years participated in the study. Students were asked to complete self-report questionnaires: an ad-hoc scale for investigating SNs use, The Generalized Pathological Internet Use Scale-2 (GPIUS-2; Caplan, 2010), The Parent and Peer attachment inventory for Friendship Quality (Armsden and Greenberg, 1987), The School Burnout Inventory (SBI; Samlela-Aro et al., 2009). Results. Results showed positive relationships between massive SNs use and friendship quality (r = .30, p < .01); compulsive SNs (GPIUS-2) use and school burnout total score (r = .25, p < .01); massive SNs use and female gender (r = .17, p < .05), and finally a positive relationship between SNs use for mood regulation and school burnout total score (r = .20, p < .05). Moreover, significant difference emerged between females and males in SNs massive use, with higher levels reported by females (M=23.55, DS=3.614) in comparison to males (M=21.89, DS=4.261); t(138)= -2.13, p < .05. Conclusions. Overall, this study highlighted different dimensions that could influence SNs massive and problematic use in adolescence, specifically school burnout and friendship quality. Structuring interventions in order to promote socio-relational skills among peers and to prevent school-related burnout could prevent problematic use of SNs in adolescence.

Most existing research assumes "phone use during face-to-face interactions" to be psychosocially detrimental. Drawing on the digital social multitasking framework, this study explored not only the negative but also positive implications of the behavior. A sample of 517 adolescents (Mage = 14.83, S.D. = 1.93; 50% female) recruited through the Qualtrics panel completed an online survey. Results showed that adolescents' and their friend's digital social multitasking were both associated with (1) greater perceived efficiency, which, in turn, was associated with competence need satisfaction, and (2) greater perceived connection, which, in turn, was associated with better friendship quality, autonomy need satisfaction, and relatedness need satisfaction. Adolescents' own multitasking also had an indirect, negative relationship with friendship quality through perceived distraction, but friend's multitasking did not compromise friendship quality. The study provides a more balanced picture, showing that despite the potential harm of digital social multitasking, adolescents' phone use during face-to-face peer interactions also involves potential benefits for teens' psychosocial well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of internet-connected devices in everyday life means that social interactions now frequently take place online. However, for socially vulnerable youth, it may be particularly important to examine distinctions between online and offline contexts of friendships. The current study sought to increase understanding of friendships in the digital era by exploring the associations of social anxiety and loneliness with frequency of interactions with friends, and in turn, friendship quality, as moderated by primary context of interaction with friends (online, offline, or equally online and offline). A sample of Australian young adults (N = 658; 59.8% female; M age = 19.41, SD = 2.04) who reported having friendships conducted across both online and offline contexts were included in the study. A serial mediation model tested the effects of social anxiety on perceptions of friendship quality, through loneliness and frequency of interacting with friends. The findings suggest that social vulnerabilities are negatively associated with friendship quality for young adults who primarily interact with friends offline or both online and offline. However, among those who primarily interact with friends online, social vulnerabilities are not significantly associated with friendship quality. These results provide insight into contemporary friendships and highlight how social vulnerabilities are associated with perceptions of friendship quality across online and offline settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emotional neglect is a risk factor for adolescents' depression. In migrant families, long-term parent-child separation increases the possibility of left-behind adolescents experiencing emotional neglect, making it an important risk factor for the occurrence and development of depressive symptoms among left-behind adolescents. Moreover, there has been a dearth of work on protective factors against the harmful impacts of emotional neglect on left-behind adolescents' depressive symptoms. To address this gap, the protective roles of friendship quality and gender differences were also examined.Methods: A total of 1802 Chinese rural adolescents completed self-report standardized scales that measured emotional neglect, friendship quality and depressive symptoms.Results: Emotional neglect was positively associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms, but the predictive power of emotional neglect for depressive symptoms varied with left-behind status and gender. Furthermore, friendship quality was not only negatively associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms, but also buffered the negative impact of emotional neglect on depressive symptoms among girls from both-parent migrant families.Limitations: This study was limited by the cross-sectional data, the methods of self-reporting, the lack of adolescents from mother-only families, and a potential nesting structure.Conclusions: These findings provide important implications for intervention programs that are targeted toward reducing the impact of emotional neglect on left-behind adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the present study, we investigated the relationship between friendship quality (dimensions) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) as well as the moderating role of gender and age in this relationship. The sample consisted of 463 children and adolescents (50.10% female, age range: 9–17 years). Friendship quality and NSSI were measured using the Friendship Qualities Scale (FQS; Bukowski, Hoza, & Boivin, 1994) and the Self Harm Inventory (SHI; Sansone, Wiederman, & Sansone, 1998), respectively. Overall, total friendship quality and NSSI were significantly and negatively related. Additionally, the relationship between total friendship quality and NSSI was moderated by gender and age. Specifically, girls with low friendship quality reported more NSSI; whereas for boys an opposite effect was found. As for age, friendship quality and NSSI were positively related in older participants. In younger participants, a relationship between friendship quality and NSSI seemed rather absent. This study highlights the important association between friendship quality and NSSI, as well as gender- and age-related differences in this association, which should be taken into account in the prevention and treatment of NSSI.

This study explored the two-way relationship between parent–child communication and the friendship quality of early adolescents, as well as the stability of these constructs and of gender differences, using a cross-lagged analysis. We conducted a 10-month follow-up study with 842 adolescents using the Parent–Adolescent Communication Scale and the Friendship Quality Questionnaire. Results show that both father–child and mother–child communication at Time 1 significantly and positively predicted friendship quality in early adolescence as measured at Time 2; that is, the better was parent–child communication at Time 1, the higher was the friendship quality in early adolescence at Time 2. However, friendship quality at Time 1 did not significantly predict parent–child at Time 2. Additionally, parent–child communication and friendship quality were better among children in seventh compared to eighth grade. Girls' friendship quality was higher than that of boys, whereas boys' parent–child communication was better than that of girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile Internet and social media have greatly changed the way that adolescents communicate. The current study investigated the effect of mobile social media use on adolescents' self-identity, and explored the mediating role of friendship quality and the moderating role of gender. A total of 473 Chinese adolescents participated in the investigation. Results indicated that mobile social media used was positively correlated with adolescents' self-identity and friendship quality. Moreover, friendship quality mediated the relationship between mobile social media use and adolescents' self-identity. That is, adolescents' mobile social media use was associated with a higher quality of friendship, which, in turn, contributed to their formation of self-identity. In addition, gender moderated the relation between mobile social media use and friendship quality, such that this relation was stronger for males than for females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]