Open AccessFriends also matter: Examining friendship adjustment indices as moderators of anxious-withdrawal and trajectories of change in psychological maladjustment.
Author(s) -
Andrea Markovic,
Julie C. Bowker
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.318
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-0599
pISSN - 0012-1649
DOI - 10.1037/dev0000343
Subject(s) - friendship , psychology , psycinfo , developmental psychology , psychological intervention , nomination , peer group , ethnic group , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , medline , political science , law , sociology , anthropology
The present study evaluated whether 3 indices of friendship adjustment (mutual friendship involvement, friendship stability, friendship quality) are important, but overlooked, moderators of the impact of anxious-withdrawal on trajectories of psychological maladjustment during early adolescence. Participants included 271 young adolescents (51% boys; M age = 11.83 years; 42% ethnic minority) who completed peer nomination and self-report measures at 3 waves in a longitudinal study. In line with hypotheses, growth curve analyses revealed that anxious-withdrawal predicted less negative psychological adjustment trajectories for friended young adolescents, albeit somewhat differently for boys and girls. Understanding the unique significance of friendships in the lives of anxious-withdrawn young adolescents could improve interventions as their friendships may be more successfully targeted than their group-level peer difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record