Benefits, Downsides of Changing Trends in Teen Friendships

Thirty years ago, teenage friendships looked different than they do today. Back then, teens had a few close friends – mostly other kids who lived in their neighborhoods. Today, kids often travel in packs, and claim to have four or five best friends at one time.

The shift to group-style friendships has notable upsides, such as increasing the likelihood of more diverse connections and boosting teens’ self-esteem by giving them a place to belong.

A study published last summer in the online edition of Journal Research on Adolescence showed that teens with more friends in school had higher grade-point averages. - Source: The Tennessean

The downside to group friendships is that teens don't have to work quite as hard to maintain their relationships.

• When you’re in a group of 10 or 20 people and you get in a fight with someone, you can just ignore that person and talk to someone else.
  
• When there's just the two of you, you have to work it out.
  
• Psychologists recommend that parents encourage their kids to participate in at least one activity that requires one-on-one interaction, so their kids can develop important relationship skills.

Youth Cite Bullying as Important Community Concern

A survey of teenagers and young adults found that they mention "bullying," especially cyberbullying, as a problem in their communities more often than they mention drugs, poor parenting, crime, or racism.

Lead author Peter Picard of the TRU Study:2011 said that 50% of teenagers in the study worry about Internet bullying, along with 60% of those in the 27 to 29-year-old age group.

"Bullying in one form or another has been with us forever," said Picard. "But the old image of a menacing crowd cornering a vulnerable victim behind the gym does not really capture the essence of modern bullying. Think of a networked army of anonymous mean spirits armed with WebCams, iPhones and twitter accounts ... Unfortunately, today's attacks leave a much more harmful mark than yesterday's locker room harassment."

Having Abortion, Giving Birth Lead to Similar Depression among Teen Girls

Teenagers who have abortions have similar levels of depression and low self-esteem as their counterparts who choose to have their babies, according to a study from Oregon State University.

• Dr. Jocelyn Warren and her colleagues used data starting from 1994 on 289 girls ages 13 to 18 years old, who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
• The research team compared levels of depression and low self-esteem among both groups of girls one year after they got pregnant, and then five years later.
• Previous studies have indicated that both groups suffer from high levels of depression and that teenage girls who have had abortions are more likely to commit suicide.

"What we did not know was whether psychological outcomes are worse for girls who choose abortion," said Dr. Warren. "This study says, 'No.'"

The study appears in the journal Perspectives on Reproductive and Sexual Health.