WASHINGTON — Depression in a best friend was significantly associated with the development of depressive symptoms in adolescents under conditions of social anxiety, Mitchell Prinstein, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
Peer relationships during adolescence are characterized by high levels of emotional disclosure and intimacy. Adolescents often use feedback from peers, and their perceived standing among peers is a primary source of their own identity, said Dr. Prinstein of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Previous research has shown that adolescents and their friends have remarkably similar characteristics, both concurrently and longitudinally.
Adolescents are likely to choose friends with similar social and psychological characteristics, attitudes, and behavior preferences, and previous research has shown that exposure to these friends extends these similar attitudes and behaviors longitudinally.
Dr. Prinstein and his colleagues studied 100 community-dwelling adolescents, each of whom chose a friend who was also in the data set. No friend was allowed to be selected more than once. The mean age was 16 years at baseline, and 60% were female.
Among girls, a best friend's depression as reported by that friend was associated with depression in the primary adolescent under conditions of social anxiety. Among boys, a lesser level of friendship intimacy was associated with a greater level of association between a best friend's depression and the development of depressive symptoms in the primary adolescent. Among both girls and boys, the higher the level of the best friend's popularity, as rated by peers, the stronger the association between depression in that best friend and the development of depressive symptoms in the primary adolescent.
The results support previous studies of the relevance of peer contagion as a potential contributor to depression in adolescents. “Interventions should not seek to detach teens from relationships, but [should] work to influence adolescent resilience by moderating factors such as anxiety,” Dr. Prinstein said. “Getting adolescents to change who their friends are is generally unsuccessful.”