Having and keeping in touch with close friends provides benefits beyond a healthy social life; it also offers profound psychological and even physical benefits. In fact, among children experiencing negative situations in their lives, having a close friend directly impacts the child's ability to cope positively, according to new research from Concordia University.
A group of 103 students (48 girls and 55 boys) in fifth and sixth grades were asked to record their experiences and emotions in journals over a four day period. They were also subjected to routine saliva tests for the hormone cortisol, a stress chemical that triggers increased heart rate, blood pressure, and other physiological changes.
The researchers' findings confirmed that the psychological and physiological reactions to negative events depend heavily on the social context at the moment of the event. When the students were alone when they were reprimanded by a teacher or had an argument with a classmate, they demonstrated much higher cortisol levels than when they had a friend nearby. Their corresponding journal entries also showed a lowered feeling of self-worth when they had to face a bad situation on their own.
Prior research has shown that childhood friendships have far-reaching health benefits later in life. This was the first study to explicitly focus on the immediate physiological effects of a friendly presence. The study's authors say that their results are consistent with prior work, and point out that chronic stress in childhood (such as that faced by those with fewer close friends) can lead to immune problems, lack of bone growth, and slowed emotional and behavioral development.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha also collaborated on the study, which is printed in Developmental Psychology.
Source: Concordia University
