The quality of adolescents' friendships: Associations with mothers' interpersonal relationships, attachments to parents and friends, and prosocial behaviors

• Published in: Journal of adolescence (London, England.) Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 429 - 445
• Main Authors: MARKIEWICZ, DOROTHY, DOYLE, ANNA BETH, BRENDGEN, MARA
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2001; Elsevier Science; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Attachment; Attachment Behavior; Attachment style; Biological and medical sciences; Child development; Couple and family; Developmental psychology; Emotional Response; Expressed emotions; Female; Friendship; Friendships; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; High School Students; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Interpersonal Relationship; Interpersonal relationships; Likelihood Functions; Male; Marital Quality; Marital Relations; Marriage - psychology; Models, Psychological; Montreal, Quebec; Mother-Child Relations; Mothers; Object Attachment; Parent Child Relationship; Parental Influence; Parenting; Peer Group; Peer Relationship; Prosocial Behavior; Prosocial behaviour; Psychology, Adolescent; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Quebec; Regression Analysis; Self Expression; Social Behavior; Social Learning; Social learning perspectives; Social Learning Theory; Social Networks; Social Perception; Social psychology; Social sciences; Videotape Recording; Quebec; Human; Social environment; Marital relation; Peer relation; Prosocial behavior; Prediction; Social network; Emotion emotionality; Personality; Friendship; Affective attachment; Mother; Social interaction; Quality; Adolescent; Family environment
• ISSN: 0140-1971; 1095-9254
• DOI: 10.1006/jado.2001.0374

Adolescents' friendship quality and observed emotional expression with their best friends were predicted from reports of their mother's interpersonal relationships—specifically the quality of her marriage and social network. Two models explaining these relationships received support. Consistent with an Attachment Theory model, adolescents' perceptions of marital quality predicted attachment security with mother, father and friends. Security of attachment to friends in turn predicted best friendship quality, but not affective behavior with the friend. A Social Learning Theory model was also supported, in which perceptions of both marital quality and mother's social network quality predicted adolescents' prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior in turn predicted both best friendship quality and affective behavior with the friend.