From: Pacific Standard
Adolescent Friendships Linked to Adult Health
Pacific Standard:
For most people, adolescence is a period of life marked by intense friendships, as well as a strong bias toward conformity. Fitting in with our peers is an urgent need, and we’re generally willing to damp down our individuality in order to do so.
Newly published research suggests there is a tangible reward for this sort of blending in: better health 10 or more years down the road.
A study in the journal Psychological Science finds participants’ physical health in their mid to late 20s was “robustly predicted” by their adolescent experiences—specifically, the quality of their close teenage friendships, and their “pattern of acquiescence to social norms.”
“Remaining close, as opposed to separating oneself from the peer pack in adolescence, has long-term implications for adult physical health,” writes a research team led by University of Virginia psychologist Joseph Allen. This dynamic, the researchers add, may help explain “the unique intensity of peer relationships in adolescence.”
Read the whole story: Pacific Standard
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