Psychological Correlates, Consequences of Late Childhood Friendship Dissolution

描述（由申请人提供）：这个项目的目的是了解不同类型的最好的友谊解散对儿童心理健康的影响。虽然持续的友谊参与促进情感健康和心理社会调整是公认的，但对儿童友谊参与变化的影响知之甚少，例如当儿童友谊破裂或中断时。如果估计是正确的，那么在童年后期的一个学年里，将近一半的友谊就会破裂。最近的研究结果表明，失去友谊的儿童心理困扰的风险增加，而失去友谊且无法取代友谊的儿童则会经历更大的受害和孤独。因此，友谊的破裂代表了常见但尚未得到充分研究的风险因素，可能对许多儿童构成重大危险。因此，这个项目的第一个目的是检查不同类型的最好的友谊在多大程度上发生在童年后期。两种不同类型的分手可能是：(1)完全分手，孩子们不再是朋友；(2)“降级”分手，孩子们继续分享友谊，但不再是最好的朋友。第二个具体目的是评估友谊破裂与儿童心理健康之间的关系。具体来说，该项目将评估两种不同类型的最好的友谊破裂和自我报告的社会心理痛苦（例如，孤独，抑郁）以及内化和外化情绪（悲伤和愤怒）之间的联系。来自纽约布法罗郊区中学的300名儿童（150名女孩）将在他们的教室里完成调查问卷，在整个六年级的三个时间点和他们进入七年级后的一个时间点。本项目将采用四个时间点纵向设计来评估短期友谊解体（例如，当一段友谊解体，但随后又有新的友谊）和重复/长期友谊解体（例如，当一段友谊解体并被取代，但后一段友谊也解体）的影响。问卷调查数据还将评估孩子们评估或思考友谊破裂的方式。分析儿童的认知可能有助于理解解体心理伴随因素的个体差异。在整个研究过程中，将特别强调儿童的个人特征，如性别和行为特征（例如，攻击性），这可能使儿童更容易受到解散和相关负面后果的影响。该项目的长期目标是促进对双元水平的同伴困难及其与心理健康的关系的认识。该项目的应用可能包括教育学校和儿童保育专业人员了解友谊破裂和干扰的警告信号、风险、不利的心理健康和调整后果，并改进旨在解决心理社会适应不良和同伴关系困难的干预措施。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this project is to understand the impact of different types of best friendship dissolution on children's psychological well-being. While it is well-established that consistent friendship involvement promotes emotional health and psychosocial adjustment, little is known about the impact of changes in children's friendship involvement, such as when children's friendships are dissolved or disrupted. If estimates are correct, nearly half of all friendships are disrupted over the course of one school year during late childhood. Recent findings indicate that children who lose friendships are at increased risk for psychological distress, and that children who lose friendships and are not able to replace them experience significantly greater victimization and loneliness. Thus, friendship dissolutions represent common yet understudied risk factors that may pose significant dangers for many children. Accordingly, the first aim of this project is to examine the extent to which different types of best friendship dissolution occur in late childhood. Two different types of dissolution may be: (1) complete dissolution, where children no longer relate as friends at all, and (2) "downgrade" dissolutions, where children continue to share a friendship but are no longer best friends. The second specific aim is to assess the relations between friendship dissolution and children's psychological health. Specifically, the project will evaluate the associations between two different types of best friendship dissolution and self-reports of psychosocial distress (e.g., loneliness, depression) and internalizing and externalizing emotions (sadness and anger). 300 children (150 girls) from middle-schools in the suburban Buffalo, New York area will complete questionnaires in their classrooms at three time points throughout the 6th grade year and one time point after they transition into the 7th grade. This project will employ a four time-point longitudinal design to permit evaluation of the impact of short-term friendship dissolution (e.g., when a friendship dissolves but is followed by friendship replacement), and repeated/long-term friendship dissolution (e.g., when a friendship dissolves and is replaced, but the latter friendship also dissolves). Questionnaire data will also assess the ways in which children evaluate or think about friendship dissolution. Analyzing children's cognitions may be useful in understanding individual differences in the psychological concomitants of dissolution. Throughout the study, a special emphasis will be placed on individual child characteristics, such as sex and behavioral profile (e.g., aggressive), which may make children more vulnerable to dissolution and associated negative consequences. The long-term goal of this project is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge about peer difficulties at the dyadic level and their relation to psychological well-being. Applications of this project might include educating school and childcare professionals about the warning signs, risks, and adverse mental health and adjustment consequences of friendship dissolution and disturbance, and improving interventions designed to address psychosocial maladjustment and peer relationship difficulties. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Recent research findings indicate that children who are unable to replace lost best friendships are at significantly greater risk for behavioral problems and peer difficulties. Little is known about the psychological health outcomes of best friendship dissolution during late childhood, but recent evidence suggests that best friendship loss may represent a relatively unknown yet significant precipitator of stress and psychological ill health in late childhood. Thus, the overarching goal of this study is to determine when and why children lose best friendships, and whether individual child characteristics (e.g., aggressive behavioral profile) and/or friendship replacement might modify the concurrent and longitudinal psychological concomitants of best friendship loss.