Teenage peer relationships linked to long-term good health in adulthood; being lonely harms future health

Psychologists have found that the quality of close friendships in adolescence could help predict the physical health of a person in adulthood. But having no close friends and interactions during adolescence may negatively affect future health.

A new research, published in the journal Psychological Science, shows that the conformity with peer norms may actually give unexpected benefits for physical health in early adulthood. The researchers found that the adolescent relationship qualities could influence the higher quality health in adulthood by reducing levels of later anxiety and depressive symptoms.

The peer relationships provide some of the most emotionally intense experiences that adolescents go through, the researcher said in a report. The risk of having stress-related health problems in adulthood would lessen by “following the herd” and having close, supportive relationships in adolescence.

The intense focus during adolescence to form and keep peer relationships may well result from an instinctive recognition that the relationships are linked to well-being. The results show “that remaining close to, or as opposed to separating oneself, from the peer pack in adolescence has long-term implications for adult physical health,” said Joseph Allen, the study researcher and psychological scientists.

For the study, a diverse group of 171 seventh- and eighth-graders and ages 13 to 27 years old were recruited to help analyse the influence of peer norms to people. Allen and his colleagues asked each participant to nominate their closest same-gender friend to be included in the study.

For the participants aged 13 to 17, their best friend filled out a questionnaire about the overall quality of their friendship, including the degree of trust, communication and alienation in the relationship. Also, the researchers assessed how much the participants have focused on fitting in with peers.

The health quality of the participants was then assessed annually at ages 25 to 27 years old. The questions covered their anxiety, depression symptoms, body mass index, and their overall health, including their distinct medical diagnoses as well as any hospitalisations.

The results show that both high-quality close friendships and a drive to fit in with peers in adolescence were linked with better health on the 27-year-old participants. The analysis has even taken into account other potentially influential variables such as household income, body mass index and drug use.

“From a risk and prevention perspective, difficulty forming close relationships early in adolescence may now be considered a marker of risk for long-term health difficulties,” Allen stated. The researchers suggest that the quality of social relationships in adolescence should be considered for the future, long-term health promotion efforts in addition to more commonly investigated health risks, such as obesity and smoking.

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