Developing Close Friendships During Adolescence May Help You Stay Fit In Adulthood

High-quality close friendships in adolescence influence adult health through decreased levels of later anxiety, depressive symptoms and body mass index.

Children who develop close friendship early in life can be physically fit later in their adulthood, says a new research.

"These results indicate that remaining close to -- as opposed to separating oneself -- from the peer pack in adolescence has long-term implications for adult physical health," said one of the researchers Joseph Allen from University of Virginia in the US.

Racially Diverse Friendships Outside The Workplace Can Help Perform Well On Your Job
People who had more different-race friends outside of work also had a more diverse group of friends among their co-workers paid dividends on the job.

"In this study, it was a robust predictor of increased long-term physical health quality," Allen noted.

The findings indicate that adolescent relationship qualities may come to influence adult health through decreased levels of later anxiety and depressive symptoms.

The researchers recruited a diverse group of 171 seventh- and eighth-graders and followed them from ages 13 through 27 years old.

Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Study Shows Why Teenage Friendships End
In teenage friendships, the strongest predictors of friendship dissolution are differences in sex and the degree to which children were liked by other children.

From ages 13 through 17, the participants' best friend filled out a questionnaire assessing the overall quality of the friendship, including the degree of trust, communication, and alienation in the relationship.

Friends also provided information about how much participants' focused on fitting in with their peers.

Sex Difference, Physical Aggression, The Main Reasons For Teenage Friendships To End Soon
The strongest predictor for friendship dissolution was differences in sex; other-sex friendships were almost four times more likely to dissolve.

Participants' health quality was then assessed annually at ages 25, 26, and 27 years old with questions about their overall health, anxiety and depression symptoms, and body mass index.

Results indicated that both high-quality close friendships and a drive to fit in with peers in adolescence were associated with better health at age 27.

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The study was published in the journal Psychological Science.

Source-IANS