Friendships

Friendship is a type of social relationship appearing throughout the life span, from early childhood to old age. It is conceptualized under the social relationships approach (Hinde, 1976), according to which relationships are developed through continuous dyadic interactions over long periods of time with a specific partner (a minimum of 6 months to denote friendship; Howes, 1996), to extract a relationship model that goes beyond the influence of each member’s characteristics (Dunn, 1993). Through friendship formation, children are “meshed” with each other to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, and they share the properties and histories of their mutual interaction (Dunn, 1993). The essence of friendship as a relationship is a mutual liking, whereby children reciprocate an affectionate bond of emotional closeness. Having friends is cardinal to children’s well-being and protects them from depression and loneliness, since friendship provides the child with a sense of belonging and self-worth (e.g., Asher, Parker, & Walker, 1996; Vitaro, Boivin & Bukowski, 2009).