(PS11-C57) Stable and Changing Child and Classroom Factors Predicting Friendship Stability

Many children with mental health challenges struggle to make and maintain friendships. Friendship, defined as a dyadic relationship based on mutual affection and reciprocity, is an integral part of children’s social and emotional growth. Friendship gives children opportunities to understand emotions and develop social skills. Friendship also buffers negative outcomes such as internalizing and externalizing behaviors, victimization, and adjustment difficulties. Many aspects of friendships have been examined in the literature (e.g., presence/absence, quality, characteristics of individuals); however, Poulin and Chan (2010) argue that stability (i.e., maintenance over time) is a distinct dimension that should be examined independently. Stability is theorized to best provide the companionship, closeness, and intimacy required to garner the benefits of having friends. Some children are more prone to keep lasting friendships whereas others may fluctuate in their number of reciprocated friends. It is important for both clinicians and researchers to understand these individual differences in order to best identify children at risk for instability of friendships.

The goal of the current study was to examine individual and contextual factors (child age, gender, ADHD symptoms, ADHD impairment, proportion of positive and negative nominations, peer-liking, perceived peer personal support, and teacher use of strategies to promote connections between children) as well as change in these factors over the course of a school year that predict friendship stability. Participants were 695 children in grades K-5 (46.6% White) within the classrooms of 46 teachers (70.5% female, 86% White). Reciprocated friendship was assessed via a peer sociometric procedure in the fall and spring of a school year. Children were classified as a reciprocated friends when the child and a classmate mutually nominated one another. Individual factors were assessed in the fall and spring via self- and teacher- report, and teacher practices were assessed via classroom observations. Children were classified into three groups (no change in reciprocated friendships n = 308, increasing number of reciprocated friendships n = 206, and decreasing number of reciprocated friendships; n = 181).

Multilevel logistic models demonstrated that when children were well liked (i.e., higher proportions of positive nominations) in the fall, they were more likely to lose friends by the spring, most likely due to starting off with more reciprocated friendships. Further, children who became more well liked throughout the year gained friendships. Although this finding is encouraging, this also indicates instability in reciprocated friendships. No variables predicted membership in the stable friendship group. Findings suggest that peer perceptions predict friendship instability and despite the relationship between variables and peer outcomes, they do not seem to predict stability of friendships. Thus, continued research regarding novel factors influencing friendship stability is warranted. These efforts will help children with mental health challenges better maintain friendships and thus benefit from the positive effects of these relationships.