Resilience and friendships

Although psychological evidence suggests that social support broadly facilitates the development of psychological resilience in adulthood, little is understood about the particular role of best friendships in this regard. Dr Rebecca Graber led this preliminary study which hypothesised that a better quality best friendship would positively impact the development of psychological resilience in a community sample of British adults.

The study analysed whether better perceived close friendship quality significantly predicted subsequent psychological resilience at 12-month follow-up, controlling for earlier resilience; 75 adults completed the questionnaire.

A community sample of 185 adults based in the UK was recruited through online social networking sites, university events and community organisations supporting socially isolated adults.

Participants completed assessments on psychological resilience, best friendship quality, coping behaviours and self-esteem. Participants then completed the same assessments one year later, to see how best friendship quality had impacted resilience processes over this period. Longitudinal regression and bootstrapped multiple mediation analyses were used to explore the results.

Project timeframe

The research project commenced in 2010 and ended in 2012.

Project aims

The aim of the project was to determine the impact of best friendship upon resilience development in adults over time.

Project findings and impact

Results revealed that best friendships are a protective mechanism supporting the development of psychological resilience in adults, although the mechanisms for this relationship remain unclear.

The study provided statistical evidence, for the first time, of the vital role of these valued social relationships upon resilience development in an adult sample, while posing open questions for the mechanisms underlying this effect. Consideration was also given to the limitations to the study based on sampling and measurement issues, in the context of both resilience and relationship research.

These findings support research by Dr Graber, published in 2016, revealing that best friends facilitate resilience processes in socioeconomically vulnerable children.

Dr Graber will present a paper ‘Do best friends promote psychological resilience in adults?' at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in May.

Research team

Dr Rebecca Graber

Output

Graber, R (forthcoming) Do best friends promote psychological resilience in adults? British Psychological Society Annual Conference. Brighton, UK. 3–5 May 2017.

Partners

Professor Anna Madill (University of Leeds)

Professor Rhiannon Turner (Queen’s University, Belfast)