THE EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE SOCIAL PROCESSES ON DEPRESSION AND FRIENDSHIP QUALITY IN ADOLESCENT FEMALES By Agnieszka K. Serwik
THE EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE SOCIAL PROCESSES ON DEPRESSION AND
FRIENDSHIP QUALITY IN ADOLESCENT FEMALES
By Agnieszka K. Serwik
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Douglas W. Nangle
A Lay Abstract of the Thesis Presented
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
(in Psychology)
May, 2010
The current study’s purpose was to examine if three negative social behaviors often associated with depression (i.e., excessively seeking reassurance about a relationship, seeking negative feedback about oneself, and repetitively discussing problems with others) would predict increases in depressive symptoms and worsening relationship quality for adolescent girls over time. A main focus was to consider the impact of one friend’s behaviors, depressive symptoms, and perception of the friendship on the behaviors, depressive symptoms, and relationship quality of the other friend. Several advances were made over previous studies, including an investigation of all three of these behaviors within an entirely female adolescent sample, in which girls were matched to friendship dyads where both girls identified each other as close friends.
From an initial sample of 255 recruited research participants, 128 girls in grades 9 through 12 were matched into friendship dyads. The girls in the resulting 64 dyads completed questionnaires about their age and other descriptive information, as well as their depressive symptoms. Girls were provided with instructions to report on their opinion of the friendship quality and to what degree they engaged in the negative social behaviors with the friend to whom they were matched. At a second data collection several weeks later, girls were asked to complete the same questionnaires to assess the changes in these variables over time.
Results of the analyses partially supported the hypotheses. For the friend with less severe depressive symptoms, negative social behaviors were related to the severity of depression over time. For both friends, negative social behaviors were related to friendship quality over time, as well as whether the girls remained friends, though the particular pattern varied according to which friend’s information was considered. One friend’s behaviors and depression were also related to the other friend’s report of friendship quality and whether the friendship was maintained. Results were not found linking friendship quality to negative social behaviors over time. Additionally, friends of depressed girls did not become more depressed themselves, in contrast to previous research findings. Results are discussed within the social context of depressed individuals.
