From maternal tending to adolescent befriending: The adolescent transition of social support

Abstract

Attachment theory holds that parental relationships have lifelong effects on offspring social lives. The tend-and-befriend hypothesis posits that female friendships among humans evolved as part of a primate-wide coping mechanism to mediate stress by relying on social support. Here we bridge developmental and evolutionary frameworks to examine adolescent girls' perception of their reliance on female friendship for social support, how perceptions of parental relationships affect peer relationships, and the extent to which parent and peer relationships buffer depressive symptoms. We predict perceived maternal relationship quality will be positively associated with close female friendships, and maternal relationships, paternal relationships, and female friendship will buffer depressive symptoms. Participants were adolescent girls from a summer science camp (N = 95). Participants filled out demographic information, social network surveys, the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale, and the Center for Epidemiology Depression Scale. Data was analyzed with Pearson's correlations, t tests, and path analysis. Adolescent girls with few female friends, compared with girls who had more than two very close female friends, experienced more depressive symptoms (t = 3.382, p = .001, D = 0.784). Adolescent girls with few female friends experienced more depressive symptoms compared to girls with two or more very close female friends (t = 3.382, p = .001, D = 0.784). Stronger maternal and paternal relationships were associated with having more female friends (maternal: t = −3.213, p = .003, D = 0.837; paternal: t = −2.432; p = .017). In the path analysis model, only maternal relationship quality significantly predicted female friendship category (β = .33, CR = 2.770, p < .006). Furthermore, participants with two or more very close female friends and higher paternal relationship quality had significantly fewer depressive symptoms (friends; β = −.19, CR = −2.112, p = .035; paternal: β = −.33, CR = −3.220, p < .001), and older participants had more depressive symptoms (β = .17, CR = −1.931, p = .036). These results provide additional support for the tend-and-befriend hypothesis, suggesting that maternal tending sets the stage for close female friendships.

What are friends for? The impact of friendship on communicative efficiency and cortisol response during collaborative problem solving among younger and older women

“…Research on cortisol reactivity to different forms of communication suggests that there is an emotional component to simply hearing the voice of a supportive partner (Seltzer, Prososki, et al, 2010;. Research on the transition of reliance on parents to female peers for social support indicates that mother-daughter communication sets the foundation for adolescents to develop and maintain supportive female friendships (Rodrigues et al, 2019). These dynamics likely carry over to conversation in adult female friendships.…”

“…Particularly for women, then, interaction with familiar social partners can reduce production of glucocorticoids such as cortisol, thus bringing HPA activity down to baseline levels (Taylor, 2006;Taylor et al, 2000). Tend-and-Befriend strategies thus build on support-seeking and emotional regulation skills that begin with early parental attachment and continue through childhood, and then transfer to peers, particularly female friends (Doom et al, 2015;Gunnar, 2017;Hostinar et al, 2015;Rodrigues et al, 2019;Seltzer, Prososki, et al, 2010;. To our knowledge, the applicability of the Tend-and-Befriend Hypothesis has not been systematically tested in an adult lifespan developmental framework.…”

“…To our knowledge, the applicability of the Tend-and-Befriend Hypothesis has not been systematically tested in an adult lifespan developmental framework. Rather, most considerations of the Tend-and-Befriend Hypothesis have focused on younger women (Cardoso et al, 2013;Byrd-Craven et al, 2011Kornienko et al, 2013;Rodrigues et al, 2019;Von Dawans et al, 2019), and the one study that included a larger age range (19-64 years) did not collect physiological data (Morrison, 2009). Despite the positive effects of social engagement on health and well-being, communication can also potentially elevate HPA activity, particularly for conversations involving unfamiliar partners or emotional conflict (Aloia & Solomon, 2015;Konner, 2007;Mendes et al, 2007).…”

Adolescents’ social support networks and long-term psychosocial outcomes

“…Social support in adolescence sets the stage for the quality of individuals’ current and future relationships. Cross-sectional studies have provided evidence for a positive association between parental support and adolescents’ relationships with friends and dating partners (Rodrigues et al, 2020; Tuggle et al, 2014). There is also extensive literature on how the quality of early relationships more broadly, especially with parents and peers, contributes to romantic outcomes later in life (Crockett & Randall, 2006; Seiffge-Krenke et al, 2010; Boisvert & Poulin, 2016).…”

Coming of age in Animalia: Book Review of Natterson‐Horowitz, B. and K.Bowers. 2019. Wildhood: The Epic Journey from Adolescence to Adulthood in Humans and Other Animals . Scribner, New York, NY. 368: pp. ISBN13: 9781501164699. $ 28.00

“…Of course, humans are fair for comparison, as they are across the entire book, but again there is something subtle but powerful that is downplayed in Wildhood : the benefits of friendships and how to get them. Biological anthropologist Michelle Rodrigues and colleagues (2019) found that human teens, as they transition to relying more heavily on peers, have greater social support from their friends as well as fewer depressive symptoms if they have stronger parental relationships. This sort of understanding, enriched by observing a similar phenomenon among monkeys, adds to the revelation in Wildhood that, for many animals, self‐reliance cannot be achieved without the investment of family and friends.…”