Qualities in friendship – Within an outside perspective – Definitions expressed by adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Differences in definitions may explain divergent results compared with other studies, and the need to achieve equivalence in friendship may be another.

Friendships and patterns of social leisure participation among Norwegian adolescents with Down syndrome

“…In some contrast to people generally, the adolescents of the study included most people they knew—and even fantasy friends. This wide concept corresponds well with previous research (e.g., McVilly et al, ; Sigstad, ).…”

“…However, individuals with less profound intellectual disability may mention closeness, confidence and affinity as qualities of mutual friendships (Sigstad, ). They report a high number of friends (Matheson et al, ), and a distinction between close friends and less close relations (Sandvin & Hutchinson, ).…”

“Having friends is like having marshmallows”: Perspectives of transition‐aged youths with intellectual and developmental disabilities on friendship

“…However, despite participants’ differences with respect to typical developmental trajectories, the three themes that emerged through analysis—meanings of friends and friendship, deepening self‐knowledge and negotiating in(ter)dependence—support Hartup and Stevens’ () model in that they are all predicated on reciprocity. This finding is consistent with literature identifying reciprocity as a key element of the friendships of both adults (Callus, ; Knox & Hickson, ) and teens with IDD (Sigstad, ).…”

“…Hartup and Stevens () also described intimacy (in the sense of emotional closeness) as a feature emerging in adolescent friendships. Sigstad () noted that the friendships of teens with IDD appear less intimate than those of their same‐aged TD peers and hypothesize that the form emotional intimacy takes in the friendships of youth with IDD remains to be described (p. 31). In this study, highly variable degrees of intimacy and disclosure were reported by participants.…”

“…Some studies have compared friendships of teens with IDD to existing theories of friendship. Core constructs have been found to be present (Matheson, Olsen, & Weisner, ; Sigstad, ), but differences were found including an increased focus on proximity (Matheson et al., ) and idiosyncratic expressions of reciprocity and intimacy or closeness (Sigstad, ). Barriers to friendships including ableism (Salmon, ) and bullying (Tipton, Christenson, & Blacher, ) have been identified for teens with IDD.…”