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‘Best friends forever’? Friendship stability across school transition and associations with mental health and educational attainment

Ng-Knight, T; Shelton, KH; Riglin, L; Frederickson, N; McManus, IC; Rice, F; (2018) ‘Best friends forever’? Friendship stability across school transition and associations with mental health and educational attainment. British Journal of Educational Psychology 10.1111/bjep.12246. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: British Journal of Educational Psychology AIMS: To explore rates of friendship stability and whether maintaining a stable best friend across the primary to secondary school transition provided benefits to children's adjustment during this period. SAMPLE: Data were from 593 children (M age = 11 years 2 months). METHODS: This study used longitudinal data from children transitioning into 10 UK secondary schools and explored the association between self‐reported friendship stability and three outcomes: academic attainment, emotional problems and conduct problems. Analyses controlled for friendship quality and pre‐transition psychological adjustment or attainment as appropriate. RESULTS: Rates of friendship stability were relatively low during this period. Children who kept the same best friend had higher academic attainment and lower levels of conduct problems. Exploratory analyses indicated that secondary school policies that group children based on friendships may support friendship stability. CONCLUSIONS: Helping maintain children's best friendships during the transition to secondary school may contribute to higher academic performance and better mental health.

Type: Article
Title: ‘Best friends forever’? Friendship stability across school transition and associations with mental health and educational attainment
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/bjep.12246
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12246
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: friendships, school transition, mental health, academic attainment, conduct problems
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > UCL Medical School
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10058434
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