Childhood and Adolescence 11School Adjustment
Friends have been found to play a significant role in students’ functioning at school.
Research examining children’s transition to kindergarten has indicated that students
who had more friends at the beginning of the school year and were able to main-
tain these friendships or make new friends developed more favorable perceptions
of school and showed gains in school performance (Ladd, 1990). Furthermore,
Ladd, Kochenderfer, and Coleman (1997) reported that across the kindergarten
year, quantity of friends predicted various aspects of children’s adjustment, includ-
ing school liking, school involvement, and academic readiness. Similarly, a study
involving third grade students found that number of friends predicted academic
competence and self- concept (Vandell & Hembree, 1994). It appears that compan-
ionship and emotional support provided by friends contribute to students feeling
more engaged in school.
Investigating the transition to middle school, Kingery, Erdley, and Marshall
(2011) found that elementary school friendship quality and quantity each uniquely
predicted loneliness as students began middle school. Additionally, friendship qual-
ity uniquely predicted self- esteem. When confronted with the novel experience of a
school transition, high- quality friendships seem to be especially valuable in provid-
ing children with a sense of security and well- being.
Other studies have demonstrated that adolescents’ adjustment to school is influ-
enced by their involvement in friendships, friends’ characteristics, and the features
of these friendships. In research with middle school students, Wentzel, Barry, and
Caldwell (2004) found that compared with sixth graders who had mutual friend-
ships, friendless students had lower academic achievement, higher levels of depres-
sion, and lower self- worth. Furthermore, lack of involvement in friendship during
sixth grade predicted emotional distress two years later, and students who had more
prosocial friends in sixth grade were more prosocial in eighth grade. Other research
(Berndt & Keefe, 1995) has shown that changes in students’ academic achievement
across the school year are predicted by friends’ grades. Moreover, students whose
best friendships had more positive features increased in their school involvement
across the year, whereas those whose best friendships had more negative features
increased in disruptive behavior. Thus, various aspects of friendship experiences are
related to students’ academic and socioemotional functioning in school.
The Dark Side of Friendship
The vast majority of research investigating the links between friendship and
developmental outcomes has focused on the deleterious impact of failing to form
reciprocated, high- quality friendships. However, a growing literature has emerged
that suggests that having a friend is not always beneficial. Determining when and
how certain friendships may actually be harmful has typically been addressed by