Only 1% of friendships that start when you are 13, last even 5 years

Only 1% of friendships that start when you are 13 years old, last even 5 years. That's according to a study on adolescent friendships conducted by researchers from Florida Atlantic University. 

More specifically, fewer than 1 in 4 friendships that started in Grade 7 (12-13 years old) were maintained across the next school year. Fewer than 1 in 10 friendships that started in Grade 7 survived the transition from middle school to high school. And just 1% of friendships that began in the 7th grade continued to the 12th grade (17-18 years old).

The study's findings suggest that differences in social and academic behavior anticipate the dissolution of friendships across middle school and high school. Friends who differed on individual characteristics such as peer acceptance and physical aggression, as well as on teacher-rated school competence had relationships that dissolved sooner than friends who were similar on these attributes.

Different-sex friendships were at greatest risk. Gender boundaries make mixed-sex friendships particularly difficult. Grade school friendships are strictly sex-segregated. The borders between same-sex groups begin to dissolve in middle school, but other-sex friendships are still highly atypical, and pressure to conform to same-sex structures remains considerable. Sexual feelings and jealousy may arise, creating conflict. It is also likely that some portion of mixed-sex friendships briefly pass through a romantic phase prior to relationship dissolution.

What are your thoughts? 

 

Source: Hartl, A. C., Laursen, B., & Cillessen, A. H. N. (2015). A Survival Analysis of Adolescent Friendships: The Downside of Dissimilarity. Psychological Science, 26(8), 1304–1315. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615588751