Authors:

Camille Lussier

Date Created:

Not specified

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About Paper:

As they age, children increasingly use peers as sources of social support. Previous studies on the ability of peers to buffer stress levels in children and adolescents have yielded mixed results. Some show that close friendships moderate stress levels, while others found no association. Using data collected from a study conducted in the Greater Sacramento region, we examined the associations between hair cortisol levels and child-reported friendship quality in 148 participants (55.4% girls, M = 9.88 years, SD = 0.55). We hypothesize that positive peer relationships will be associated with lower cortisol levels. To test this hypothesis we will be using linear regressions, controlling for age and sex. Preliminary correlations show a positive yet non-significant correlation between overall friendship quality (r = .16, p = .051) and hair cortisol. A subscale of overall friendship quality, intimate disclosure, did show a significant association (r = .20, p = .015), which remained significant after controlling for age and sex. The positive correlation between intimate disclosure and hair cortisol contradicts our hypothesis of a stress-buffering effect of friendship. We plan to follow up our preliminary analyses by comparing parent and child reports of friendship quality, which will further illuminate potential psychosocial mechanisms at work. Analyzing the impact of instructional video style on student curiosity and confusion Alexander Luu

Source:

UC Davis / Psychology / 2023

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Camille Lussier