Closer Relationships with Parents Aid Female Students in Making New Friends
“What if I don’t make any friends?” “What if people don’t like me?” A common insecurity among incoming students is meeting new friends. Psychologists have long hypothesized children’s feelings of attachment to their parents can influence their mental health and influence their ability to form long lasting relationships with others. There are actually different forms of attachment defined by psychologists, with secure attachment considered to be the healthiest and most adaptive form.
Researchers studying Human Development and Family studies at University of North Carolina Greensboro conducted a study specifically on females to examine if this parental relationship aided the students in making new friends. This study collected data on 172 female college freshmen at a large university in Southeastern United States. Attachment to parents was measured by asking the students various questions mainly to measure their level of trust with their parents, if they can count on their parents, or if they feel angry with their parents. Students who reported being more securely attached to parents at the beginning of their first semester reported better friendship outcomes. These students said it was easier for them to make new friends. The fact that these students had a prior positive experience in forming relationships could have made them feel more comfortable when seeking out friends.
Minority students experiencing social anxiety especially benefit from secure attachment with parents
Minority students appeared to especially benefit from feeling securely attached to parents. The researchers believed that those with social anxiety would experience more difficulties in forming friendships. This was seen in their findings. Social anxiety can make it more difficult for these students to introduce themselves to peers and might make them feel more negatively about the interactions they do have with peers. More positive relationships with parents of minority students was linked to less social anxiety, this in turn helped them form new friendships and to be more satisfied with these friendships.
Female students’ attachments to parents influence other close relationships in their lives. Parents should take note to how stressful the transition to college is for their child and should support them in making new friends.