Adolescents' anxieties about being thought different from others and the tendency toward uniformity in their friendship groups

Abstract

The present study investigated developmental changes in adolescents' and young adults' anxiety about being regarded as different and their tendency toward uniformity in their friendship groups, as well as the relationships among satisfaction with friends, anxieties about being regarded as different, and the tendency toward uniformity in friendship groups. The participants (260 junior high school students, average age 13.7 years ; 212 senior high school students, average age 16.2 years ; and 196 university students, average age, 20.2 years) completed a questionnaire about their anxieties about being regarded as different, the tendency toward uniformity in their friendship groups, and their satisfaction with their friendships. An analysis of variance did not reveal any developmental change in the youths' tendencies toward uniformity in their friendship groups, but did indicate that anxieties about being thought different from others decreased with increasing age. In the female participants and those male participants who were senior high school students, a tendency toward uniformity in their friendship groups was associated with lower satisfaction with their friendships. In all the groups of participants except for the male university students, a tendency toward uniformity in their friendship groups was associated with increased anxieties about being regarded as different. In the female senior high school students and the male university students, anxieties about being regarded as different were associated with lower satisfaction with their friendships.