Social Withdrawal, Friendship, and Depressed Mood in Adolescents

Abstract

Social withdrawal in children may develop into a depressed mood in early adolescence , through experiences of problematic peer relationships, while friendship may function as a buffer (Rubin, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009). Our study examines the predictive relation between social withdrawal and depressive mood in adolescence, and whether perceived quality of friendship affects this relation. Participants were 457 Dutch adolescents (13-18 years). Mediation effects demonstrate that anxious withdrawal influences perceived quality friendship, which in turn, influence depressive mood. Rubin, K. H., Coplan, R. J., & Bowker, J. C. (2009). Social withdrawal in childhood. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 141-171.