Friendships Focused on Discussion of Problems May Hurt Teenage Girls, Study Says

Friendships that often focus on excessive discussion of personal problems may actually lead to emotional problems for teenage girls. New research in the July issue of the journal Developmental Psychology suggests that teenage girls are more likely to develop depression or anxiety as a result of lengthy conversations about personal challenges.

The study focused on 813 third, fifth, seventh, and ninth grade girls and boys. The researchers tested whether excessive discussion of problems contributed to depression and anxiety in addition to strengthening friendships.

The process of excessively discussing problems with a peer is called co-rumination. Usually the participants rehash the situation multiple times as well as dwell on the negative feelings these situations create.

Though these discussions provided the benefit of strengthening teen's friendships, researchers found that teen girls were adversely affected by these talks. The girls showed increased signs of anxiety and depression which also caused even more discussion of problems with their peers.

"Having anxiety symptoms (and presumably, associated heightened levels of worries and concerns) and a high-quality friend to talk to may provide a uniquely reinforcing context for co-rumination," stated Amanda J. Rose, Ph.D, lead author and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Missouri - Columbia.

However, boys that participated in the study were not as greatly affected by co-rumination. Researchers suggest that this may be due to the way that girls and boys address problems. Girls, the researchers speculated, are more likely to take personal responsibility for failures, and view failures emotionally.

In fact, boys benefited from co-rumination. These talks often strengthened friendships with their peers with no increase in anxiety or depression.

"These findings are interesting because girls' intentions when discussing problems may be to give and seek positive support. However, these conversations appear to contribute to increased depression," said Rose.