Skip to main content

The Role of Family for Youth Friendships: Examining a Social Anxiety Mechanism

Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 47, pages 306–320 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

The quality of family relationships and youth friendships are intricately linked. Previous studies have examined different mechanisms of family-peer linkage, but few have examined social anxiety. The present study examined whether parental rejection and family climate predicted changes in youth social anxiety, which in turn predicted changes in friendship quality and loneliness. Possible bidirectional associations also were examined. Data for mothers, fathers, and youth (M age at Time 1 = 11.27; 52.3% were female) from 687 two-parent households over three time points are presented. Results from autoregressive, cross-lagged analyses revealed that father rejection (not mother rejection or family climate) at Time 1 (Fall of 6th Grade) predicted increased youth social anxiety at Time 2 (Spring of 7th Grade), which in turn, predicted increased loneliness at Time 3 (Spring of 8th Grade). The indirect effect of father rejection on loneliness was statistically significant. Mother rejection, father rejection, and a poor family climate were associated with decreased friendship quality and increased loneliness over time. Finally, there was some evidence of transactional associations between father rejection and youth social anxiety as well as between social anxiety and loneliness. This study’s findings underscore the important role of fathers in youth social anxiety and subsequent social adjustment.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adachi, P., & Willoughby, T. (2015). Interpreting effect sizes when controlling for stability effects in longitudinal autoregressive models: Implications for psychological science. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 12, 116–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2014.963549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asher, S. R., Hymel, S., & Renshaw, P. D. (1984). Loneliness in children. Child Development, 55, 1456–1464. http://doi.org/10.2307/1130015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asher, S. R., & Wheeler, V. A. (1985). Children’s loneliness: A comparison of rejected and neglected peer status. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 500–505. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.53.4.500.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bagwell, C. L., Newcomb, A. F., & Bukowski, W. M. (1998). Preadolescent friendship and peer rejection as predictors of adult adjustment. Child Development, 69, 140–153. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06139.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bagwell, C. L., & Schmidt, M. E. (2011). Friendships in childhood and adolescence. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bar-Haim, Y., Dan, O., Eshel, Y., & Sagi-Schwartz, A. (2007). Predicting children’s anxiety from early attachment relationships. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 1061–1068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.10.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs, B. K., Vernberg, E. M., & Wu, Y. P. (2012). Social anxiety and adolescents’ friendships: The role of social withdrawal. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 32, 802–823. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431611426145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bögels, S. M., & Brechman-Toussaint, M. L. (2006). Family issues in child anxiety: Attachment, family functioning, parental rearing and beliefs. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 834–856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2005.08.001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bögels, S. M., & Phares, V. (2008). Fathers’ role in the etiology, prevention and treatment of child anxiety: A review and new model. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 539–558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2007.07.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol.2. Separation. New York, NY: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brennen, T. (1974). Evaluation and validation regarding the national strategy for youth development. Boulder, CO: Behavioral Research Evaluation Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burk, W., & Laursen, B. (2005). Adolescent perceptions of friendship and their associations with individual adjustment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 156–164. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250444000342.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, K. E., & Ladd, G. W. (2000). Connectedness and autonomy support in parent-child relationships: Links to children’s socioemotional orientation and peer relationships. Developmental Psychology, 36, 485–498. https://doi.org/10.1037//0012-1649.36.4.485.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, P. K. (2003). Perceptions of parent-child attachment, social self-efficacy, and peer relationships in middle childhood. Infant and Child Development, 12, 351–368. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A., & Russell, G. (1991). Mother-child and father-child relationships in middle childhood and adolescence: A developmental analysis. Developmental Review, 11, 99–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-2297(91)90004-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, E. C., Buehler, C., & Fletcher, A. C. (2012). A process model of parenting and adolescents’ friendship competence. Social Development, 21, 461–481. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2011.00642.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 243–267. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.243.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Downey, G., Bonica, C., & Rincon, C. (1999). Rejection sensitivity and adolescent romantic relationships. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 148–174). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Epkins, C. C., & Heckler, D. R. (2011). Integrating etiological models of social anxiety and depression in youth: Evidence for a cumulative interpersonal risk model. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 14, 329–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-011-0101-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Erdley, C. A., & Day, H. J. (2017). Friendship in childhood and adolescence. In M. Hojjat & A. Moyer (Eds.), The psychology of friendship (pp. 3–19). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fosco, G. M., Caruthers, A. S., & Dishion, T. J. (2012a). A six-year predictive test of adolescent family relationship quality and effortful control pathways to emerging adult social and emotional health. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 565–575. doi:10.1037/a0028873.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fosco, G. M., & Grych, J. H. (2013). Capturing the family context of emotion regulation: A family systems model comparison approach. Journal of Family Issues, 34, 557–578. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X12445889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fosco, G. M., Stormshak, E. A., Dishion, T. J., & Winter, C. E. (2012b). Family relationships and parental monitoring during middle school as predictors of early adolescent problem behavior. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 41, 202–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2012.651989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fosco, G. M., Van Ryzin, M. J., Xia, M., & Feinberg, M. E. (2016). Trajectories of adolescent hostile-aggressive behavior and family climate: Longitudinal implications for young adult romantic relationship competence. Developmental Psychology, 52, 1139–1150. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000135.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Granot, D., & Mayseless, O. (2012). Representations of mother-child attachment relationships and social-information processing of peer relationships in early adolescence. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 32, 537–564. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431611403482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt-Lunstad, J. (2017). Friendship and health. In M. Hojjat & A. Moyer (Eds.), The psychology of friendship (pp. 233–248). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, H. D., Lavoie, J. C., & Mahoney, M. (2001). Interparental conflict and family cohesion: Predictors of loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance in late adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 16, 304–318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558401163004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W. H., Rose, J., & Russell, D. (1990). Loneliness and social anxiety. In H. Leitenberg (Ed.), Handbook of social and evaluation anxiety (pp. 247–266). New York, NY: Plenum.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kerns, K. A., Contreras, J. M. & Neal-Barnett, A. M. (Eds.) (2000). Family and peers: Linking two social worlds. Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knappe, S., Beesdo-Baum, K., Fehm, L., Lieb, R., & Wittchen, H.-U. (2012). Characterizing the association between parenting and adolescent social phobia. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26, 608–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.02.014.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knappe, S., Beesdo-Baum, K., Fehm, L., Stein, M. B., Lieb, R., & Wittchen, H.-U. (2011). Social fear and social phobia types among community youth: Differential clinical features and vulnerability factors. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 45, 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.05.002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knappe, S., Lieb, R., Beesdo, K., Fehm, L., Ping Low, N. C., Gloster, A. T., & Wittchen, H.-U. (2009). The role of parental psychopathology and family environment for social phobia in the first three decades of life. Depression and Anxiety, 26, 363–370. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20527.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Knappe, S., Sasagawa, S., & Creswell, C. (2015). Developmental epidemiology of social anxiety and social phobia in adolescents. In K. Ranta, A. M. La Greca, L. J. Garcia-Lopez & M. Marttunen (Eds.), Social anxiety and phobia in adolescents: Development, manifestation and intervention strategies (pp. 39–70). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • La Greca, A. M., & Lopez, N. (1998). Social anxiety among adolescents: Linkages with peer relations and friendships. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26, 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022684520514.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • La Greca, A. M., & Ranta, K. (2015). Developmental transitions in adolescence and their implications for social anxiety. In K. Ranta, A. M. La Greca, L. J. Garcia-Lopez & M. Marttunen (Eds.), Social anxiety and phobia in adolescents: Development, manifestation and intervention strategies (pp. 95–117). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lam, C. B., McHale, S. M., & Crouter, A. C. (2012). Parent-child shared time from middle childhood to late adolescence: Developmental course and adjustment correlates. Child Development, 83, 2089–2103. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01826.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, M. E., & Lewis, C. (2010). The development and significance of father-child relationships in two-parent families. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development. 5th edn. (pp. 94–153). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leidy, M. S., Guerra, N. G., & Toro, R. I. (2012). Positive parenting, family cohesion, and child social competence among immigrant Latino families. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 252–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, C., & Lamb, M. E. (2003). Fathers’ influences on children’s development: The evidence from two-parent families. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 18, 211–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • London, B., Downey, G., Bonica, C., & Paltin, I. (2007). Social causes and consequences of rejection sensitivity. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17, 481–506. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2007.00531.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Majdandžić, M., de Vente, W., Feinberg, M. E., Aktar, E., & Bögels, S. M. (2012). Bidirectional associations between coparenting relations and family member anxiety: A review and conceptual model. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 15, 28–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-011-0103-6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marston, E. G., Hare, A., & Allen, J. P. (2010). Rejection sensitivity in late adolescence: Social and emotional sequelae. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 959–982. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00675.x.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Merikangas, K. R., He, J., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., & Cui, L., et al. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 980–989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minuchin, P. (1985). Families and individual development: Provocations from the field of family therapy. Child Development, 56, 289–302. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129720.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moos, B. S., & Moos, R. H. (1994). Family Environment Scale manual (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair, M. K. C., Russell, P. S. S., Subramaniam, V. S., Nazeema, S., Chembagam, N., & Russell, S., et al. (2013). ADad 8: School phobia and anxiety disorders among adolescents in a rural community population in India. The Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 80, 171–174. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-013-1208-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newcomb, A. F., & Bagwell, C. L. (1995). Children’s friendship relations: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 306–347. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.117.2.306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Padilla-Walker, L. M., Nielson, M. G., & Day, R. D. (2016). The role of parental warmth and hostility on adolescents’ prosocial behavior toward multiple targets. Journal of Family Psychology, 30, 331–340. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000157.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parke, R. D. & Ladd, G. W. (Eds.) (1992). Family-peer relationships: Modes of linkage. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, J. G., & Asher, S. R. (1993). Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood: Links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. Developmental Psychology, 29, 611–621. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.29.4.611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pedersen, S., Vitaro, F., Barker, E. D., & Borge, A. I. H. (2007). The timing of middle-childhood peer rejection and friendship: Linking early behavior to early-adolescent adjustment. Child Development, 78, 1037–1051. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01051.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, K. G., Cunningham, T. J., & Young, M. B. (1997). Attachment to parents, social competence, and emotional well-being: A comparison of Black and White late adolescents. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44, 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.44.1.89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rohner, R. P. (1986). The warmth dimension. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rohner, R. P. (2004). The parental “acceptance-rejection syndrome”: Universal correlates of perceived rejection. American Psychologist, 59, 830–840. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.8.830.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rohner, R. P., & Britner, P. A. (2002). Worldwide mental health correlates of parental acceptance-rejection: Review of cross-cultural and intracultural evidence. Cross-Cultural Research, 36, 16–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/106939710203600102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, A. J., & Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 98–131. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.1.98.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rudolph, J., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2014). Parent relationships and adolescents’ depression and social anxiety: Indirect associations via emotional sensitivity to rejection threat. Australian Journal of Psychology, 66, 110–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajpy.12042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sameroff, A. J. (Ed.). (2009). The transactional model of development: how children and contexts shape each other. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, B., Stutz, M., & Ledermann, T. (2012). Perceived interparental conflict and early adolescents? Friendships: The role of attachment security and emotion regulation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 1240–1252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9769-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spoth, R., Greenberg, M., Bierman, K., & Redmond, C. (2004). PROSPER community–university partnership model for public education systems: Capacity-building for evidence-based, competence-building prevention. Prevention Science, 5, 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:PREV.0000013979.52796.8b.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, H. S. (1953). The interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tu, K. M., Erath, S. A., Pettit, G. S., & El-Sheikh, M. (2014). Physiological reactivity moderates the association between parental directing and young adolescent friendship adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 50, 2644–2653. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038263.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vernberg, E. M., Abwender, D. A., Ewell, K. K., & Beery, S. H. (1992). Social anxiety and peer relationships in early adolescence: A prospective analysis. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21, 189–196. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp2102_11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldrip, A. M., Malcolm, K. T., & Jensen-Campbell, L. A. (2008). With a little help from your friends: The importance of high-quality friendships on early adolescent adjustment. Social Development, 17, 832–852. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00476.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, S. L., Huston, L., Egeland, B., & Sroufe, L. A. (1997). Child and adolescent anxiety disorders and early attachment. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 637–644. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199705000-00014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westenberg, M. P., Drewes, M. J., Goedhart, A. W., Siebelink, B. M., & Treffers, P. D. A. (2004). A developmental analysis of self-reported fears in late childhood through mid-adolescence: social-evaluative fears on the rise? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 481–495. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00239.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Widaman, K. F. (2006). III. Missing data: What to do with or without them. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 71, 42–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5834.2006.00404.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittchen, H.-U., Stein, M. B., & Kessler, R. C. (1999). Social fears and social phobia in a community sample of adolescents and young adults: Prevalence, risk factors and co-morbidity. Psychological Medicine, 29, 309-323. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291798008174.

  • Wong, Q. J. J., & Rapee, R. M. (2015). The developmental psychopathology of social anxiety and phobia in adolescents. In K. Ranta, A. M. La Greca, L. J. Garcia-Lopez & M. Marttunen (Eds.), Social anxiety and phobia in adolescents: Development, manifestation and intervention strategies (pp. 11–37). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the participating youth and families, and the PROSPER staff, to the success of this project.

Funding

This project was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant R01 DA013709) and co-funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grant R01 AA14702). Additional support was provided by the Karl R. and Diane Wendle Fink Early Career Professorship for the Study of Families (to G.M.F.).

Authors’ Contributions

H.M. conceived the current study, performed statistical analyses, interpreted the data, and drafted and revised the manuscript; G.F. contributed to the conceptualization of the study, manuscript generation, supervised analyses, and manuscript revision; M.F. was a co-principal investigator of the original PROSPER study and provided feedback on this manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 119 Health and Human Development Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Hio Wa Mak

  2. Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 226 Health and Human Development Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Gregory M. Fosco

  3. Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, 314 Biobehavioral Health Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Mark E. Feinberg

Authors
  1. Hio Wa Mak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gregory M. Fosco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark E. Feinberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hio Wa Mak.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed involving human participants were approved by the local institutional review board.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all parents included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mak, H., Fosco, G.M. & Feinberg, M.E. The Role of Family for Youth Friendships: Examining a Social Anxiety Mechanism. J Youth Adolescence 47, 306–320 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0738-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-017-0738-9

Keywords

  • Parental rejection
  • Fathers
  • Social anxiety
  • Loneliness
  • Friendship
  • Peers