Healthier Teens Have More Friends

Is there a correlation between how many friends a person has and his or her health?  Studies indicate that teenagers who have more people list them as a friend usually have better health than those who have fewer friends.

A study that was performed in 1994-1996 looked at more than 2,000 teens.  They asked how healthy they would rate themselves and how many friends they perceived they had.  They were also asked whom they would list as their friends.

The teens that were listed by others the most usually had better health.  On the other hand, those that had poorer health were not listed as friends very often.  It’s difficult to say whether or not the poor health results from isolation or is the cause of isolation.

One thing that is important to note about the findings of this study is that the teens with poor health still thought they had as many friends as those with better health.  Unfortunately, not as many of their perceived friends would reciprocate the feelings.

Perhaps part of the reason that those with poorer health have fewer friends is because it can be rather taxing to be friends with someone who is sick all the time.  It takes a lot of emotional support that a teen may not be prepared to give a peer.  Surely you can think back to your high school days and remember a student with poorer health who didn’t have as many friends.

Since “laughter is the best medicine” it’s unfortunate that children who are sick don’t have as many friends.  This could send them into a downward spiral where they have even fewer friends and get even sicker since they don’t have someone to confide in.

Although most of the findings are related to the physical health of teens it’s also important to note that having so few friends and experiencing loneliness could have additional health problems.  These health problems may be related to their mental health.

Having poor mental health and low feelings of self worth may be more dangerous to a teen’s health than physical problems.  These mental health problems can have a long term impact and can affect the way a teen goes about his or her life and meets new people in the future.

Adults who feel isolated and feel as though no one would help if they needed it are 65% more likely to be depressed (Journal of Health and Social Behavior March 2009).  A similar trend may exist amongst teens who feel isolated and alone particularly if they are taking other medications that leave them more susceptible to feelings of depression.

Finding good friends and forging strong friendships during the teen years may have a lasting impact on your health in the future.  The sickest teens are 20% more likely to have no one list them as a friend.  Perhaps if you can develop strong friendships when you are young you can prevent some health problems from developing as you get older.

When these teens don’t perceive they have fewer friends that could be dangerous to their health.  They may not realize until it’s too late that their “friends” didn’t show up when they were at the hospital because they are not as invested in the friendship as they originally thought.   Thinking that you have more friends than you do could lead to further isolation and teasing or other problems that are common amongst teenagers.

In the news lately we have seen several stories about teens that were bullied and are now suffering the consequences.  Although it would be ideal if everyone had a strong support group, that sometimes isn’t the case.  Sicker teens may need an even greater support group in order to heal or function as highly as possible with their illness.  If they can’t get that from their friends it could cause depression and lead to additional health problems now and in the future.

It’s hard to say whether or not isolation causes poor health or if poor health leads to isolation.  It’s pretty easy to see how either of these scenarios might be the case.  But either way you look at it neither is the ideal scenario.  Keep yourself surrounded with true friends in order to ensure that you will have the best health.  And always remember that laughter is the best medicine.