Healthy Friendships

Lauren Holleb, PhD, is associate professor of psychology at Husson University and a licensed psychologist in part-time private practice.

Series Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Guide to Health Literacy
Common Misconceptions about Friendship
Questions and Answers
General Information and Definitions
1. What is friendship?
2. How does friendship differ from peer acceptance?
3. So, if you're well-liked by the peer group, does that mean you have good friends?
4. What are social skills, and how are they important to friendship?
5. What serves as the basis for friendship? How do people become friends?
6. What contributes to high-quality friendship?
Different and Changing Friendships
7. How stable is friendship?
8. How does friendship change during adolescence?
9. How does friendship change during adulthood?
10. In what ways are the friendships of boys/girls and men/women the same, and how are they different?
11. What are cross-gender friendships like, and when do they typically form?
12. Why does friendship often change when a friend forms a new romantic relationship?
13. Can you be friends with people who are different from you?
The Impact of Friendship
14. What are the benefits of friendship?
15. How can having a best friend during adolescence be good for you?
16. Is it possible to have the "wrong" friends or "bad" friends?
17. What is co-rumination, and how can it be bad for you?
18. Is peer pressure always bad?
What to Do as a Friend
19. How can you make friends?
20. What are the best ways to maintain friendships?
21. Is it ever acceptable to break a friend's trust?
22. What should you do if you think a friend has betrayed your trust?
23. What should you do when you disagree or fight with a friend?
24. What can you do if you develop romantic feelings for a friend and they are not reciprocated? What can you do if your friend develops romantic feelings for you and you don't feel the same way?
25. How do you know if someone is a true friend?
26. What can you do if you are worried about a friend?
27. What should you do if a friend is making choices that you disagree with?
28. Why do friends drift apart?
29. How do you know if you should end a friendship?
30. In what ways can you end a friendship respectfully?
Current Trends in Friendship
31. Is having a friend online the same as having a friend in person?
32. How has the Internet and social media changed friendship?
33. Is technology bad for friendship? How can the Internet be helpful for friendship?
Research on Friendship
34. In what ways is friendship typically studied?
35. How is social acceptance/peer group acceptance studied?
36. What does research tell us about helping those who struggle with friendship?
Case Studies
Glossary
Directory of Resources
Index