FRIENDSHIP IN ADOLESCENCE AND ITS PITFALLS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF RELATIONAL DIALECTICS
FRIENDSHIP IN ADOLESCENCE AND ITS PITFALLS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF RELATIONAL DIALECTICS

Summary/Abstract: This study is based on a descriptive research on a sample of 80 teenagers, built on three fundamental questions: What qualities do adolescents value in a friendship? Are there significant differences between the two genders when it comes to these qualities? What are the main relational dialectics to be solved in the case of friendship in adolescence, starting from the main qualities valued? The investigated teenagers mention the following qualities as relevant: sincerity, help, trust, loyalty, respect, honesty etc. The study also reveals that there are significant differences in terms of gender, in the sense that boys appreciate sincerity more in friendship, while girls appreciate stability more than boys. In terms of the pitfalls of relational dialectics associated with these qualities, they are at the level: expressiveness – protection (sincerity, trust), and independence – dependence (help, stability), respectively, according to W.K. Rawlins. According to Baxter & Montgomery’s theory, there are tensions between the following opposite values regarding in friendship in adolescence: expression – nonexpression, integration – separation (help), stability – change (in the case of girls), expression – nonexpression in the case of boys).

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