L9 PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP

• Friendships occupy an increasingly important place in the lives of adolescents. Most of the adolescents have one or two "best friends" and several good friends. Teenagers see their friends frequently usually several hours a day (Hartup, 1993). And when teenagers are not with friends, they can often be seen talking with each other on the phone, texting them, or chatting with them online.
• Friendships in adolescence are different from the friendship in childhood, as they are more likely to stress the importance of acceptance, self-disclosure, and mutual understanding in their friendships (Gonzalez et al 2004).
• Adolescents and their friends are similar in many respects. They typically are the same age and the same race. They almost always have the same gender. Even though romantic attachments increase during the teen years, most adolescents still choose members of their own gender as best friends (Kirke, 2009).
• Friends are likely to. share certain behavioral similarities. They often are alike in their school attitudes, educational aspirations, and school achievement, Friends also tend to have similar attitudes about drinking, drug use, sexual activity, and educational plans.
• Friendship contributes to a positive self-concept and psychological adjustment. Adolescents who have close friends tend to have higher self-esteem than adolescents who do. not. Teenagers who have close

  friendships also are more likely to show advanced stages of identity development (Berndt 1992; Bukowski

  et al. 1993b).
• Peer Groups

  In addition to forming close friendships, most adolescents belong to one or larger peer groups, these groups can be cliques and crowds. Cliques consist of five to ten individuals who hang around and share activities and confidences. Crowds are larger groups of individuals who may or may not spend time together and are identified by the particular activities or attitudes of the group. Crowds are usually given labels by other adolescents such as "jocks", "nerds" or "brains."