Essay Friendships: Adolescence and Relationships

Submitted By sguggiana
Words: 2343
Pages: 10

Friendships in the Future

" We are built for social contact. There are serious—life-threatening—consequences when we don't get enough."
-Hara Marano

The impact friendships and relationships have on human psychology are massive. It's not only the mental parts of the body that they can affect but also the physical. The importance of maintaining relationships from a very young age and sustaining them throughout adulthood shows very dramatic effects on the lives and bodies of every individual. Not only will social behavior affect the outcome of someone's success in their personal and social life, it can also overflow into someone's career and professional life as well. It can also help people live longer and healthier physical lives as well. It's important to identify whether or not relationships and friendships are healthy in one's life and should continue. It's hard to do this at a young age however, as a child your parents are responsible for the relationships you had during your childhood. The effects of relationships on a child are based on caretaking. They need to feel the attachment to their caretaker as a child. (Marano, 2013) Whether or not this person is a parent or guardian, they need to be someone who is consistently there for the child. This builds a comforting connection which will help the child grow and thrive. It serves as the foundation that future relationships can be built off of and mirror. It allows them to grow by giving them the confidence and reassurance that someone will always be there (as a caretaker was) unconditionally. If this very first bond is not created as a child all future relationships can be a struggle with the psychological problems dealing with fear of loneliness or abandonment controlling the relationships or even friendships. It is just as important for children to have a healthy relationship with their caretaker as it is important to be surrounded by healthy relationships. "Children are the silent listeners when it comes to adult abusive relationships. Children who come from abusive homes suffer daily from fear, chaos, isolation, confusion, hopelessness and despair." (Wright, 2013) The relationships seen at home are one of the first examples a child sees of a relationship at a very young age. The things they learn in their young life are brought into their young adulthood and can have very negative effects coming into their teenage years and overflowing into their adult years. For example a child who sees his father beat and abuses his mother while he is drunk or on drugs, will most likely have his mind set that it is okay for a man to do that. Or he may see that he is hurting the mother and learn that he shouldn’t treat women like that in the future. Many of these children as susceptible to having abusive relationships in their futures as well. As a young adult or a teenager people tend to have one best friend that they cannot seem to get enough of. Usually these friendships are almost to an extent of obsession (comparative to the earlier stages in a new relationship). They are actually preparing the young adult for something much more than just having a best friend. By everyday seeing each other and talking to each other day and night, it is actually practice for adulthood and dating. The beginning stages of a new relationship where two people are getting to know each other and spend a lot of time with each other are very similar. Seeing and speaking to a significant other for long periods of time without getting bored, annoyed or sick of the other person. It is good practice to creating a healthy long lasting relationship. This isn't the only reason for building friendships and having a social comfort during your teenage years. " Failure to be socially connected to peers is the real reason behind most school dropouts." (Marano, 2013) Failure to complete high school is only one of the many results of the lack of social bonding.