New study at KU to correlate anxiety, friendships in adolescents

    Three years later, and 17-year-old Lucy Daldorph of Lawrence remembers how emotionally taxing her middle school years had been.
    "I was worried about friends," the Lawrence High School junior said.
    She was worried about the pressures of finding friends to sit with at lunch, having a social life outside of school and getting her name out there among a sea of her peers who, like her, wanted to establish themselves in a new environment.
    What few middle schoolers probably realize, however, is that that same level of emotional anxiety may actually determine the kind and quality of friendships they form.
    At the University of Kansas, psychological researcher Bridget Biggs is currently eight months into a one and one-half-year study on the topic.
    "Teens interest me," Biggs said. "It's a big transitional period, and there's a lot of uncertainty in teenagers feelings."
    Biggs' goal is to study 60 pairs of middle school teens. She has already conscripted 35 into her study.

Each week, her team in the Clinical Child Psychology Program interviews middle-school-aged kids, their parents and best friends to collect data for their research.

    Kalani Makanui, lab manager for the project, said the idea for the study came two years ago, and it began in February. Makanui and Biggs didn't want to speculate on the results of the study because, they said, they didn't want to affect the outcome and that it was too early to infer anything.
    "Adolescence marks a change in core development," said Tish Taylor, a Lawrence psychologist in private practice. "Difficulty with socialization could be debilitating." Taylor said she helps teenagers to accept and understand their anxiety, as well as coping strategies they can use to combat unhealthy levels of anxiety.
     In each evaluation, students and parents first filled out general questionnaires about the child and his friends. Then the students were given scenarios to handle cooperatively, like sharing a snack or planning a party. The sessions were taped and later viewed by research assistants who "coded," the interview by ranking interactions such as laughter to the degree the children exhibited it. The research assistants in the study rank the traits using the Multi-Dimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC).
    "Friendships are important all through our lives," Taylor said. "How you relate to other people, especially our peers, is important to healthy development."
    The study is part of a small body of national research to learn more about anxiety and its effects on adolescents. Makanui said the University had never before looked at anxiety in this capacity. There have been some setbacks.
    "We have really had to get creative in our ways to recruit. It has really been an obstacle," Makanui said. He said his group has gone to sports teams, community pools and athletic events, and is weary of the legal restrictions in soliciting participation for the study. Students were offered gift cards in exchange for their involvement.

    "We're overcoming stigmas with mental health services," Makanui said. "Our hope is to make it as natural and normative as going into the school nurse because you have a stomach ache."
    Makanui projected that the study would end in May 2009 and would be followed by research on the information they collected. He said he was hopeful about the impact the study would have, and that the group is ready to face any other challenges that may arise.
    "Smooth seas never meet a skillful sailor. It's taking a little longer than expected, but it's been really rewarding."