New research finds school friendships crucial for wellbeing

School friendships are crucial for the wellbeing of rangatahi, finds new reports from the Our Voices project at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland.

The reports draw on wellbeing responses from 1000 13-year olds in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study, the largest ongoing cohort study in New Zealand.  

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Three recently published reports: ‘Social Connections – In-person and Online’; ‘School Experiences – Overcoming Challenges’; and ‘School Attendance – Enablers & Barriers’ outlined the important of friendships for young people’s experiences of school.  

The report on school attendance found that friendships are a primary reason young people attend school. Students also reported enjoying school more when they had positive peer relationships. On the flipside, however, poor relationships presented a barrier to school attendance. The report notes that when young people report poor peer relationships, they could be referring to a form of bullying.  

Crucially, the second report found that having positive peer relationships are protective against known school challenges like bullying. Young people reported their friends helped them stand up to bullies and meant they were less likely to be a target. Those without friends were more likely to be bullied.  

The report on social connections in young people found that friendships were one of the main ways young people experienced “belonging”. Feeling belonging is a crucial aspect of wellbeing and personal growth, especially during adolescence. During this time rangatahi are more likely to feel belonging among friends.  

Taken together, these findings emphasise the importance of positive social environments at school, says Dr Emma Marks, research fellow in Social and Community Health. Marks says schools should create opportunities for young people to connect socially, inside and outside of school.  

“They need to be given a range of opportunities to develop meaningful social connections, particularly during school transitions, like moving from intermediate to high school, when they can get separated from friends.”

Young people had a range of ideas around making schools a more positive place for social and emotional wellbeing.  

“Respondents felt that increasing school engagement should focus not only on learning and achievement, but also on offering students good experiences to make school more attractive; for example, teachers who care about a young person in their entirety, not just as a learner, and extracurricular activities that help students ‘find their people,” says Marks.