Associations between Attachment Toward a Close Friend and Maladjustment Depend on Friend's Attachment

This study investigated whether adolescent friendship attachment quality and pairings among friends are related to maladjustment. In grades 4-7, 195 students tests of interactions indicated that preoccupied attachment predicted greater peer-reported aggression when the friend was also preoccupied. Internalizing symptoms increased and lower friendship quality when their friend was avoidant.