Our teenage friendships can make or break

To come to these conclusions, Allen and his team followed 171 13-year-olds until they were 27. From 13 to 17, the teens and their nominated best friend filled out questionnaires about the quality of their relationship, including trust and communication. They also answered questions about how much they attempted to fit in amongst their peers. "Peer relationships provide some of the most emotionally intense experiences in adolescents' lives, and conformity to peer norms often occurs even when it brings significant costs to the individual," the researchers explained.

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