• Ramos Anne Carolina

• Ramos Anne Carolina

Friendships matter across the life course, and research highlights their contribution to multiple dimensions of well-being, self-esteem, a sense of belonging, and social integration at school and in the community. Friends provide support, share interests and activities, help shape identity, and can buffer against peer victimization, loneliness, and social exclusion. Embedded in sociocultural contexts, friendships also change over time: some endure for years, while others fade as young people go through major transitions (e.g., changing schools, starting an apprenticeship or job, moving out, or forming new partnerships).

In this seminar, we will explore the role of peers and friends in young people’s everyday lives. We will examine the significance of friendship in social relations research, the role of digital media in friendship and peer relations, and how gender, social class, ethnicity/migration, and health/disability shape friendship patterns and experiences. We will also address conflict and support within friendships, foregrounding friendship as an everyday practice. The seminar draws on interdisciplinary literature to engage with multiple facets of friendship and peer relations.

Objectives

After attending this seminar, you will:

• Understand the importance of peer and friendship relations for young people and across the life course.
• Acquire knowledge of theoretical and empirical perspectives on friendship and peer relations.
• Understand the importance of gender, social class, ethnicity/migration, and disability to friendship practices.
• Acquire knowledge about how conflicts, loneliness, and social support are negotiated in young people’s friendships.

The seminar will be held in English, but students may lead the discussion in German.

The final work can be written in English, German, or French.

Alsarrani, A., Hunter, R. F., Dunne, L., & Garcia, L. (2022). Association between friendship quality and subjective wellbeing among adolescents: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 22:2420. DOI 10.1186/s12889-022-14776-4

Faragó, F., Xu, J., Eggum-Wilkens, N. D., Zhang, L., An, D., Kim, E., & Adams, E. (2021). Ugandan adolescents’ attitudes toward, and shared activities with, same- and other-gender peers and friends. Youth and Society, 1-32. DOI: 10.1177/0044118X21998717

Fehr, B., & Harasymchuk, C. (2022). Conceptions and the experience of friendship in underrepresented groups. Personal relationships, 29(3), 451-487.  https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12431Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Ferguson, S., & Lareau, A. (2021). Hostile Ignorance, class, and same race friendships: Perspectives of working-class college students, Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 7, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231211048305

Graham, A. & Adans, R. G. (2006). Sociology of Friendship. In C. Bryant, & D. Peck (Eds.), 21^st Century Sociology: A reference handbook (123-131). London: Sage.

Hall, S., & Melia, Y. (2023). What is Known About the Role of Friendship in Adolescent Self-Harm? A Review and Thematic Synthesis. Child Youth Care Forum 52, 285–310 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09686-w

Hoare, R. (2019). ‘I can only be properly myself when I’m with her’: Early adolescent intra-ethnic immigrant group friendships as a safe space for identity exploration, negotiation and validation. Childhood, 26(2), 202-220. DOI: 10.1177/0907568218824389

Hoffman, M., & Chabot, T. (2023). The role of selection in socioeconomic homophily: Evidence from an adolescent summer camp. Social Networks, 74, 259-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2023.04.002

Kaur, H., & Saukko, P. (2022). Social access: role of digital media in social relations of young people with disabilities. New Media & Society, 24(2), 420-436. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211063177

Khullar, T. H., Kirmayer, M. H., & Dirks, M. A. (2021). Relationship dissolution in the friendships of emerging adults: How, when, and why? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38(11), 3243-3264. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075211026015 

Kitts, J. A., & Leal, D. F. (2021). What is(n’t) a friend? Dimensions of the friendship concept among adolescents. Social Networks, 66,  161-170, doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2021.01.004.

Leszczensky, L., & Pink, S. (2019). What Drives Ethnic Homophily? A Relational Approach on How Ethnic Identification Moderates Preferences for Same-Ethnic Friends. American Sociological Review, 84(3) 394–419.

Little, C., deLeeuw, R. R., Andriana, E., Zanuttini, J., & David, E. (2022). Social Inclusion through the Eyes of the Student: Perspectives from Students with Disabilities on Friendship and Acceptance. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 69(6), 2074–2093. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2020.1837352

Pincock, K., Jones, N., Odeh, K. B. (2023). ‘Had I been a girl it would have been a big problem’: An intersectional approach to the social exclusion of refugee adolescents with disabilities in Jordan. Childhood, 30(2), 129-144. DOI: 10.1177/09075682231169264

Priestley, M., Slack, H. R., Islam, M. M., Fuhrmann, D., Long, E., Crook, S., Foster, J., Homer, S., & Byrom, N. (2025). “No One Told You Life Was Gonna Be This Way”: A Qualitative Exploration of Friendship Expectations and Reality in University Life. Journal of Adolescence, 97(5), 1225-1235. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12489

Robinson, B. A., Mu, F., Webb, J. M., & Stone, A. L. (2024). Intersectional Social Support: Gender, Race, and LGBTQ Youth Friendships. Society and Mental Health, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/21568693241266960

Turner, S., Fulop, A., & Woodcock, K. A. (2024). Loneliness: Adolescents’ perspectives on what causes it, and ways youth services can prevent it. Children and Youth Services Review, 157. doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107442

Zaidi, A. U. (2025): The digital closet: technology, queer Muslim youth, and the politics of online survival, International Journal of LGBTQ+ Youth Studies, DOI: 10.1080/29968992.2025.2592041

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