Authenticity in friendships and well-being in adolescence

Only a handful of studies have focused on understanding how authenticity in close relationships may be related to individuals' wellbeing. In this study we examined whether authenticity in a friendship was related to greater adjustment during adolescence. Participants were 318 sixth- and ninth-grade students ( 155 boys; M-age = 513.46, SDage = 51.51). Our results show that adolescents who feel more authentic have more positive self-views, are less lonely at school, and more satisfied with their relationship. Importantly, authenticity-adjustment associations remained significant after controlling for positive friendship quality and conflict. These findings suggest that authenticity should be more often incorporated into the study of different friendship processes.