Summary: New findings highlight the positive role of friendships in strengthening adults’ resilience.

Friendships Boost Resilience in Adulthood, New Study Shows

Recent research from the University of Brighton demonstrates that friendships—especially close, best-friend relationships—play a significant role in helping adults cope with and recover from major life challenges. The study offers one of the first long-term statistical examinations of how valued social ties contribute to psychological resilience in community-based adult samples.

Study Overview

Dr Rebecca Graber, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Brighton, led the research. Conducted while she was at the University of Leeds, the study explored the relationship between best-friend quality and resilience processes over time. Participants were recruited through online social networks, university events, and community organizations that support adults at risk of social isolation.

In total, 185 adults were initially invited to take part; 75 individuals completed the questionnaire series. Participants provided information about their psychological resilience, the quality of their best friendship, their coping behaviors, and their levels of self-esteem. The same set of assessments was administered again one year later to evaluate changes and long-term associations.

Key Findings

The longitudinal analysis provides evidence that high-quality best friendships are linked to stronger resilience processes in adults over time. While previous work had identified similar effects in children facing socioeconomic vulnerability, this study extends those observations to an adult community sample. Participants who reported higher-quality best-friend relationships also showed patterns consistent with better coping strategies and psychological resilience when reassessed a year later.

Although the study is preliminary and based on a modest number of completed follow-ups, it contributes valuable statistical evidence supporting the idea that close friendships are a significant resource in navigating adversity. The findings raise important questions about the specific mechanisms through which best friends help foster resilience—whether through emotional support, modeling adaptive coping, bolstering self-esteem, or a combination of factors.

Implications for Practice and Future Research

These results underscore the importance of social connections for mental health and wellbeing. For practitioners working in community mental health, social care, or programs aimed at reducing isolation, the study suggests that fostering and supporting strong peer relationships could be a productive component of resilience-building interventions. For researchers, the study highlights the need for further investigation into how different dimensions of friendship quality—such as trust, emotional closeness, and reciprocal support—specifically contribute to resilient outcomes in adults.

Future research with larger, more diverse samples and more frequent measurement points could clarify causal pathways and identify which friendship qualities are most protective. Longitudinal and experimental designs would help determine how friendships interact with other factors such as socioeconomic status, life transitions, and mental health history to influence long-term resilience.

Source: University of Brighton.
Research summary: Dr Rebecca Graber, from the University of Brighton’s Social Science Policy and Research Centre, presented a paper titled “Do best friends promote psychological resilience in adults?” at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference at the University of Brighton in a closed session on 3 May.

MLA: University of Brighton. “That’s What Friends Are For.” NeuroscienceNews. 21 April 2017.
APA: University of Brighton (2017, April 21). That’s What Friends Are For. NeuroscienceNews.
Chicago: University of Brighton. “That’s What Friends Are For.” 21 April 2017.

These findings point to the enduring value of close friendships for adult resilience and invite continued research and practical attention to how social ties can be strengthened to support wellbeing across the lifespan.