Colloquium Series

  • Friendship in Adolescence: A Lifeline or a Load?

    Headshot photo of Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, MSSW, PhD.
    Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, MSSW, PhD

    Associate Professor of Psychology
    University at Buffalo
    rmette@buffalo.edu

    Colloquium Date: April 22, 2025

    • Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
    • Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET
    • Location: Online via Zoom

    Friendships are crucial relationships during adolescence, affording youth many socioemotional benefits, including mitigating risk for the development of mental health challenges. Ironically, however, youth in distress who may benefit most from supportive friendships tend to experience the erosion of these social supports over time, triggering a problematic cycle of distress and rejection. Moreover, those friends who do stay close with distressed youth are actually at increased risk for developing mental health problems themselves. This talk will review the protective benefits of adolescent friendships, as well as the risks associated with certain types of friendships.

One hour of NASP-approved Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is available for this event.

Registration will open soon. Please check back.