The Relationship Between Friendship Quality and Antisocial Behavior of Adolescents in Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

Abstract

This exploratory study aimed to measure antisocial tendencies and friendship quality of adolescents in residential substance abuse treatment and to compare the findings to the general population for this age group. Fifty-four adolescents completed Bukowski, Hoza, and Boivin's (1994) Friendship Quality Scale and their counselor completed the antisocial measures of Merrell and Caldarella's (2002) Home and Community Social Behavior Scales. As anticipated, the sample exhibited significantly more antisocial behavior; however, they also reported similar levels of positive and negative friendship quality compared with other adolescent populations. Implications for substance abuse treatment are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• friendship quality
• antisocial behavior
• substance abuse treatment
• adolescent
• Friendship Quality Scale
• Home and Community Social Behavior Scale