Are They Still Friends? Friendship Stability of Adolescents With Chronic Pain: 1-Year Follow-Up.

Most adolescents identify their best friend as their main source of social support. Adolescents with chronic pain (ACP) report the loss of friendships due to pain. Friendships protect against loneliness and depression, yet adolescents with pain experience increased levels of loneliness and depression compared to peers.

Dyadic analysis of adolescent friendships behaviours during pain: Comparison of those with chronic pain versus those without chronic pain.

Background: Social context has been found to influence pain intensity and tolerance. The aims of this study were to determine the impact of one type of social context on the painful experiences of adolescents with and without chronic pain by examining interactions within and across friendship dyads during experimental pain.

Methods: Each adolescent in 61 same-sex friendship dyads (30 dyads with a chronic pain member) across three sites participated in the cold pressor task and acted as the observer during their friend's participation.