The research on friendship in Latin America: Progress, challenges, and new directions

Abstract

Scientific literature has highlighted the importance of friendship for the psychological and social development of human beings. Positive associations between the quality of friendship and the perception of well-being, happiness, state of health, and even self-actualization, are clear. However, it is surprising that psychology research on this phenomenon is scarce, and therefore, many questions remain. This study focused on a review of the research on friendship between 2000 and 2020 in Latin America. For this, empirical articles from academic databases (in Spanish, Portuguese, and English) were reviewed. The results show that the research is insufficient. Most of the published research uses a qualitative methodology and the explanatory scope is limited. Friendship is seen as a positive affective relationship, where homogeneity in terms of gender and age is essential for its formation. Friendship appears to play an instrumental role in social support, as well as a protective factor against problems such as bullying or psychoactive substance use. Finally, this study shows evidence that the use of various modes of technology has changed interactions between friends. Thus, in addition to more research, the region's main challenge is the theoretical integration of the knowledge produced. © 2020 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.