Anxiety, Depression, and Friendship: Friends Don't Run From Trouble

Social connectedness—an issue important to individuals, researchers, and clinicians—has been increasingly included in public policy as an antidote to ill‐being. Social connection can be gained through friendships; however, not all friendships are alike, and some may be better suited for accommodating mental health challenges. Thus, the impact of disorders such as anxiety and depression may differentially relate to satisfaction with different types of friendships. In the current study ( N = 1627), adults self‐reported anxiety, depression, psychological variables of interest, and satisfaction with three different types of friendships: intimacy with a best friend, closeness within their network of friends, and socializing within their network of friends. We systematically tested the effects of anxiety and depression separately, additively, interactively, and nonlinearly on the three different friendship dimensions, after controlling for psychological variables that may also contribute to the association. Our hypotheses stating that anxiety and depression would predict greater friendship quality as varied by the level of intimacy characterized within each friendship dimension were supported. This research suggests that the most intimate relationships with best friends may be particularly well‐suited for weathering challenges.