The Need to Belong: Girls’ Trajectory Perspectives on Friendship in the School Setting
Introduction
This study examines how middle school girls develop friendships, deal with bullying, and
the need to fit in at school. Young people's well-being, development, and identity-
building depend heavily on social interactions. Girls may experience higher levels of stress and
victimization, and gender norms may have an impact on how they form friendships. Studies on
friendship have, however, gotten little attention about school environments and kids' viewpoints.
Purpose
By examining seventh and eighth grade girls' perceptions on friendship at school, this
study aims to add to the body of knowledge on the need to belong, but from the viewpoints of the
students themselves.
Hypothesis
What do girls in the seventh and eighth grade believe to be essential in terms of school
friendships?
Methodology
Sample
The study featured semi-structured interviews with Swedish seventh and eighth graders,
who ranged in age from 13 to 14. Forty girls took part in the study, which involved three schools
from various socioeconomic backgrounds. 240 students in grades 7-9 attended the first school;
56% of them had highly educated parents, and 5% were immigrants. Forty-eight percent of the
480 students in grades 7-9 at the second school had parents who had advanced degrees, and 10
percent were immigrants. In contrast, 24% of Swedish students come from abroad and 57% of
them have highly educated parents.
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Measures
Before interviews, Forsberg obtained written authorization from the girls' guardians.
Using friendship groups, pair and group interviews were created, allowing participants to select
the interview subjects. Wide-ranging, open-ended questions were used, and a probing strategy
was used to elucidate participants' viewpoints. Forsberg then conducted audio-recorded,
transcribed interviews with girls to learn about their thoughts on bullying and social interactions
at school.
Procedures
Participants attended the interviews which lasted 60 minutes. To investigate stressful
issues, the author guided participants based on their opinions and posed broad questions. The
interviews centered on the opinions of the participants on how friendships develop in school,
especially their earlier experiences and changes through time. They talked about difficulties and
methods for making friends while including symbolic interactionism. These viewpoints are
mediated through interpersonal contact and influenced by the girls' worldview.
After the interviews, the author used word-by-word and line-by-line coding, code
comparison, the conceptualization of the data into categories, and theoretical coding to create a
theoretical theory were all steps in the data analysis process. As a result, the narrative took on a
more theoretical and analytical aspect.
Results
The study reveals that friendship forming changes over time and is connected to the need
to belong. The need to belong was based on three categories: The need for a dyad friendship;
experiencing the triad tensions; and moving beyond dyad triads (Forsberg, 2023). The need to
belong highlights the constant fear of being excluded in the school setting. The study also
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highlights the connection between friendship forming and bullying, emphasizing the importance
of social belonging in school. School setting factors, gender norms, and social exclusion anxiety
influence friendships over time. Girls' views on friendship and their need to belong are
influenced by the presence of peers and breaktimes, which is a crucial time of the day that is
especially connected to their desire to socially belong.
Practical Significance
The findings confirm many aspects of previous studies surrounding the topic, but it is
significant because it examines the dynamics of friendships at school from the girls’ own
perspective.
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