Some schools are discouraging close friendships in the hopes of preventing bullying, wrote Diane Peters in :
It鈥檚 not that concerned educators are 鈥渙ut to get鈥 best friends. But they are trying to nudge close pals apart a little bit, so that they don鈥檛 become too insular. Twosomes can turn into threesomes, and such cliques are often behind bullying. 鈥淲hen three or four kids get together, they can decide someone is not good enough to join their group. They can ramp each other up to do worse and worse things,鈥 says Debra Pepler, a psychology professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Health, who is an expert on bullying and helps to run , a bullying information website.
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Just as adult relationships aren鈥檛 always healthy or turn sour over time, kids can also get wrapped up in negative dynamics. Pepler says some close friends actually bully each other: they know each other鈥檚 secrets and can make a pal upset with a few choice words 鈥 whether about chubby ankles, a crappy slapshot or that time he wet his pants last year.
Pepler is a core member of the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence & Conflict Resolution.
Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.