When Friends Fail Them, Girls Hurt Worse Than Boys

Chestnut Hill, MA (11/22/2011) – Young girls have been viewed as far more savvy than boys at navigating the emotional pitfalls of friendships. But a new report shows that when friends let them down, girls are even more devastated than boys, researchers from Boston College and Duke University report in the journal Child Development. Researchers examined whether or not girls cope better than boys when a friend violates a core expectation of friendships. The study of fourth- and fifth-grade children found that these violations – taking the form of cancelling plans, sharing a secret with a