NIOBE WAY, EdD
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
THE CRISIS OF
CONNECTION
FOR ADOLESCENT BOYS

Adolescent Health: Think, Act,
Grow℠ (TAG)
A TAG TALK
HHS Office of Adolescent Health and
Interagency Working Group on Youth
Programs, 2016
Why Social Connectedness
is Important for
Adolescent Boys

The views expressed in this webcast do not reflect the official policies of the Office of Adolescent Health, or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations
imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Any statements expressed are those of the presenter and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Adolescent Health or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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Boys’ Perspectives
• “You need friends to talk to sometimes, you know like you have nobody to talk to, you
don’t have a friend, it’s hard. You got to keep things bottled up inside, you might just
start…crying or whatever.”
• “Friends are important cause like you have problems with something, you go talk to
him. You know, if you keep it all to yourself, you go crazy. Try to take it out on someone
else.”
• “Without friends you will go crazy or mad or you’ll be lonely all of the time, be
depressed….You would go wacko.”
• “My friendships are important ‘cause you need a friend or else, you would be
depressed, you won’t be happy, you would try to kill yourself, ‘cause then you’ll be all
alone and no one to talk to.”

“We are wired to be social. We are driven by deep motivations
to stay connected to friends and family. We are naturally
curious about what is going on in the minds of other people…
We spend our entire lives motivated by social connection.”
-Matthew Lieberman, 2013

Research on Social Support and Wellbeing
• Adolescents without close friendships have an increased risk of
a number of negative outcomes, including suicide and drug use.
• Those who have close friendships or strong social support
networks are less prone to physical and mental illnesses.
• Two critical factors that determine health status: social status
and friendships.

Research on Social Support and Wellbeing
• In a six-year study of middle-aged men, attachment to a single
person did NOT lower the risk of heart attack and fatal coronary
heart disease; having a strong social support network did.
• People with strong social support are less likely than others to get
colds and other common illnesses and are at less risk of death.
• Researchers find that wounds heal quicker when the person is
embedded in a strong support network.

HHS Office of Adolescent Health
HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
and the Members of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of Transportation
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Corporation for National and Community Service
National Science Foundation
Office of National Drug Control Policy
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Small Business Administration
U.S. Social Security Administration
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Watch additional segments of “The Crisis of Connection for Adolescent Boys”:
• The Crisis of Connection for Adolescent Boys;
• What Causes the Crisis of Connection for Adolescent Boys;
• Strategies to Address the Crisis of Connection for Adolescent Boys; and
• Questions and Answers on the Crisis of Connection for Adolescent Boys.
Access additional resources:
• Webcast Discussion Guide for Families and Discussion Guide for Professionals
• Citations for the Webcast
• Article by Dr. Way: Boys’ Friendships During Adolescence: Intimacy, Desire, and Loss from the Journal
of Research on Adolescence
• Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection, Niobe Way, EdD (2013)

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