Your teenage best friend could be good for your long-term mental health, according to a new study published in the journal Child Development. According to the findings, teenagers aged 15 to 16 who had a close friendship rather than a larger group of friends they were less close to had a greater sense of self-worth by the time they were 25 years old. Those people with a very close best friend were also less likely to experience social anxiety, the study found.

A past research has suggested that teen friendships are important. Friendships during the teenage years predict academic success and improved mental health. But the new research further explores the type of friendships teenagers have.

Many study participants did not continue to have a close relationship with their high-school best friend, leading the researchers to wonder what exactly was responsible for the mental health benefits. They thought that the skills and ability to build such a friendship may be more important than the friendship itself.

And as the researchers point out, those skills are not necessarily brought to bear in the world of social media. “As technology makes it increasingly easy to build a social network of shallow friends, focusing time and attention on developing close connections with a few individuals should be a priority,” one of the researchers, Joseph Allen, said in a statement.

【小题1】What is the benefit of having a close teenage friendship?

A．Good performance in high school.

B．Mental health by early adulthood.

C．A large social network in the future.

D．A greater sense of self-worth all the time.

【小题2】What can we learn about the past research?

A．It attached importance to teen friendships.

B．It explored the types of teenage friendships.

C．It helped improve teenagers' mental health.

D．It was totally different from the new research.

【小题3】What did the researchers think might lead to the mental health benefits?

A．Having many best friends in high school.

B．Knowing how to build a close friendship.

C．Understanding the world of social media.

D．Studying hard and getting good grades at school.

【小题4】What did the researcher Joseph Allen suggest?

A．Widening your social circle.

B．Learning to use social media.

C．Concentrating on high-quality friendship.

D．Improving the basic skills of making friends.