THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANING OF FRIEND CONCE PT IN ADOLESCENT STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOL GRADES

The study of adolescence has recently arisen the interest of many rese archers. The purpose of the present study was to explore the way adole scents think about an important character: the friend. Thus, this inve stigation was conducted using a semantic networks method in a sample o f 160 young students, 80 women and 80 men, of secondary and high schoo l in private schools. Results revealed that, in spite of some differen ces, by gender and school level, subjects showed more likenesses in th e way they conceive the friend. This may be produced by a cultural tra dition that marks the emergence of the subjects' thoughts about their social environment and others who live with them.