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Success Stories Success Stories Success Stories |
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Friends and Friendships
American Sociological Review study finds:
· 25% of Americans have no one to confide in. In 1985, the average American had three people in whom to confide matters that were important to them. In 2004, that number dropped to two, and one in four had no close confidants at all. · · Americans have a third fewer close friends and confidants than just two decades ago — a sign that people may be living lonelier, more isolated lives than in the past. · · "You usually don't see that kind of big social change in a couple of decades," says study co-author Lynn Smith-Lovin, professor of sociology at Duke University in Durham, N.C. · · Close relationships are a safety net, she says. "Whether it's picking up a child or finding someone to help you out of the city in a hurricane, these are people we depend on." · · Also, research has linked social isolation and loneliness to mental and physical illness.
The study is based on surveys of 1,531 people in 1985 and 1,467 in 2004, part of the General Social Survey by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
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THE HOLLAND AVENUE BOYS A SUCCESS STORY
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