Friendship 2.1,2-Dec 15

 How do children choose a best friend?  #2 Health benefits

Helping children develop strong friendships can be a gift with lifelong benefits, including better mental and physical health. Maintaining close friendships has a positive impact on cardiovascular and neuroendocrine health, as well as the immune system, research shows. According to a 2010 review of 148 studies, strong friendships provide greater health benefits than quitting smoking, losing weight, or doing exercise. Having a close group of friends and strong family ties reduces people's mortality risk by 50%, the analysis shows. Being lonely or isolated has the same impact on someone's mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a survey of 20,000 Americans. The Harvard Study of Adult Development, which started in 1938 during the Great Depression and tracked more than 700 men throughout their lives, found that people's satisfaction with their relationships during their 50s was a better predictor of their physical health later in life than their cholesterol levels. These findings show the importance of treating friendship as a "lifelong endeavor", says Denworth. "It is never too late to make new friends, but it's a great idea to start early."  

While some studies define best friendship as involving only one special friend, the findings generally suggest that it is the quality and attitude of the relationship that is the beneficial factor, rather than the number of friends involved. Such bonds can play a vital role in helping children cope with challenges in their lives and overcome adversity, research shows. Children who have a best friend tend to experience less loneliness and depression and greater self-worth. One study found that having close, supportive friends can help children from low-income backgrounds cope better with difficult circumstances. "Children with a higher quality of best friendship demonstrated, in association with higher psychological resilience, a better ability to weather the storm of being in a low-income neighborhood," says Graber, the study's lead author. "Their best friendships seemed to be associated with having better coping skills and a better sense of being able to change things about their lives," she says, adding that the findings for friendships among boys and girls were similar. However, the "best friend" title alone is no guarantee of a high-quality relationship. When a best friendship involves excessively discussing problems, it can lead to increased symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to a 2007 study.
(3) Paraphrase the words in the box

isolated; 

predictor; 

adversity; 

resilience; 

(4) Why having a good friendship is important for children? Write in one or two sentences.