Being Honest Helps Young Girls in Building Better Relationships

Those who tend to voice out what they think had less depression, higher self-esteem, researcher showed

A new study indicates that the ability to be open and honest is important in building better relationships and living happier lives, for young girls at least.

 The findings are based on the study involving 108 young girls, 14 years of age, who were surveyed on how they felt about voicing their minds and opening their feelings to their parents, teachers and friends.

In a news release issued by the Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., Sally Theran, assistant professor of psychology at the college, explained that genuineness in relationships can be described “as the extent to which one feels comfortable being open and authentic in meaningful relationships, and is able to represent one’s own inner experiences in the relationships.”

According to Theran, the more that a person is “authentic in meaningful relationships, the more intimate and close their friendships will be.”

Even though research in the past has suggested that social connections may be dented by excessive honesty, the author found proof that’s quite the opposite. As a matter of fact, she found that going one’s way to steer clear of conflict by giving up honesty did not seem to be an effective way in dealing with disagreements.

According to Theran, the findings of the study indicate that in intimate relationships, some conflict is natural, and may be healthy.

The study showed that girls who do their best to be real with their parents, teachers and peers developed more solid bonds and were less affected by issues pertaining to depression or self-esteem.

On the other hand, those girls who opted not to show their true feelings to their parents and teachers (or were extremely shy or troubled about sharing them) were at risk of becoming depressed by their inadequacy of honesty, the researcher found. However, extra attention and emotional support obtained from family members appeared to help in reducing some of the feelings associated with depression.

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