While being popular in high school might be every teenager’s goal, belonging to a tight-knit group may pay off more in the long run. 
 
 The types of friendships you form during your teenage years can affect your mental health in adulthood, according to a new study. And those with a few, high-quality best friendships grew up to be happier in their mid-20s than those who were popular among their peers. 
 
 How the study worked 
 
 Researchers from the University of Virginia examined 169 racially, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse adolescents over a period of 10 years, from the time they were 15 until they were 25. The results were published in the journal Child Development. 
 
 The study authors checked in on the participants each year to assess the state of their friendships and their mental health. Researchers asked the study participants questions about who their close friends were, as well as investigated issues like anxiety, social acceptance, self worth and symptoms of depression. The authors also interviewed the participants’ close friends on how they viewed their bonds with the study volunteers. 
 
 Friendship quality and popularity were measured by the reports from participants’ friends and peers. The study authors defined high-quality friendships as close friendships that involved psychological attachment and allowed for intimate exchanges. Popularity was determined by how many of the teens’ classmates ranked them as someone they wanted to hang out with. 
 
 Those with high-quality friendships at age 15 seemed to fare better when they were 25 in terms of wellbeing. The participants with a few tight BFFs had lower social anxiety, increased sense of self-worth and fewer symptoms of depression. Those who were considered more popular by their peers showed higher levels of social anxiety as adults. 
 
 Being well-liked by a large group of people cannot take the place of forging deep, supportive friendships. Joseph Allen, professor of psychology at the University of Virginia 
 
 What this all means 
 
 The results are a prime example of the importance of friendships on longterm mental health, according to study co-author Joseph Allen, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. 
 
 “Our study affirms that forming strong close friendships is likely one of the most critical pieces of the teenage social experience,” Allen said in a statement. “Being well-liked by a large group of people cannot take the place of forging deep, supportive friendships. And these experiences stay with us, over and above what happens later.” ||||| Although high school students may think popularity is of the utmost importance, a new study found that it may not lead to long-term happiness. 
 
 What mattered more, according to the study published in the journal Child Development, is whether the teens had close friendships they maintained over time. 
 
 "Youth with higher levels of attachment to their best friends appear to have better psychological health, psychosocial adjustment, and even a more adaptive stress response during adolescence," the study authors said. "In general, adolescents with high-quality close friendships report higher rates of overall happiness than those without." 
 
 The study looked a group of students from the same school over time, to study the correlation between adolescent friendships and long-term mental health. Researchers at the University of Virginia began following the 169 high school students from diverse racial and economic backgrounds from the age of 15, over a 10-year period through young adulthood. They asked questions and conducted in-depth interviews to assess their feelings about their own social anxiety, social acceptance, self-worth and symptoms of depression. 
 
 The study used its own unique measures to assess these areas of mental health, however, so the findings may not be typical of the general population or follow the usual diagnostic criteria for depression or anxiety. 
 
 The students in the study were each asked to identify their closest friend, who was also interviewed to assess the strength of their friendship. 
 
 To assess popularity, researchers asked classmates to list the top and bottom ten peers with whom they would want to spend free time. In this case, popularity was measured by which students received the highest percentage of "most liked" rankings. 
 
 Teens who put an emphasis on "gaining or maintaining their peer affiliation preference rather than focusing on forming stronger close friendships" did not fare as well in the long-term. The authors said those teens may be have been more focused on status and short-term rewards or relationships, which do not have the same positive long-term emotional benefits as being in a reciprocal, positive friendship.
– Good news, nerds: Popularity in high school isn't predictive of long-term happiness, at least according to a study published Monday in Child Development. ABC News reports the study followed 169 high-school students for a decade starting when they were 15 years old. Researchers found high-schoolers with a few good, close friends were ultimately happier at 25 than those that were widely popular. "Youth with higher levels of attachment to their best friends appear to have better psychological health, psychosocial adjustment, and even a more adaptive stress response during adolescence," according to the study's authors. Or, as Huffington Post puts it: Teens will be better off if they have "a few tight BFFs." The differences in happiness don't manifest until after high school, but the study found that by 25, youths who had a few close friendships as teens had better self-worth and fewer symptoms of depression, while youths who were widely popular in high school were more likely to have social anxiety, Psychology Today reports. "Being well-liked by a large group of people cannot take the place of forging deep, supportive friendships," co-author Joseph Allen says. He says it's an important lesson as social media becomes more and more central to teens' lives. Close friendships were defined as ones with psychological attachment and intimate exchanges. Popularity was determined by asking the teens' peers to rank which classmates they would most like to spend time with. (Another path to happiness: Spending time nude.)