It’s not always good to talk, especially for teenage girls, new research suggests. Friendships that lend themselves to ruminating about problems may actually contribute to emotional difficulties, depression and anxiety.

A study in the journal Developmental Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, finds that girls are more likely than boys of the same age group to develop anxiety and depression as a result of extensive conversations with friends about their problems, dubbed “co-rumination” by the authors.

They define co-rumination as excessively talking with another person about problems, including rehashing them and dwelling on the negative feelings associated with them. While this was a factor in strengthening close friendships for boys and girls, the researchers found that in girls it increased the symptoms of depression and anxiety, which in turn led to greater discussion of problems.

The six-month study involved 813 American girls and boys, aged 9, 11, 13 and 15, who responded to questionnaires on their friendships. Girls reported discussing problems with friends more than boys did, and it helped them build close friendships.

“However, for girls there was a trade-off in that co-rumination also predicted increasing depressive and anxiety symptoms,” the authors noted. For boys, co-rumination was associated only with greater positive friendship quality and not increased depression and anxiety. Amanda Rose, who led the research at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said that the findings were unexpected.

She added: “Girls’ intentions when discussing problems may be to give and seek positive support. However, these conversations appear to contribute to increased depression.” Dr Rose suggests that co-rumination may lead girls to think about problems in a way that is different from boys, such as being more likely than boys to take personal responsibility for failures.

While previous studies have stressed that adults should worry about youths who are socially isolated, Dr Rose said that adolescents in seemingly supportive friendships may also be at risk of suffering depression and anxiety if the friendship is based on a pattern of dwelling on problems.

“Having anxiety symptoms (and presumably, associated heightened levels of worries and concerns) and a high-quality friend to talk to may provide a uniquely reinforcing context for co-rumination,” she added. “Parents and teachers should not be lulled into a false sense of security about adolescents, especially girls, with seemingly supportive friendships.”

Kathryn Pugh, head of policy of the charity Young Minds, said that modern technology such as mobile phones and networking websites meant that young people could easily carry on discussions after school.

"This is an interesting study. It is natural for adolescents, especially girls, to turn to their friends for advice and support,” she said. “But just because someone has good friends, it does not mean they will necessarily receive the proper support. If a problem is being dwelt upon excessively or to the exclusion of all other topics, it may be appropriate for adults to step in and try to help.”

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