Identifying the Quality of Friendship in Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities often have difficulties in social skills and friendship. The purpose of this study was to identify the quality of friendship in students with learning disabilities. In this study, a qualitative research method was used with a phenomenological approach. The statistical population of this study was adolescents 10 to 14 years with learning disabilities in Tehran during the academic year of 1396-97. During the research, among the referring to educational counseling centers in 2 and 5 areas of Tehran, 10 Students with learning disabilities were selected through purposive sampling and interviewed by deep intervie. To analyze the data, Van Manen method was used. The results of qualitative analysis from interviews identified 3 main themes and 17 subthemes. The first theme was “communication problems” consisted subthemes (poor self-disclosure, distrust, instability in friendship, peer rejection, withdrawal, weakness in establishing friendship, circle restriction of friendship, isolation). The second theme was “need of intimacy” consisted subthemes (fear of loneliness, attention-seeking, feelings of humiliation, an ideal friend's image, a sense of need for support). And the third theme was “outcomes of favorite friendship” consisted subthemes (a supportive experience, an experience of sense of satisfaction, an exchange of intimacy, and empathy). The results of the research provide an insight into the identification of the quality of friendship among students with learning disabilities, and examining the experiences of these students around the friendship and indicate the limitations, differences and needs of the friendship in students with learning disabilities.