One for all and all for one: En kvalitativ undersøkelse av ungdommers vennskapsrelasjoner på en indisk internatskole

There is an increasing need in Norway for broad and basic knowledge of India, as Norway is described as a multicultural society Nieuwenhuys, 2009, s. 148; Thorbjørnsrud, 2009, s. 201). As a result, it can be argued that there is a need for cultural knowledge in Norway, to better prevent problems that may result from cultural differences among adolescents. Furthermore, one can argue that a focus on friendship amongst youth, will help to prevent mental problems among young people (Allen et al., 2015, s. 1580-1581). As a result, this master thesis is based on a qualitative study of adolescentsin a bahá’i- inspired residential school, expressed views on their friendship experiences and friendship perspective. The overall topic of the thesis was examined through interviews of 8 informants, participatory observations of 15 informants, as well as a written school assignment given to 15 informants. The overall thesis question for this master thesis, is as follows: What kind of friendship experiences and friendship perspective do adolescents attending the residential school have? The findings of the study show that friendship was very important for the youth attending the residential school. The adolescents in the residential school’s friendship experiences refers to how they are friends and how they preform friendship. The friendship perspective refers to what type of qualities that is important in a friend. The youth’s friendship experiences and friendship perspective seem to be somewhat shaped by the school’s and their friend’s expectations, the vulnerable situation they found themselves in, a mutual commitment towards each other, characteristics especially related to adolescents, the context of the residential school and the Indian culture. The analysis uses a various theoretical perspective presented by Goffman, Bourdieu, Honneth and Giddens. Furthermore, theory presented by Parekh, Kvello, Ridge & Millar, and Frønes is used. The material is divided: (1) The friendships experiences among the adolescents may be perceived to be centered around cohesion and disagreement, relationships with the school’s teachers, and peers influences on decision making. Because of the cohesion that had occurred amongst the youth at the residential school, they considered friends as family and dreaded being away from their friends during holidays. Furthermore, one may say that disagreement and conflicts characterized the youth’s friendship experiences. Conflict were something that the youth at the residential school handled as a group. An interesting finding was related to the student’s relationship with the adults at the residential school. One might expect that the adolescents would describe friendship amongst peers, but they also mentioned friendship with another adult. According to the informants, the friendship with the teachers were characterized by a supportive and equal relationship. Finally, it can be argued that the youth's friendships experience at the residential school was linked to the friends' influence on decisions. The findings of the study show that friends had an influence on what choices the youth made as an individual person and as a group. (2) The finding of the study related to the adolescent’s friendship perspectives is centered around trust, support, understanding and similarity. Support, according to the adolescents, was perceived to always be available and help your friend, as well as to provide mental support in times of need. Trust was another important part of the youth’s friendship perspective. Trust meant that you could tell our friend any secrets without being afraid that your friend would tell anyone else. Trust also meant that your friend would lead you down the right path in life. Understanding also characterized the youth’s friendship perspective. Understanding meant that you knew your friend well, as well as to be able to embark on another’s perspective. Understanding meant a genuine desire to understand your friend through listening and asking questions. Last, it can be argued that similarity is a part of the youth’s friendship perspective. The youth’s desire for similarity involved having friends who were the same in terms of values and interests