An Analysis of Supportive Communication between Broken-Home Adolescents and their Friend: A Case Study in Yogyakarta

This study describes the supportive communication of broken-home adolescents with their best friends in Yogyakarta. The used theory is “Categories of Defensive and Supportive Behavior” or is called the defense and support theory, which assumes that each individual has the nature not only to defend himself but also to provide support to others. This research type is a descriptive qualitative approach. The data collection technique was in-depth interviews and the purposive sampling technique was used to determine the research informants. Then, the data were analyzed with an interactive analysis. Meanwhile, for the validity test, the authors used the source triangulation. The research results showed that pair I (S and F) with the background of a broken-home family and more than 7 years of friendship run amicably. The similarities made it easier for them to open themselves to others and become more honest without worrying about demeaning each other because of understanding individual feelings and conditions. Pair II (A and I), although it did not have conditions for the same family, were able to open up to each other with the frequent meetings because they have lived in one boarding house since enrolling the college. Even though A felt shy at the beginning of the meeting, I showed a positive response which it could foster self-confidence and make it easy for them to open up. However, I needed to cautiously respond and give suggestions so that I did not hurt his best friend’s feelings. The broken-home teenagers only needed to be listened to when encountering a problem that should be understood. Moreover, they needed a place to share their feelings to the people they trusted and to improve their self-confidence. Their friends are required to respond and provide suggestions, but they must not look down on him/her. For example, they could offer solutions based on their experiences or suggest another perspective on the problem. Sometimes, they just listened to their friends’ suggestions without truly doing them. The self-disclosure of the broken-home teenagers was merely to relieve their sadness due to the trauma of the separation from their parents.