Friendship Quality Research Articles

Predictors of Housing Trajectories Among Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness in Los Angeles

Experiencing homelessness during young adulthood is associated with negative health outcomes and understanding housing trajectories of young adults experiencing homelessness may aid in the development of evidence-based public health programs designed to serve this at-risk age group. In the present study, the authors examined baseline predictors of 24-month trajectories of housing stability and unsheltered housing among a sample of 271 young adults aged 18 to 25 recruited from drop-in centers in Los Angeles. In multivariate models, the authors found that identifying as multi-racial/other and better friendship quality at baseline were associated with less steep increases in the likelihood of stable housing over time. Being employed at baseline was associated with a less steep decrease in the probability of being unsheltered over time, while illicit drug use days associated with a steeper decrease in the probability of being unsheltered over time. Continued research is needed to establish important factors determining young adults’ long-term housing trajectories in the effort to promote greater access and engagement with housing services.

How Friendship Predicts Post-Traumatic Growth in Emerging Adults

Emerging adulthood is a time of self-exploration. However, individuals at this stage of life are particularly vulnerable to adverse life experiences that could impact identity development. Research indicates the importance of quality social engagement to encourage connection and a sense of belonging during emerging adulthood that supports this vulnerable time. Meaning-making is a positive post-trauma outcome experienced after adversity. Little is known about whether meaning-making is predicted by friendships in emerging adulthood. The purpose of the study is to determine whether quality friendships during emerging adulthood predict the two variables of meaning-making—new possibilities and personal strengths—above and beyond other attachment figures. Using hierarchical multiple regression, we evaluated the relationships between trauma exposure and various relationship structures on the development of meaning-making in a sample of 202 college students. Results supported the role of dependable, close friendship to promote the trajectory toward meaning-making in emerging adulthood.

Validation of the English version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient in an English-speaking Singaporean sample.

The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) measures the degree of autistic traits in clinical and non-clinical samples and has been validated in various countries and languages. However, the AQ has not been validated in Singapore, an Asian country whose population speaks predominantly English. Although previous validation studies have examined the distribution of scores, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct, convergent and discriminant validities in Asian countries using translated versions of the AQ and generally shown a suitable structure of the AQ, other studies testing cultural differences of the AQ have provided inconsistent results about whether differences exist in scores between Western and Asian samples. Additionally, while prior literature has consistently documented sex differences in AQ scores, findings about the relationship between personality traits and friendship quality with autistic traits have been mixed. The aim of the current study was to validate the psychometric properties of the original English AQ in a non-clinical Singaporean sample and compare their mean AQ scores to previous Western samples. In this study, psychometric properties of the original English AQ were assessed in 113 Singaporean adults (47M/66F; Mean age = 37.78; SD = 14.52) with no clinical diagnoses. They completed the AQ, the Friendship Questionnaire (FQ) and the short Big Five Inventory, with a subsample completing the AQ twice within three to six months. Results showed that AQ scores were normally distributed and the AQ had satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability and it demonstrated construct, convergent and discriminant validities. Higher AQ scores were related to lower friendship quality and extraversion and higher neuroticism. The mean AQ scores of the Singaporean sample did not differ to that reported in original British sample. Together, present findings showed the original English AQ to be reliable for measuring the degree of autistic traits in a non-clinical Singaporean sample, producing comparable AQ scores and showing the same relationships to other social and personality measures and the same sex differences as has been reported in English samples. This supports the use of the AQ in Singapore for clinical and research purposes and suggests that the measurement of autistic traits in some Asian cultures is comparable to that reported in Western cultures.

DIFFERENCES IN THE QUALITY OF FRIENDSHIP IN STUDENTS IN THE CITY OF PADANG IN VIEW OF GENDER

Friendship is a relationship in which two people spend a lot of time together, interact in a variety of situations, and provide each other with emotional support. Friendship is not always done with the same sex, but friendship can be done with individuals of different sexes. The purpose of this research is to see the quality of friendship in terms of gender. This study uses a type of comparative quantitative research. The sample consisted of 272 participants (161 women and 111 men) using a purposive sampling technique. The Friendship Quality Scale was used as a data collection method. Data analysis uses product moment correlation. The results of the hypothesis obtained the value of F = 3.741 with p = 0.00 (p <0.05), it can be concluded that H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted. These results indicate that there are significant differences in friendship quality between average friendships between men, between women, and between men and women.

Well-Being Implications of Digital Social Multitasking in Adolescent Friendship: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Adolescents' phone use during face-to-face interactions (i.e., digital social multitasking [DSMT]) has gained increasing attention because of its prevalence as well as implications for well-being. However, most studies have focused on only one dimension of the behavior and relied on variable-centered approaches. Informed by the DSMT framework, we adopted a person-centered approach to identify different groups of adolescents based on their levels, perceptions, and motives of phone use during face-to-face interactions with friends. We also examined how these groups differed in five well-being variables (loneliness, depressive symptoms, digital stress, friendship quality, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs). A total of 517 adolescents (Mage = 14.83, standard deviation [SD] = 1.93; 50 percent female) completed an online survey. Three profiles were identified: the Intentional (low levels, quite positive perceptions, motivated for clear goals), the Embracers (high levels, highly positive perceptions, strong motives), and the Unimpressed (low levels, low positive perceptions, low motives). The Embracers scored the highest on both positive and negative indicators of well-being, whereas the Unimpressed scored the lowest on all well-being scales. The Intentional appeared to be the most adaptive group. Implications are discussed.

Friendships in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Parental and Friendship Attachment Representations and Intimacy.

The current studies addressed the associations between attachment representations with parents and a single best friend, intimacy behaviors (self-disclosure and support-seeking), and friendship quality in emerging adulthood, using the actor-partner interdependence mediation model (APIMeM). Study 1 (N = 186 dyads) examined whether attachment to parents predicted friendship quality, and whether this was mediated by attachment to their best friend. More avoidance or anxiety with parents predicted lower friendship quality, which was mediated by avoidance or anxiety with their best friend. Study 2 (N = 118 dyads) examined whether self-disclosure and support-seeking mediated the link between attachment with best friend and friendship quality. Anxiety with their best friend predicted lower friendship quality, which was mediated by support-seeking. Anxiety predicted less self-disclosure and support-seeking. We found no effects of avoidance. No partner effects were found in both studies. The findings are discussed in terms of adult attachment theory.

The Predictive ability of parenting styles in ‎the quality of friendship among adolescents

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the ‎predictive power of parenting styles on the quality of friendship ‎and whether there are significant gender differences in the ‎quality of friendship among a sample of 398 seventh-grade ‎male and female students selected using the available sample ‎method for the academic year 2020–21.To achieve the ‎objectives of the study, the friendship quality scale and \ scale ‎of parenting styles were used after checking the validity and ‎reliability indications. The results showed that the mean scores ‎of the parenting style (authoritative, authoritarian) in the image ‎of the father in males were higher than in females. The ‎parenting styles (authoritarian and permissive) in the image of ‎the mother were higher for males than for females, and the ‎authoritative style was higher for females than for males. Also, ‎in the dimension (closeness) in the friendship quality scale ‎which was higher for females than for males, the results also ‎showed that the variables (authoritative image of the father, ‎authoritative image of the mother, authoritarian image of the ‎mother, permissive image of the father) explained 25.30% of ‎the variance in the quality of the friendship. Whereas, each of ‎the following independent variables, respectively, for the ‎parenting style (authoritative image of the father (19.70%), ‎authoritative image of the mother (2.40%), authoritarian image ‎of the mother (1.70%), and permissive image of the father ‎‎(1.50%), contributed to the overall explanatory variance of the ‎model predictive, while the percentage contribution to the ‎interpretation of variance for the rest of the variables was not ‎statistically significant at the level of significance (α = 0.05).‎ ‎(Keywords: Adolescents, Parenting Style, Friendship Quality)‎

Comorbidity of loneliness and social anxiety in adolescents: Bridge symptoms and peer relationships

RationalePrevious research investigating the comorbidity of loneliness and social anxiety symptoms in population samples has relied on latent variable modeling in which averaged scores representing dimensions were derived from observed symptoms. Studies have not examined how loneliness and social anxiety co-occur at the symptom level or their relations with peer relationships. ObjectiveThis study examined the comorbidity of loneliness and social anxiety and the role of peer relationships (i.e., the number of reciprocated friends, friendship quality, and bullying victimization) in adolescents’ co-occurring network using a large sample of Chinese adolescents. MethodsWe performed a network analysis in a sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 2601, 51.6% male, M age = 13.9 years, SD = 0.60). Participants completed self-report measures of loneliness, social anxiety, bullying victimization, and friendship quality as well as peer nomination measures of the number of reciprocated friends. ResultsNetwork analysis revealed that feeling ridiculed, fear of being rejected, having difficulty asking others to do things together, and feeling left out at school were essential bridge symptoms in the co-occurrence of loneliness and social anxiety. Bullying victimization had more positive associations with symptoms of social anxiety, and friendship quality had more negative associations with symptoms of loneliness. ConclusionsThe findings provide preliminary evidence for the comorbidity of loneliness and social anxiety symptoms in adolescents. The results also highlight the potential importance of targeting peer relationships in the prevention and intervention of loneliness and social anxiety symptoms. The combination of longitudinal networks and interventions on bridge symptoms may provide further insight into the development of the links between peer relationships, loneliness, and social anxiety symptoms.

Interfaith friendships among emerging adulthood in Surabaya: The role of tolerance and stigma consciousness

Forming quality interfaith friendships is not impossible. Additionally, our society has become accustomed to differences. However, a clear explanation for the difficulty of forming such friendships has yet to be established. This study aimed to investigate the influence of tolerance and stigma consciousness on the quality of interfaith friendships. The research involved 400 respondents aged 18-25, comprising 200 Muslim respondents with at least one non-Muslim friend and 200 non-Muslim respondents with at least one Muslim friend. The quality of friendship was evaluated using the McGill Friendship Questionnaire (MFQ), while tolerance and stigma consciousness were measured using the Tolerance Index Questionnaire (TI) and Stigma Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ), respectively. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to test the research hypothesis. The study results indicate that tolerance and stigma consciousness are significant factors in determining the quality of interfaith friendships. Individuals with tolerance and low levels of stigma consciousness are more likely to form quality interfaith friendships.

The experience of childhood sexual abuse: An exploratory description of psychological and adaptive functioning in Canadian men

BackgroundChildhood sexual abuse (CSA) affects a number of men yet knowledge gaps remain around comprehensively describing psychological and adaptive outcomes for this population. ObjectiveExamine how a Canadian sample of men with and without CSA histories compares on broader areas of psychological and adaptive functioning. Participants and settingThis exploratory study included 109 adult men aged 25–60 years who were grouped according to whether they experienced CSA (n = 69) or not (n = 40). Participants were recruited from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. MethodUsing a multi-method approach, we conducted an exploratory and comprehensive examination of how CSA contributes to various areas of psychological (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, dissociation, anger, PTSD) and adaptive functioning (e.g., friendship quality, employment) using self-report and clinician-administered measures. ResultsCSA men were an average of 8.5 years old at abuse onset. Most (62.3 %) had disclosed their CSA experience, waiting an average of 13.6 years before disclosure. After controlling for covariates (i.e., other types of maltreatment, non-maltreatment adversities, education, income), results indicated a significant association between CSA and men's psychological functioning, but not their adaptive functioning. ConclusionsFindings highlight the importance of broadening our understanding of how the experience of CSA, controlling for important covariates, can contribute to the well-being of men in order to better respond to their psychological needs.

Internet addiction and depressive and anxious symptoms among Chinese rural left-behind adolescents: Mediating roles of resilience and friendship quality.

Rural left-behind adolescents are more vulnerable to Internet addiction and depressive and anxious symptoms due to the lack of family support and parental supervision. This study was the first to investigate the longitudinal relationships between Internet addiction and depressive and anxious symptoms and to examine the mediating roles of resilience and friendship quality in rural left-behind adolescents. Included in this study, which was from a longitudinal study conducted five times over 2 years, were 1001 rural left-behind adolescents. The internationally used scales for depressive and anxious symptoms, Internet addiction, resilience and friendship quality were administered. A structural equation model was used for analysis. The prevalence of Internet addiction, depressive and anxious symptoms among rural left-behind adolescents were 17.7%, 35.8% and 27.6%, respectively. Internet addiction predicted the later depressive and anxious symptoms (β = 0.200, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.116-0.274 and β = 0.263, 95% CI: 0.188-0.330). Resilience acted as an independent mediator in the relationships between Internet addiction and depressive and anxious symptoms (β = 0.037 and 0.034, P < 0.01). Resilience and friendship quality played a chain-mediating role on the longitudinal relationships between Internet addiction and depressive and anxious symptoms (β = 0.011 and 0.010, P < 0.001). The mediating effects accounted for 24.0% and 16.7% of the total effects, respectively. Resilience and friendship quality play an independent or chain-mediating role in longitudinal relationships between Internet addiction and depressive and anxious symptoms. The findings inform targeted intervention strategies to improve the mental health of left-behind adolescents.

Say you'll be there: Associations between observed verbal responses, friendship quality, and perceptions of support in young adult friendships.

Friendships are a primary source of social support during young adulthood; however, little is known about the factors associated with young adults feeling greater support during interactions with friends. We examined how micro-level verbal responses and macro-level judgments of friendship quality were associated with perceptions of support following an interaction between friends. Same-gender friend dyads (N = 132; 66.2% female; 18-24 years, M age = 19.63) took turns speaking about a problem, then participants rated their perceptions of support given and received following the task. We coded each participant's verbal responses while in the listening role. Actor Partner Interdependence Models (APIMs) revealed significant partner effects for negative engagement responses, such that greater negative engagement responses were linked with the partner perceiving poorer support both given and received. Models revealed significant actor effects for supportive responses, such that greater supportive responses predicted the actor perceiving better support both given and received. Additionally, models revealed significant actor effects of friendship quality predicting actors' perceiving better support both given and received. Finally, exploratory models revealed minimal interactions between a few types of verbal responses and positive friendship quality. Taken together, results suggest that (a) negative verbal responding styles may be more meaningfully associated with partners' perceptions of support in the moment than are supportive behaviours, whereas (b) supportive verbal responding styles may be more meaningfully associated with actors' perceptions of support in the moment, and (c) actors' judgments of friendship quality are strongly associated with their overall perceptions of support, and a critical factor to consider in future research.

Childhood ADHD With and Without Co-occurring Internalizing/Externalizing Problems: Prospective Predictions of Change in Adolescent Academic and Social Functioning.

Internalizing and externalizing problems predict poor academic and social outcomes. However, ADHD co-occurs with internalizing and externalizing problems and is itself a risk factor, thus preventing precise inferences. This study evaluated childhood anxiety, depression, and aggression as predictors of change in adolescent academic and social outcomes, including moderation by childhood ADHD. 182 ethnically-diverse 5- to 11-year-old youth with (54.7%) and without (45.3%) ADHD completed a separate baseline and 6- to 7-year prospective follow-up assessment, consisting of parallel measures across youth psychopathology, academic functioning (i.e., academic achievement, school competence), and friendship quality domains. Whereas childhood ADHD inversely predicted academic competence, depression and aggression uniquely predicted worsening friendship quality. Interestingly, anxiety was unrelated to change in academic and friendship outcomes; similarly, neither ADHD, depression, nor aggression predicted change in objectively-measured academic achievement from a standardized assessment. Implications for intervention and prevention are considered, including school-based approaches, within a developmental psychopathology framework.

Perception of Friendship Quality and Mental Health: School Goal Structures as Moderators

Perception of Friendship Quality and Mental Health: School Goal Structures as Moderators

Development and Initial Validation of the Positive and Negative Co-Rumination Scale.

This article presents two studies with data from 750 college students (58.67% females, Mage = 20.79years) and 1035 school students (52.1% girls, Mage = 14.44years) respectively, describing the development and initial validation of the Positive and Negative Co-Rumination Scale (PANCRS). The PANCRS consists of 32 items with 3 second-order factors: Positive Co-Rumination consisting of 3 first-order factors (i.e., Affirmation, Problem-Solving and Enhancing Friendship), Negative Co-Rumination consisting of 4 first-order factors (i.e., Worry About Evaluation, Inhibiting Happiness, Worry About Impact and Slack) and Frequency consisting of 2 first-order factors (i.e., Frequencies of Co-Rumination on Positive and Negative Events). Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the measure's 9 first-order and 3 second-order factors structure. Moreover, correlation analyses provided first evidence for the subscales' differential validity: (1) Positive Co-Rumination showed positive correlations with positive indicators of psychological adjustment (i.e., friendship quality and life satisfaction) and negative correlations with negative indicators of psychological adjustment (i.e., anxiety and depression); (2) Negative Co-Rumination showed non-significant or negative correlations with positive indicators of psychological adjustment and positive correlations with negative indicators of psychological adjustment; (3) Frequency showed positive correlations with both positive and negative indicators of psychological adjustment. In addition, all PANCRS scores showed satisfactory composite reliability (omegas) and temporal stability (test-retest). Overall the findings suggest that the PANCRS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess positive and negative aspects of Co-rumination.

The quality of friendship and its relationship to moral and social intelligences among students of Tafila Technical University

هدفت هذه الدّراسة إلى التعرف على درجة كلّ من جودة الصّداقة، والذّكاء الأخلاقي، والذّكاء الاجتماعي، وإلى معرفة العلاقة بين جودة الصّداقة، والذّكاء الأخلاقي، والذّكاء الاجتماعي لدى طلبة جامعة الطّفيلة، بالإضافة إلى التعرف على أثر متغيرات (الجنس، والكليّة، والبرنامج الدّراسي) وفروقها على درجة جودة الصّداقة، واستخدمت الدّراسة المنهج الوصفي الارتباطي لمناسبته لطبيعة الدّراسة، ومتغيراتها. وتكوّنت عينة الدّراسة من (770) طالبًا وطالبةً يشكلون ما نسبته (10%) من مجتمع الدّراسة، وقد تمّ اختيارهم بالطريقة العشوائية الطبقيّة. ولتحقيق أهداف الدّراسة تمّ تطوير مقياس جودة الصّداقة، ومقياس للذّكاء الأخلاقي، ومقياس للذّكاء الاجتماعي، وتمّ التحقق من خصائصها السيكومترية. وأظهرت نتائج الدّراسة أن طلبة الجامعة يتمتعون بدرجات مرتفعة من جودة الصّداقة، والذّكاء الأخلاقي، والذّكاء الاجتماعي، وأظهرت وجود علاقة ارتباطية طردية بين جودة الصّداقة، وكلّ من الذّكاء الأخلاقي، والذّكاء الاجتماعي، كما أظهرت النتائج أيضًا عدم وجود فروق في درجة جودة الصّداقة تُعزى للمتغيرات (الجنس، والكليّة، والبرنامج الدّراسي). وأوصت الدّراسة بضرورة التوسع في دراسة مفهوم جودة الصّداقة، من حيث مراحل نموها، وتطورها، وربطها مع متغيرات مختلفة، بالإضافة إلى تأثيرها الإيجابي على الأفراد، والعمل على تفعيل النشاطات الجماعية، وتعزيز العمل التعاوني في الجامعة لإتاحة التعامل الإيجابي بين الطلبة، مما يساعد على المحافظة على تكوين علاقات صداقة إيجابية، وإدراج مقررات خاصة بمفهوم الصّداقة ومكوناتها وخصائصها ضمن المقررات الدّراسية الجامعية لتعزيز دورها الإيجابي في رفع مستوى الصحة النفسية للأفراد.

Emerging Adults’ Experience of Mindful Parenting: Distinct Associations With Their Dispositional and Interpersonal Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Adjustment

Experiencing mindful parenting has been positively associated with youth’s dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion, which in turn, relates to better emotional adjustment. However, mindful parenting could also relate to interpersonal mindfulness, which is another form of mindfulness that has had a unique relation with social adjustment. In this study, 458 emerging adults (age of 17–21 years) completed a survey to report their current experience of mindful parenting, dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, interpersonal mindfulness, emotional (general well-being, social anxiety) and social adjustment (friendship quality, prosocial behavior, conflict negotiation). Regression models testing direct and indirect associations showed that mindful parenting was directly but also indirectly associated with emerging adults’ emotional adjustment via dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion (not interpersonal mindfulness), and indirectly associated with social adjustment via interpersonal mindfulness (not dispositional mindfulness or self-compassion). Findings have implications for theory and practice within the areas of mindfulness, parenting, and emerging adults’ emotion regulation and personal adjustment.

Authenticity and Inauthenticity in Adolescents: A Scoping Review

AbstractIn everyday life, adolescents’ authenticity and inauthenticity (sense of, and being, the real me/true self; or false self/not the real me) are assumed to be general indicators of their psychosocial health as they navigate developmental processes of identity exploration and relational connectedness on their way to adulthood. Authenticity is important for psychological thriving in adolescents and inauthenticity is considered maladaptive, but there was no broad and systematic evidence-based resource on the topic. Therefore, this scoping review maps: (1) how authenticity and inauthenticity in adolescents (12–18 years old) have been understood, defined, and characterized; (2) what is known about authenticity and inauthenticity; (3) contexts authenticity and inauthenticity have been explored in; and (4) methodological approaches utilized. This review followed a pre-registered protocol (2852 records identified; 39 peer-reviewed primary research studies included). The review revealed authenticity and inauthenticity are typically: characterized as dispositional, involving thoughts, feelings, awareness, and a sense of being one’s true self or a false self; investigated quantitatively; and contextualized in close social relationships (parents, friends, classmates). Authenticity and inauthenticity outcomes included friendship quality, wellbeing, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, internet addiction, and moral disengagement. Adolescents’ authenticity generally increases over time and social support is very important for that process. Adolescents can be more authentic if parents facilitate adolescents’ increasing independence and support role experimentation. Future research should target state (here-and-now) authenticity, as a critical finding was that autonomy satisfaction has an immediate and positive influence on adolescents’ state authenticity, which implies people interacting with adolescents can promptly boost their capacity for positive psychological development.

Friendship quality and positive emotional adjustment among boarding adolescents: roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction

Friendship quality and positive emotional adjustment among boarding adolescents: roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction

Cumulative Family Risk and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Friendship Quality.

Family risk is inimical to adolescent development. The relationship between cumulative family risk and adolescent depressive symptoms was explored in the current study, with friendship quality examined as a moderator of the relationship. A sample of 595 seventh-grade students was tracked at 10-month intervals. Results suggested that exposure to cumulative family risk predicted adolescents' current and subsequent depressive symptoms, and that there was a linear, additive relationship between cumulative family risk and depressive symptoms. Friendship quality moderated the linear relationship between cumulative family risk and adolescents' current depressive symptoms. It is worth noting that the protective role of friendship quality is limited. The results highlight that the detrimental impact of family risk needs to be recognized and addressed.