Predictors of Adolescents' Friendship Qualities: Gender and Family Related Variables

This study examined that friendship qualities of adolescence (dimensions of companionship, conflict, help, security, and closeness) and the extent predicting gender and variables that are related with family. 505 (128 female, 377 male) participated in this study. The data was obtained by Friendship Qualities Scale, the Short Form of Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, and Personal Information Form. The data was analyzed by using regression analysis. The findings revealed that subscale of companionship were predicted primarily by father education. Second predictor variable was mother education and third one is attachment toward mother. Subscale of of conflict was predicted by mother attachment in the first; in the second place gender predict the subscale of of conflict. Help was predicted the best by gender, secondly by mother attachment and thirdly it was father education. Subscale of of security was predicted firstly by gender, secondly father education level. Subscale of of closeness was predicted respectively by gender, father education, family composition and mother attachment. SUMMARY Purpose and significance: In all societies, interaction between adolescent and their friends are important. In today's societies, adolescent spend a lot of time with friends and influence each other in socialization. However, for adolescents-healthy identity, development emotional bond with parents and parents' cater for the need of their adolescent children is important. In this framework, this study attempts to investigate the degree of prediction of adolescents' friendship qualities by gender, SES of family, the family composition, educational level of mother and father and attachment the mother and attachment to father. Methotds: The research group consists of 505 adolescents, 128 female and 377 male high school students. Friendship-Qualities Scale, Short Form of Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and Personal Information Form were used as instruments. t-tests and one-way ANOVAs to see the difference of friendship qualities by demographic variables were applied. Later, Pearson correlation coefficients were correlated between predicting and predictor variables and stepwise regression analyses were computed. 0.05 level was adopted for statistical significance. Results and Discussion: Significant differences were obtained between gender and fathers' educational level and friendship relationships. Positive relationships were found at p<0.01 level for all subscale of Friendship-Qualities and attachment to Mother. Results of regression analyses showed that the best predictor of Companionship subscale of Friendship-Qualities Scale is fathers' educational level, secondly mothers' educational level and third variable, attachment to mother. Fathers' educational level, explains 2 % of total variance of Companionship Subscale (R2 =0.025) which was found as 4 % together with mothers' educational level (R2 =0.039). The ratio of these three variables in the total variance is 5 % (R2 =0.049). Conflict subscale of the scale had been firstly explained by attachment to mother, secondly gender. Attachment to mother in this subscale explained 5% (R2 =0.048) and together with gender it explains 9 % (R2 =0.090) of the total variance. Help Subscale had been predicted firstly by gender, secondly attachment to mother and thirdly fathers' educational level. These variables explained the total variance respectively 4 % (R2 =0.039), 6 % (R2 =0.059) and together 7 % (R2 =0.075). Security Subscale has been predicted firstly by gender, and secondly by fathers' educational level. Gender explains 5 % of the total variance of Security Subscale (R2 =0.052) and together with fathers' educational level it explains 7 % (R2 =0.068). Finally Closeness Subscale had been explained firstly by gender, later by fathers' educational level, family composition and attachment to mother. Gender explains 11 % of this subscale (R2 =0.115); 13 % together with fathers' educational level (R2 =0.132); 14 % together with family composition (R2 =0.146) and finally together with mother attachment 15 % (R2 =0.154) of the variance. Conclusion and Recommendation: Findings reported that gender, attachment to mother, educational level of mother and father and family composition were important variables predicting adolescents' friendship qualities. Therefore in further work, these variables are needed to be considered.