Measuring friendship quality in late adolescents and young adults: McGill friendship questionnaires

This research established the psychometric properties of two friendship que stionnaires; one taps respondents' feelings for a friend and friendship sat isfaction, the other, respondents' assessments of the degree to which a fri end fulfills six friendship functions (stimulating companionship, help, int imacy, reliable alliance, self-validation, and emotional security). Factor analysis supported the subscale structure of each questionnaire. The subsca les showed high internal consistency, covaried with the duration of being a best friend and with a self-esteem subscale regarding close friends, but n ot with other self-esteem measures. Women reported higher positive feelings for their friend than did men and evaluated the friend higher on friendshi p functions. Finally, positive feelings and satisfaction covaried with each friendship function subscale.