Constituents of Friendship: Their Impact on The Termination of Relationships

우정관계 관련변인의 관계종결에 대한 영향

The purpose of this research was to study differences between reciprocal and unidirectional friendships and to examine evidence on whether certain constituents of friendship can predict the termination of friendships. A total 375 subjects- 190 elementary and 185 middle school children in Pusan- were administered questionnaires two times at an interval of 3 months. Frequency, factor-analysis, t-test, discriminant-analysis, and cross classification analysis were applied for data analysis. The results of the study were as follows: 1) The different constituents of reciprocal and unidirectional friendships were statistically significant. That is, children in reciprocal friendships perceived their relationships more positively, felt closeness more strongly, and evaluated their friend more highly than the children in unidirectional friendships. 2) The termination of reciprocal friendships was predicted by the constituents of friendship. The most powerful predictor was the degree of closeness and the second powerful predictor was the degree of commitment to the relationship and the 3rd powerful predictor was perceived characteristics of the friend. The last powerful predictor was perceived characteristics of the relations. 3) There were no sex differences in the rate of termination of reciprocal relationships. 4) There were age differences in the rate of friendship termination of reciprocal relationships. That is, the rate of termination of reciprocal relationships among older children was higher than among younger children.