The Development of a Friendship Quality Scale for Elementary School Children

학령기 아동을 위한 친구관계의 질 척도 개발에 관한 연구

The psychometric properties of a preliminary version of the Friendship Quality Scale(FQS) were examined with data collected from 300 3rd and 5th grade children. Scores on the Self-Perception Scale were obtained to examine convergent validity. The FQS assesses friendship quality in 9 sub-scales, inclusive of 6 friendship functions. Factor analysis confirmed the 9 sudscale structure of the FQS for 5th graders, but 4 friendship functions instead of 6 were a better fit for 3rd graders. Except for one, the sub-scales showed relatively high internal consistency ; Cronbach ${\alpha}$ ranged from .70 to .93. Convergent validity was indicated by correlations between self-perception and sex differences in friendship functions. Friendship functions and satisfaction were related to self-perceptions in social acceptance, behavior, and global self-worth. Girls reported higher friendship functions and satisfaction in friendship than boys.