abstract: This dissertation aimed to identify the factors that facilitated the friendship initiation, development, and maintenance between Taiwanese and Chinese students and the influential relationship among those factors. Nine Taiwanese and nine Chinese students studying at one Taiwanese university were recruited for this study. The Chinese students were in Taiwan for at least two years. The participants were friends with the other party for at least 8 months. This study was divided into three stages. In the first stage, participants were required to provide factors that facilitated their friendship with the other party. Fifty ideas were collected. In the second stage, participants were asked to clarify those factors and then categorize those factors. Fourteen categories were identified in this stage. The participants, then, voted on factors that affected their friendship formation, development, and maintenance with other party. Fifteen factors were voted the highest among those factors. Those 15 factors were imported into interpretive structure modeling (ISM) software for the next stage. In the third stage, 18 one-on-one interviews were conducted, and 18 ISM diagrams were generated. ISM provided a method to identify the influential relationship among those factors. According to the results, the friendship formation model was proposed. Five stages were identified in this model: exploring, matching, engaging, deepening and bonding. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Communication 2016

Vänskapsrelationer mellan barn är viktiga för barns hälsa, utveckling och välmående och bör därför främjas. Något som kan utgöra ett hinder för att vänskap ska kunna bildas är barns attityder. Studiens syfte var därför att undersöka vad som anses främja bildandet av vänskapsrelationer mellan barn och hur det kan bidra till attitydförändring.Detta gjordes genom att sammanställa forskning bestående av 11 artiklar till en integrativ litteraturstudie. Fokus låg på påverkbara faktorer till barns vänskapsbildande samt verksamma interventioner. De faktorer och interventioner som framkom genom studiens resultat var utbildning och undervisning, att vuxna visar vägen, aktiviteter och engagemang samt ekonomiska förutsättningar. Resultatet analyserades utifrån teorin mellangruppskontakt vilken belyser kriterier för optimal mellangruppskontakt och processer för attitydförändring. Det fördes en diskussion gällande hälsofrämjande arbete, vuxnas möjligheter att påverka barns vänskapsrelationer samt betydelsen av aktivitetens utformning. / The aim of this review was to study what is considered to promote formation of peer friendships and how it can contribute to a change of attitudes and prejudices. 11 research articles were compiled into an integrative review. The review focused on factors for children's friendships that are possible to influence and effective interventions. The various factors and interventions that emerged were education and teaching, adults leading the way, activities and commitment as well as economic conditions. The result was analyzed on the basis of intergroup contact theory, which contain conditions for optimal intergroup contact and processes for attitude change.  A discussion was conducted regarding promotion of health, adult'spossibilities to affect children's peer friendshipsand the impact of the activity's set-up.