Play has been found to be an important variable in the friendships of preschool children. Recent research on play styles has provided some evidence that children demonstrate stable individual differences in their play behavior. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between individual differences in play style and the friendship choices of preschool children. The subjects were 31 preschool children ranging in age from 3-9 to 5-4. Based on ratings obtained from head classroom teachers, the children were classified as patterners, dramatists, or mixed players. Children were individually interviewed to ascertain their friendship choices. Pearson product-moment correlations indicated there were no significant relationships between the subjects' play styles and the play styles of their most preferred and least preferred friends. Nonsignificant correlations were also found between the subjects' play styles and the average of the play style ratings of their three most preferred and three least preferred friends. These findings indicate play styles do not influence the friendship choices of preschool children. Problems with the techniques used to assess play style and friendship choices were cited as possible contributors to the nonsignificant findings. It was also suggested that since preschool children have been found to emphasize social comparison and the establishment of areas of similarities when interacting with friends, play styles may not be an important factor in their choice of friends. Two issues related to children's play styles and friendship patterns became evident in this study. One issue deals with the identification of play styles. The results of this study indicated a rating scale can be used to reliably classify children by play style. The second issue deals with the stability of preschool children's friendships. Stability was demonstrated in the children's individual friendship choices over a 6 week period. Examination of the data indicated that frequency of contact and length of interaction are important factors contributing to the stability of preschool children's friendships. Contrary to past research, these findings indicate the friendships of preschool children can be stable if the children are in a setting which permits frequent and consistent interaction over time. / Ph. D.

Yes / Social isolation in older adults is associated with morbidity. Evaluating interventions to promote social engagement is a research priority. Methods: A parallel-group randomised controlled trial was planned to evaluate whether telephone friendship (TF) improves the well-being of independently living older people. An internal pilot aimed to recruit 68 participants by 30 September 2012, with 80% retained at 6 months. Randomisation was web based and only analysts were blind to allocation. A service provider was contracted to train 10 volunteer facilitators by 1 April 2012 and 10 more by 1 September 2012. Participants were aged > 74 years with good cognitive function and living independently in an urban community. The intervention arm of the trial consisted of manualised TF with standardised training: (1) one-to-one befriending (10- to 20-minute calls once per week for up to 6 weeks made by volunteer facilitators) followed by (2) TF groups of six participants (1-hour teleconferences once per week for 12 weeks facilitated by the same volunteer). Friendship groups aimed to enhance social support and increase opportunities for social interaction to maintain well-being. This was compared with usual health and social care provision. The primary clinical outcome was the Short Form questionnaire-36 items (SF-36) mental health dimension score at 6 months post randomisation. Qualitative research assessing intervention acceptability (participants) and implementation issues (facilitators) and an intervention fidelity assessment were also carried out. Intervention implementation was documented through e-mails, meeting minutes and field notes. Acceptability was assessed through framework analysis of semistructured interviews. Two researchers coded audio recordings of telephone discussions for fidelity using a specially designed checklist. Results: In total, 157 people were randomised to the TF group (n = 78) or the control group (n = 79). Pilot recruitment and retention targets were met. Ten volunteers were trained by 1 September 2012; after volunteer attrition, three out of the 10 volunteers delivered the group intervention. In total, 50 out of the 78 TF participants did not receive the intervention and the trial was closed early. A total of 56 people contributed primary outcome data from the TF (n = 26) and control (n = 30) arms. The mean difference in SF-36 mental health score was 9.5 (95% confidence interval 4.5 to 14.5) after adjusting for age, sex and baseline score. Participants who were interviewed (n = 19) generally declared that the intervention was acceptable. Participant dissatisfaction with closure of the groups was reported (n = 4). Dissatisfaction focused on lack of face-to-face contact and shared interests or attitudes. Larger groups experienced better cohesion. Interviewed volunteers (n = 3) expressed a lack of clarity about procedures, anxieties about managing group dynamics and a lack of confidence in the training and in their management and found scheduling calls challenging. Training was 91–95% adherent with the checklist (39 items; three groups). Intervention fidelity ranged from 30.2% to 52.1% (28–41 items; three groups, three time points), indicating that groups were not facilitated in line with training, namely with regard to the setting of ground rules, the maintenance of confidentiality and facilitating contact between participants. Conclusions: Although the trial was unsuccessful for a range of logistical reasons, the experience gained is of value for the design and conduct of future trials. Participant recruitment and retention were feasible. Small voluntary sector organisations may be unable to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of volunteers to implement new services at scale over a short time scale. Such risks might be mitigated by multicentre trials using multiple providers and specialists to recruit and manage volunteers. / Funding for this study was provided by the Public Health Research programme of the National Institute for Health Research.

The research presents a study of ethnic homophily, i.e. the tendency of agents to be connected to similar others, in the school context. It uses two observations of the complete social network of a cohort of Swedish students (n=115) in a secondary school. The study analyses the scope of the selective attachment and the student’s possible motivations to seek similarity, as well as its interrelation to homophily induced by structural organization or foci. It focuses in the interrelation between the individual motivation to seek similarity and how the context of opportunity is organized. Sociometric data was collected during a school year and the model is based in crosscuts of the friendship network. Homophily in respect to ethnic origin was found in the first time point, with students making connections within the in-group. The effect of ethnic homophily seems to decrease between the time points, with evidence of an effect of structural constraints that gained importance over time. Results suggest that organisational divisions in classrooms play a decisive role in the pattern of friendship connections in the school

Le mérite de Nietzsche, qui est représenté dans notre étude, est d'avoir cherché à élucider la « dialectique de l’amitié » de manière philosophique. On retrouve dans son œuvre des traces nettes d'une confrontation philosophique continue avec le thème de l'amitié qui parsèment ses écrits, ses fragments posthumes et ses lettres. Bien que le mot « amitié » revienne très souvent et que le sujet de l'amitié soit très important dans ses écrits, il a jusqu'à ce jour été très peu question d'« amitié » dans la littérature secondaire sur Nietzsche. Nietzsche est peut-être le dernier philosophe pour qui l'amitié représente, de façon presque antique, la forme de vie du philosophe et le véhicule de la pensée. La philosophie est considérée comme un exercice intellectuel, comme un travail sur soi-même dans lequel la théorie s'allie à la pratique. Nietzsche démontre un souci permanent de vivre, d'apprendre et d'enseigner dans l'amitié. Le présent travail se propose d’analyser sa théorie et sa pratique de l’amitié selon des exemples dans son parcours : l'« Idylle de Tribschen » avec Wagner, « l'amitié de table, de maison et de pensée » de Bâle avec Overbeck, le « cloître pour esprits libres » de Sorrente avec Meysenbug et Rée ainsi que la « Trinité » intellectuelle, la « Heilige Dreieinigkeit », avec Rée et Salomé. Ce qui apparaît, c'est la diversité que revêt la notion d'amitié de Nietzsche. L'idée que l'amitié est empreinte de différends, d'instabilité et de changement accompagne l'œuvre de Nietzsche. Il s'avère qu’un aspect important de sa pensée a été ignoré : son inventaire des dangers et de l'impossibilité de l'amitié, ce pourquoi le sens de la notion « ami » doit être redéfini. / Friendship plays an outstanding role in Friedrich Nietzsche’s life and work. His oeuvre is very rich in references to the concept of friendship. Yet, there has been surprisingly little research on this topic so far. Nietzsche clearly recognizes the ambivalence of friendship. The present thesis is an effort to analyse the dialectic of friendship and to conceptualize it with Nietzsche. We examine Nietzsche’s concept of friendship: as a necessity and, at the same time, an unreachable ideal; as a sublation of the established opposition between friend and enemy; in its relation to the concept of “star-friendship”; in its transition to the status of “ghosts of friends”; with respect to breaking up friendships; with respect to his “Hymn to Friendship”. Nietzsche may have been the last great writer for whom friendship represents the existential problem of a philosopher and the vital medium of his thought. According to him, philosophy is a spiritual exercise; his efforts consequentially aim at living in friendship, learning in friendship and teaching in friendship. We examine a series of case studies: the close friendship with Wagner, the confraternity with Overbeck at Basel, the “monastery of free spirits” with Meysenbug and Rée at Sorrento and the so-called “holy trinity” with Rée and Salomé. A culminating point in Nietzsche’s oeuvre is §279 of the “Gay Science”. Due to the vital importance of this aphorism on “star-friendship”, we devote an extensive analysis to it. Finitude and a kind of persistence of friendship even after its break-up are intertwined here. We also reconstruct the genesis of this aphorism, making use of textual pre-stages archived at Weimar. / Freundschaft nimmt in Nietzsches Denken und Leben eine herausragende Stellung ein. In seinem Schaffen finden sich deutliche Spuren einer kontinuierlichen philosophischen Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema der Freundschaft, die in seinen Schriften, nachgelassenen Fragmenten und Briefen verstreut sind. Obwohl allein das Wort „Freundschaft“ sehr häufig in seinem Werk vorkommt, ist die Freundschaftsthematik in der Nietzsche-Sekundärliteratur bisher wenig behandelt worden. Friedrich Nietzsche hat wie kein anderer Denker die ambivalente Natur der Freundschaft erkannt, dargestellt und durchlebt. Vorliegende Untersuchung will einen Beitrag dazu leisten, diese „Dialektik der Freundschaft“ mit Nietzsche auf den philosophischen Begriff zu bringen. Einzelne Teile der Arbeit untersuchen Nietzsches Bemühen um die Freundschaft: als Unentbehrlichkeit und zugleich Unmöglichkeit; als Aufhebung des klassischen Gegensatzes von Freund und Feind; im Blick auf die Freunde der Zukunft; im Postulat der Sternen-Freundschaft; in ihrer Veränderlichkeit in der Gespenster-Freundschaft; im Brechen von Freundschaften; in der Freundschaftskomposition des „Hymnus an die Freundschaft“; im lebenslangen Streben, Freundschaftsbündnisse zu begründen. Nietzsche ist vielleicht der letzte Philosoph, für den Freundschaft die Lebensform des Philosophen und das Medium des Denkens bildet. Philosophie wird verstanden als geistige Übung, als Arbeit am Selbst, in der sich Theorie und Praxis vereinigen. Beständig richtet sich Nietzsches Bestreben darauf, in Freundschaft zu leben, zu lernen und zu lehren. Der Freundschaftsbund mit Gleichgesinnten ist die Hoffnung und der Traum seines Lebens und wird exemplarisch anhand der Tribschner Gemeinschaft der Unzeitgemäßen mit Wagner, der Basler „Tisch-, Haus- und Gedankenfreundschaft“ mit Overbeck, des Sorrentiner „Klosters für freiere Geister“ mit Meysenbug und Rée sowie der sogenannten „Heiligen Dreieinigkeit“ mit Rée und Salomé dargestellt. Einen Kulminationspunkt in Nietzsches Schaffen bildet der §279 der „Fröhlichen Wissen¬schaft“, der Aphorismus über „Sternen¬-Freundschaft“, dem wir daher eine eingehende Analyse widmen. Endlichkeit und Fortdauer der Freundschaft über das Ende hinaus werden hier zusammengeführt. Aufgrund der Bedeutsamkeit dieses Aphorismus für Nietzsches Konzept der Freundschaft wird seine Genese anhand der textlichen Vorstufen rekonstruiert.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-87).

This research studies friendship relationships in institutionalized children according to friendship’s quality and reciprocity. The participants were 33 institutionalized children (boys and girls), whose age range was 8 to 10. The control group consisted of 41 noninstitutionalized children with similar characteristics. Results show that institutionalized children have less reciprocal friendships than non-institutionalized children. Institutionalized children give more support and share the ir intimate experienc es in their reciprocal friendships than non-institutionalized children. Moreover, friendship quality of non-reciprocal friendships in the institutionalized group is almost equivalent to reciprocal and non-reciprocal friendships in the non-institutionalized one. This evidence shows that the majority of institutionalized children establish friendship bonds with similar characteristics, as do other children of the same age range. / El estudio evalúa las relaciones de amistad en niños institucionalizados en términos de su calidad y reciprocidad. Los participantes fueron 33 niños institucionalizados de ambos sexos entre 8 y 10 años. El grupo control estuvo constituido por 41 niños no institucionalizados con características similares. Se encontró que los niños institucionalizados establecen menos amistades recíprocas que los niños no institucionalizados y que en  estas relaciones se brindan más apoyo y comparten sus experiencias íntimas de modo más intenso. Igualmente, la calidad de las amistades no recíprocas de este grupo es casi equivalente a la de las amistades recíprocas y no recíprocas del grupo no institucionalizado. Esto indicaría que la mayoría de niños institucionalizados establece en general amistades con calidad similar a las de otros niños del mismo grupo de edad.

Adolescence is an important developmental period where friendships become important for social emotional adjustment. Given the importance of friendships in adolescence, the current study explored the relation between popularity and internalizing problems and whether friendship qualities mediated this relation. The present study aimed to answer the following research question: What is the mediating role of friendship qualities in the relationship between perceived popularity and internalizing symptoms? Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Development – Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were analyzed. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that adolescents who rated themselves as being high in popularity also reported higher levels of positive friendship qualities. A significant relationship was also found among perceived popularity and internalizing problems such that adolescents who rated themselves as being high in popularity were also reported by their mothers as having lower levels of internalizing problems. Contrary to what was expected, validation and caring significantly mediated the relationship between popularity and anxiety/depression and social problems such that as popularity goes up, so does anxiety/depression, and social problems. Results found conflict and betrayal mediates the relation between popularity and thought problems suggesting adolescents that believe they are popular experience less conflict and betrayal and fewer thought problems. Additionally, conflict resolution, companionship, and recreation each mediated the relationship between popularity and social problems. This suggests that having a friend you can rely on for companionship, recreation and conflict resolution serves as a buffer from the negative consequences of social problems. Help and guidance as a mediator resulted in a positive relation between popularity and social problems which was unexpected. Results support claims that popularity relates to having high quality friendships that protect against internalizing problems. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding outcomes for adolescent adjustment in relation to forming and maintaining positive relationships with peers.

[pt] Não mais servos, mas amigos (Jo 15,15): Uma abordagem teológica da amizade à luz do mistério de Cristo. Esta tese doutoral tem o objetivo de evidenciar a philia oferecida por Cristo aos seus amigos como um caminho seguro para o processo de renovação das relações humanas, sobretudo, nas comunidades cristãs. A partir de uma leitura teológico-litúrgica, a amizade estudada traduz o modelo da Aliança que Deus oferece a toda humanidade que busca uma experiência existencial do amor, retratada em seu teor histórico-salvífico e litúrgico-celebrativo. Para tal, essa tese tem o seu fundamento na Revelação Bíblica de Deus como o Amigo, que cria o ser humano para viver em sua amizade. Este, mesmo que a recuse, é amparado por Deus, que jamais o abandona ao poder da morte. Na Nova Aliança, o Cristo Ressuscitado permite que o amor, na sua expressão de amizade, seja relido para se tornar o arquétipo da nova relação entre Jesus e os seus discípulos, ao unir à philia o ato de doar a vida. A Liturgia, por sua vez, como fonte de vida, de oração e de amizade, reconduz os cristãos ao culmen et fons da autêntica espiritualidade da Igreja, pois os convida a uma participação plena no ato celebrativo que, na Eucaristia, realiza a sua máxima expressão comunitária, vivida no coração da Igreja. Neste contexto salvífico-celebrativo, o mistério de Cristo anseia por frutificar na vida de cada cristão, gerando uma nova compreensão da liturgia: um ato salvífico-celebrativo realizado entre amigos, no qual a presença do Ressuscitado é reconhecida e celebrada como Memorial e antecipação da Liturgia Celeste; o agir humano é divinizado, e sua ação consiste em gestos de amizade recíproca (Redenção) que favorecem a convivência na alegria da Aliança. Esta experiência pode representar uma contribuição relevante para a renovação da comunidade cristã, na qual a liturgia, ao se revelar como uma escola de amizade e hospitalidade, se faz relevante também nos novos espaços digitais, no intuito de incentivar os seus usuários a uma comunhão nas relações digitais e educá-los à conscientização do valor do encontro entre amigos de modo presencial. Tal realização eficaz ocorre por meio de uma assembleia litúrgica. Ao resgatar essa temática sob o prisma da Oração Eucarística IV do Missal Romano, a amizade cristã é relida como um processo, ao mesmo tempo, afetivo e real do mistério celebrado. Desta forma, conclui-se que, quando uma celebração litúrgica assume o seu autêntico caráter de serviço, no âmbito cristológico da amizade, acende-se uma centelha que é capaz de reanimar e infundir na comunidade a força sobrenatural de uma philia que permite a cada cristão reclinar-se no peito do Amigo. / [en] No longer servants, but friends (Jn 15:15): A theological approach to friendship in the light of the mystery of Christ. This doctoral thesis aims to highlight the philia offered by Christ to his friends as a sure path for the process of renewal of human relationships, above all, in Christian communities. From a theological liturgical reading, the friendship that was studied translates the model of the Covenant that God offers to all humanity that seeks an existential experience of love, portrayed in its historical-salvific and liturgical-celebrative content. For such, this thesis has its foundation in the Biblical Revelation of God as the Friend, who creates the human being to live in his friendship. The latter, even if he refuses it, is supported by God, who never abandons him to the power of death. In the New Covenant, the Risen Christ allows love, in its expression of friendship, to be reread to become the archetype of the new relationship between Jesus and his disciples, by uniting the act of giving life to the philia. The Liturgy, in turn, as a source of life, prayer and friendship, brings Christians back to the culmen et fons of the authentic spirituality of the Church, as it invites them to participate fully in the celebratory act which, in the Eucharist, fulfills its maximum community expression, lived in the heart of the Church. In this salvific-celebrative context, the mystery of Christ yearns to bear fruit in the life of every Christian, generating a new understanding of the liturgy: a salvific-celebrative act performed among friends, in which the presence of the Risen is recognized and celebrated as a memorial and anticipation of the Celestial Liturgy; human action is deified, and its action consists of gestures of mutual friendship (Redemption) that favor coexistence in the joy of the Covenant. This experience can represent a relevant contribution to the renewal of the Christian community, in which the liturgy, by revealing itself as a school of friendship and hospitality, is also relevant in new digital spaces, in order to encourage its users to a communion in digital relationships and educate them to raise awareness of the value of meeting friends in person. Such effective realization takes place through a liturgical assembly. When rescuing this theme under the prism of Eucharistic Prayer IV of the Roman Missal, Christian friendship is reread as a process, at the same time, affective and real of the celebrated mystery. In this way, it is concluded that, when a liturgical celebration assumes its authentic character of service, in the Christological context of friendship, a spark is lit that is capable of reanimating and infusing in the community the supernatural strength of a philia that allows each Christian to lean on the Friend s chest.

It is the purpose of this study to determine if there is any difference in the choice of friends of children in smaller families as related to those in larger families.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence and quality of on-line friendships, to find which individual characteristics differentiate people who look for and form on-line friendship(s) from those who don't, and to discover factors which are of importance for the development of on-line friendship(s). 574 Internet users completed an on-line questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) almost 50% of respondents had on-line friendship(s); (2) off-line friendships were better developed than on-line friendships. However, there was only a minor difference between the quality of the best off-line and best on-line friendships; (3) the Internet was a safe place for building personal relationships, especially for shy individuals; (4) people who felt lonely were more likely to turn to the Internet to find friends; (5) Internet usage and attitudes to the Internet were significant factors that differentiated those who looked for and formed friendship(s) on-line from those who didn't. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)