Cambridge Friendship Questionnaire – Self-administered (FQ-SA-33)

Overview

The Cambridge Friendship Questionnaire – Self-administered (FQ-SA-33) is a comprehensive self-report psychometric instrument designed to evaluate the quality, characteristics, and functioning of adult friendship relationships. The questionnaire assesses multiple dimensions of friendship, including emotional support, trust, reciprocity, interpersonal interaction, and overall friendship quality. By examining these core components, the FQ-SA-33 provides valuable insights into the role of friendships in psychological well-being, social functioning, and emotional adjustment, making it a valuable instrument for both clinical assessment and social-behavioral research.

Objective

The primary objective of the Cambridge Friendship Questionnaire – Self-administered (FQ-SA-33) is to provide a reliable and multidimensional assessment of friendship quality and interpersonal relationships among adults. The instrument enables researchers and clinicians to understand how friendships contribute to emotional health, social competence, and overall well-being while identifying the interpersonal characteristics that distinguish healthy and supportive friendships.

Specifically, the FQ-SA-33 is designed to:

  • Assess the overall quality of adult friendship relationships.
  • Evaluate emotional support, trust, and interpersonal interaction between friends.
  • Examine the contribution of friendships to psychological well-being.
  • Investigate factors associated with the formation and maintenance of close friendships.
  • Support research on social relationships, mental health, and psychosocial functioning.

Scale Structure

The FQ-SA-33 consists of 33 self-report items that evaluate multiple dimensions of friendship based on participants’ personal experiences. Respondents indicate the extent to which each statement reflects their friendships using a Likert-type response scale, allowing quantitative assessment of both the quality and characteristics of their interpersonal relationships.

The questionnaire evaluates several important domains, including:

  • Friendship quality.
  • Emotional support.
  • Trust and mutual confidence.
  • Interpersonal communication.
  • Social interaction and companionship.
  • Overall satisfaction with friendship relationships.

The multidimensional structure of the instrument enables researchers to obtain both overall friendship quality scores and detailed information regarding the various interpersonal components that contribute to healthy friendships.

Applications

The Cambridge Friendship Questionnaire is widely applicable in social psychology, personality psychology, developmental psychology, counseling psychology, psychiatry, public health, and behavioral sciences. It is particularly useful for examining the role of friendships in emotional well-being, resilience, life satisfaction, social adjustment, and mental health.

In research settings, the FQ-SA-33 has been employed to investigate associations between friendship quality and variables such as stress, depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-esteem, social support, and quality of life. In clinical and counseling practice, the questionnaire assists professionals in identifying interpersonal strengths and potential social difficulties that may influence psychological functioning, thereby informing interventions aimed at enhancing social connectedness and emotional well-being.

Scoring and Psychometric Evaluation

Participants respond to each item using a Likert-type response scale, with individual responses aggregated to produce an overall friendship quality score and, where appropriate, scores reflecting specific dimensions of friendship. Higher scores indicate stronger, healthier, and more supportive friendship relationships, whereas lower scores suggest reduced friendship quality or limitations in interpersonal support and interaction.

The psychometric evaluation of the FQ-SA-33 generally includes analyses of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α), construct validity, factor structure, and criterion validity. The questionnaire is suitable for use in both clinical and community populations and may be administered in cross-sectional or longitudinal studies investigating friendship development and psychosocial adjustment. Although the uploaded document outlines the instrument’s purpose and scoring approach, it does not report specific psychometric coefficients; therefore, exact reliability indices cannot be presented.

Interpretation

Higher FQ-SA-33 scores indicate high-quality friendship relationships characterized by strong emotional support, trust, effective communication, reciprocity, and positive interpersonal interaction. Individuals with higher scores generally report greater social connectedness, enhanced psychological well-being, and more satisfying interpersonal relationships. Conversely, lower scores may reflect weaker friendship networks, reduced perceived support, or interpersonal difficulties that could negatively affect emotional health and social functioning. The FQ-SA-33 therefore offers a comprehensive assessment of friendship quality and its contribution to overall psychosocial adjustment.

References

McCabe, M. P., & Tilley, D. C. (2009). Friendship Quality and the Experience of Stress in Adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 32(3), 679–697.

Bagwell, C. L., & Schmidt, M. E. (2011). Friendship and the Development of Social Competence. In J. L. Meece & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Schools, Schooling, and Human Development (pp. 120–133). Routledge.

Brown, B. B., & Larson, J. (2009). Peer Relationships in Adolescence. In R. M. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of Adolescent Psychology (pp. 74–103). Wiley.

Rawlins, W. K. (1992). Friendship Matters: Communication, Dialectics, and the Life Course. Aldine de Gruyter.

Demir, M., & Weitekamp, L. A. (2007). I Am So Happy ‘Cause Today: The Role of Friendship in Well-Being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 24(3), 469–487.