Purpose

The scale was designed to investigate the perceptions of preadolescent and adolescent children regarding their friendships.

Brief Description

The FQS is a self-report scale consisting of 36 statements. It is based on five qualitative dimensions of friendship—companionship, help, conflict, security, and intimacy—that represent both the external and internal positive aspects of a friendship. The subscales of the FQS are: (a) companionship, which assesses the degree to which friends engage in joint activities and spend free time together; (b) conflict, which refers to the frequency of disagreements, quarrels, irritation, or aggressive behavior toward the friend; (c) help, which refers to the level of support and assistance provided to the friend, whether practical or emotional; (d) security, which reflects how safe and calm the child feels with their friend; and (e) intimacy, which refers to how comfortable the child feels sharing personal information and being emotionally open. The scale can be administered individually or in small groups. It may also be administered orally or with assistance for younger children, provided they have the ability to read and understand the questions.

Sample

The Greek adaptation was based on a sample of 260 children (132 boys and 128 girls) aged 9 to 12 years, attending public schools in the greater Thessaloniki area.

Scoring

Children are asked to evaluate each statement in relation to their best friend using a five-point Likert scale (0 = not at all true, 4 = very true). Each subscale has its own individual score, resulting from the sum of the responses to the statements it includes. Higher scores indicate a more positive perception of the friendship, except for the subscales of conflict and assertiveness, where higher scores indicate more frequent presence of these negative aspects.

Validity

In the Greek sample, the scale demonstrated sufficient construct validity, as shown by factor analysis and high positive correlations between the subscales. These findings confirm the conceptual structure of the questionnaire. The FQS also showed strong positive correlations with other tools measuring the quality of children’s friendships, such as the instrument developed by Parker & Asher (1993).

Reliability

The FQS demonstrated high internal consistency, particularly in cases of mutual and long-term friendships. Internal reliability in the Greek sample was satisfactory. Cronbach’s alpha values for each subscale were: companionship 0.72, conflict 0.77, help 0.78, security 0.63, and intimacy 0.71. These values are consistent with those reported by the original authors. The items within each subscale showed strong internal correlations, indicating good cohesion within each dimension.

Main Bibliographic Source

Bukowski, W. M., Hoza, B., & Boivin, M. (1994). Measuring Friendship Quality during Pre and Early Adolescence: The Development and Psychometric Properties of the Friendship Qualities Scale. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 471–484.