McGill Friendship Questionnaire – Friendship Functions [MFQ-FF-30]

Description

The McGill Friendship Questionnaire – Friendship Functions (McGill-FF or MFQ-FF-30) is a psychometric instrument developed by Mendelson and Aboud in 1999 to assess the functional characteristics of an individual’s friendship with a specific person.

The questionnaire focuses on how individuals perceive and experience a particular friendship. Rather than providing only a general evaluation of friendship quality, it examines several distinct functions that a close friendship may serve.

This multidimensional approach allows for the systematic assessment of companionship, support, intimacy, reliability, emotional security, and personal validation within a friendship.

Objective

The primary objective of the MFQ-FF-30 is to assess feelings and functional characteristics associated with a specific friendship.

The questionnaire examines six different friendship functions and, according to the available material, is intended to assess friendships during late adolescence and adulthood.

By examining these individual dimensions, the instrument provides a more detailed understanding of how a friendship may offer companionship, assistance, intimacy, reliability, emotional security, and personal validation.

Structure and Dimensions

The MFQ-FF-30 consists of 30 statements assessing six functional characteristics of friendship:

• Stimulating Companionship: reflects shared activities and enjoyable experiences within the friendship.
• Help: concerns the assistance and support provided by the friend.
• Intimacy: refers to personal closeness and the sharing of private thoughts and experiences.
• Reliable Alliance: reflects the perception that the friend is dependable and available when needed.
• Emotional Security: concerns feelings of emotional support and security within the friendship.
• Self-Validation: refers to the extent to which the friendship contributes to feelings of personal worth and acceptance.

The assessment of these six dimensions provides a multidimensional representation of the functions performed by a particular friendship.

Scoring

The 30 statements are rated using a 9-point Likert scale, ranging from:

0 = Never
to
8 = Always

Participants select the response that best represents how often their friend behaves in the manner described by each statement or the extent to which the statement characterizes their friendship.

There are no correct or incorrect responses, as the questionnaire is intended to capture the participant’s personal perception and experience of the friendship.

Statistical Analysis

Responses can be used to examine the different functional characteristics of friendship represented within the questionnaire.

In research applications, the resulting scores can support the statistical examination of friendship characteristics and comparisons between different aspects of the relationship.

The separate consideration of the six friendship functions can provide a more detailed representation of the relationship than relying exclusively on a general evaluation of friendship.

Reliability and Validity

According to the available material, the MFQ-FF subscales demonstrate high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.84 to 0.90. An overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.97 is also reported for the questionnaire.

These findings support the reliability of the instrument for assessing the functional characteristics of friendship.

The source document also states that the Greek translation was conducted by Pezirkianidis and Stalikas.

Applications

The MFQ-FF-30 can be used in research focusing on friendship, interpersonal relationships, and social and emotional functioning during late adolescence and adulthood.

Its multidimensional structure allows researchers to examine different functions of friendship and may support investigations of how particular friendship characteristics relate to other psychological or social variables.

The instrument can therefore provide useful information for research seeking to understand the supportive, interpersonal, and emotional functions that friendships may serve.

Conclusions

The McGill Friendship Questionnaire – Friendship Functions (MFQ-FF-30) provides a multidimensional approach to assessing the functions of a specific friendship.

Through its 30 statements and six dimensions, the questionnaire examines stimulating companionship, help, intimacy, reliable alliance, emotional security, and self-validation. This structure enables a detailed assessment of the different forms of support and interpersonal connection that may characterize a friendship.

References

Mendelson, M. J., & Aboud, F. E. (1999). Measuring friendship quality in late adolescents and young adults: McGill Friendship Questionnaires. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 31(2), 130–132.

Instrument authors: Mendelson, M. J., & Aboud, F. E.

Greek translation: Pezirkianidis & Stalikas, A.