Roles of Achievement, Impulse Control, Gender, and Democratic Parenting as Predictors of Friendship Quality Among Students

Abstract

Objevtive. This research aimed to explore the roles of achievement, impulse control, gender, and democratic parenting in predicting the students’ friendship quality. Background. The choice of friends of children, especially during their adolescence, greatly affects their social development. For this reason, determining the variables that affect adolescents’ choice of friends and regulating their friendships are of great importance. Study design. In determining the friendship quality of students, success impulse control, the effect of gender and the role of the democratic family and the order of importance were examined. For this purpose, descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Product-Moment coefficient and stepwise regression analysis were used in the research. Participants. The research was conducted with 589 students attending three different high schools in Küçükçekmece, İstanbul. Mean age of the students was 16.18 (SD=1,22) and their mean achievement was 74.25 (SD=3,42). Measurements. In this study Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Friendship Quality Scale, and Parenting Style Scale were utilized, and grade points of the students were taken from their school reports of the previous year for their achievement levels. Results. According to the results, students’ friendship quality scores were positively correlated with impulse control, achievement, democratic parenting style, and gender. The strongest predictors of friendship quality were democratic parenting styles, impulse control, achievement, and gender, respectively. Conclusions. In this context, it has been revealed that the democratic family is an important factor in determining the friendship quality, and that families have important responsibilities in the choice of friends of their children.