Exploring Social Perceptions of Friendship: An Intergenerational Perspective

Abstract

This study presents a qualitative analysis of the concept of “friendship” as perceived by respondents aged from 6 to 64 years. The research aims to examine age-related characteristics in people's understanding of friendship. The age groups for the study were determined based on Erik Erikson's widely recognized developmental stages classification. The study analyzed associative patterns across four age groups: school-age children (6-12 years), adolescents and teenagers (13-19 years), young adults (20-25 years), and middle-aged adults (26-64 years). The sample consisted of 259 participants. Data was collected through a free association experiment and processed using P. Verges's prototypical analysis technique. To investigate the factors influencing the formation and development of friendship concepts, we conducted a qualitative analysis of essays titled “How did my understanding of friendship develop?”. For school-age children (6-12 years), unstructured interviews were employed. The findings confirmed our hypothesis that while perceptions of friendship depend on an individual's social and life experiences, the core understanding remains relatively stable throughout life. Questions remain regarding how external socialization factors and changing social and cultural dynamics influence friendship perceptions. Furthermore, the results revealed significant semantic variations not only across age groups but also across cultural and educational backgrounds. The issue of how parents view this topic's relevance and its importance in family upbringing has not been specifically addressed in psychological and pedagogical research. Future studies examining this topic within the context of family values and parenting approaches would be valuable.