Toward A Better Understanding of The Relationship

J Happiness Stud DOI 10.
1007/s10902-012-9341-7 RESEARCH PAPER
Toward a Better Understanding of the Relationship Between Friendship and Happiness: Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts, Feelings of Mattering, and Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs in SameSex Best Friendships as Predictors of Happiness
Meliks ah Demir Ingrid Davidson
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
Abstract Friendship is a consistent correlate of happiness, yet less is known about the associations of friendship specic experiences and feelings with happiness. In this study (n = 4,382) the roles of perceived responses to capitalization attempts, perceived mattering to and satisfaction of basic psychological needs in same-sex best friendships in happiness among men and women were investigated. Findings showed that although all of the friendship variables were positively associated with happiness to varying degrees, basic needs satisfaction emerged as the strongest predictor of happiness. Additional analyses revealed that competence need satisfaction was the most important need predicting happiness. Importantly, these ndings were gender invariant. The ndings were discussed in light of theory and empirical literature and suggestions were made for future research. Keywords Capitalization Ethnic groups Friendship Happiness Perceived mattering Psychological needs satisfaction Same-sex best friendship
1 Introduction Friendship plays an essential role in the lives of individuals and is an important correlate of happiness. Since the rst empirical work investigating the correlates of happiness (Watson 1930), decades of theoretical and empirical work in the scientic literature on happiness consistently documented the robust association between various friendship indices (having a friend, number of friends, friendship satisfaction, friendship support and intimacy, overall friendship quality) and happiness (e.g., Baldassare et al. 1984; Campbell et al. 1976; Requena 1995; Sheldon and Tan 2007; Wilson 1967). Importantly, the friendship-happiness link has been observed across age, ethnic and cultural groups with several methods, including observational and longitudinal assessments (for a review see Demir et al., in press). Although the current literature leaves no doubt regarding the friendship-happiness link, knowing that the individual has a close friend or enjoys
M. Demir (&) I. Davidson Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA e-mail: Meliksah.Demir@nau.edu
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M. Demir, I. Davidson
varying degrees of support and intimacy in the friendship, which has been a main focus of past empirical research, does not provide any information about how the specic friendship experiences or the general feelings about the friendship are associated with happiness. For instance, do positive responses one receives from a same-sex best friend upon sharing a positive event relate to happiness? Does the feeling that one matters to her same-sex best friend have any implications for happiness? What is the role of satisfying ones basic psychological needs in a friendship in individual happiness? Since past studies overwhelmingly focused on number of friends or general friendship quality (e.g., support), less is known about the associations of friendship specic experiences and feelings with happiness. The present study aimed to address this limitation of the current literature by examining the roles of three friendship specic experiences in happiness. Specically, the rst aim of the present investigation was to examine the roles of perceived response to ones capitalization attempts, perceived mattering to the best friend, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs in a same-sex best friendship in individual happiness. In doing so, we also investigated which of these three friendship variables made the strongest contribution to happiness. Recent studies and theoretical arguments suggest that close relationships have stronger associations with happiness among women when compared to men (e.g., SaphireBernstein and Taylor, in press). Accordingly, the second goal of the study was to examine whether the three friendship variables had similar implications for the happiness of men and women. 1.1 Happiness It is imperative to describe what is meant by happiness and how it is assessed in the present study before the relationships between happiness and the study variables are reviewed. This is especially important considering the fact that recent and past empirical studies investigating the friendship-happiness link dened and measured happiness in different ways (Chaplin 2009; Cheng and Furnham 2002; Ellison 1990; Gladow and Ray 1986; Requena 1995; Schiffrin and Nelson 2010). Happiness is the cognitive and affective evaluations of ones own life and consists of global life satisfaction, presence of positive affect, and absence of negative affect (Diener et al. 1999). The present investigation focused on the affective component of happiness. This was because of the arguments suggesting that the two components of happiness (cognitive and affect) are different constructs and require different lines of research to understand each one individually (e.g., Diener et al. 1999; Lent 2004). Also, and more importantly, it has been argued that friendship, as an emotional bond, would be strongly related to the affective dimension of happiness compared to the cognitive dimension zdemir 2010; Demir and Weitekamp 2007). Accordingly, the present study (Demir and O investigated the affective dimension of happiness and dened happiness as the predominance of positive affect over negative affect (Diener et al. 1999). Since the seminal works of Watson (1930) and others (Diener 1984; Wilson 1967), several correlates, causes, and consequences of happiness have been identied (e.g., Argyle 2001; Lyubomirsky et al. 2005; Sheldon and Tan 2007). The focus of the current investigation was on friendship experiences, a well-established correlate and predictor of individual happiness. In the following sections, we rst present a theoretical account of friendship and then provide a detailed theoretical and empirical review of the associations between the constructs of the present study and happiness.
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Toward a Better Understanding
1.2 Friendship and Happiness Friendship is a voluntary interdependence between two individuals that includes the experience and satisfaction of various provisions (e.g., intimacy) to varying degrees (Hays 1988; Weiss 1974). These provisions include, but are not limited to, companionship, emotional security, support, and self-validation. Theory suggests that individuals seek to experience and satisfy these different provisions in their friendships (Cutrona and Russell 1987; Weiss 1974). Decades of empirical research consistently reported a positive association between the satisfaction of a single provision (e.g., support) in or overall quality of the friendship and happiness (Baldassare et al. 1984; Cameld et al. 2009; Cheng and Furnham 2002; Demir and Weitekamp 2007; Gladow and Ray 1986; Hussong 2000; Lu 1995; Walen and Lachman 2000). Empirical research also investigated various indices of friendship. Specically, research showed that friendship satisfaction (e.g., Rojas 2006), number of friends (e.g., Demir and Weitekamp 2007; Requena 1995) and frequency of interactions with a friend (e.g., Berry and Hansen 1996; Burt 1987) were positively related to individual happiness (for a review see Demir et al., in press). There is no doubt that the empirical investigation of the friendship-happiness link signicantly enhanced our understanding of the role of friendships in individual happiness. This is acknowledged in the reviews of the literature (e.g., Argyle 2001; Berscheid and Reis 1998; Demir et al., in press; Diener et al. 1999). Yet, the empirical knowledge about the relationship specic feelings and experiences in the friendship that are related to happiness is limited. For instance, although friendship intimacy and overall friendship quality are related to happiness, we do not know the extent to which receiving positive responses from a same-sex best friend or the degree that one satises his/her basic psychological needs in the friendship are related to individual happiness. That is, available research does not address the associations of specic friendship experiences with happiness. We elaborate on this point in detail below. Researchers either focus on the number of friends one has or various relationship provisions when investigating the association of friendship with happiness. When the focus is on relationship provisions, assessments include the degree of satisfaction with or the frequency of the experience of various relationship provisions (e.g., intimacy) in the friendship (e.g., Furman and Buhrmester 1985; Mendelson and Aboud 1999). This reasonable focus on theoretical provisions also inuences the theoretical arguments explaining why friends are important for happiness. For instance, it has been argued that satisfaction of these various provisions (companionship, intimacy, support) is the reason friendships are related to happiness (Argyle 2001; Cooper et al. 1992; Demir and Weitekamp 2007; Diener and Biswas-Diener 2008; Lyubomirsky 2008; Reis 2001; Taylor 2010). One essential point to remember, though, is that friendship involves not only the satisfaction of various provisions but also various relationship specic experiences and feelings. That is, friendship does not only entail receiving support or experiencing intimacy but also includes a diverse set of relationship experiences such as the degree to which basic psychological needs are satised in the friendship. As Wellman (1992) aptly put it, considering friendship only as an intimate or supportive bond would limit ones worldview to a California hot tub (p. 104). We also believe that having an exclusive focus on the number of friends, how frequently one interacts with a friend, and how frequently one experiences and satises various provisions in a friendship would implicitly suggest these indices of friendship as the main routes for happiness. Such an empirical focus would not be complete without the
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consideration of the roles of various friendship experiences (e.g., psychological needs satisfaction) in happiness. In order to address this limitation, the current investigation examined the roles of three relatively new social relationship constructs in individual happiness: perceived responses to ones capitalization attempts, perceived mattering, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs. The present study also examined which of the three friendship specic experiences make the biggest contribution to happiness. We consider this an essential empirical task since past research regularly compares the roles of friendship quantity to overall quality (e.g., Demir and Weitekamp 2007) and various relationship provisions (intimacy vs. support and support vs. companionship; e.g., Pinquart rensen 2000; Rook 1987) to understand which aspects and features of friendship and So matter most for happiness. This approach has the potential to delineate which friendship specic experience(s) is the most critical one for happiness.
2 Friendship Specic Experiences 2.1 Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts Imagine that Jessica, who has been unemployed for more than a year after receiving her Ph.D., gets a job offer. What would she do? According to theory and empirical research, she is going to share this event with signicant others in her social network (a friend). This is referred to as capitalization and dened as the process of informing another person about the occurrence of a personal positive event and thereby deriving additional benet from it (Gable et al. 2004, p. 228). Research shows that when individuals share positive events with signicant others they experience increases in their happiness even when controlling for the valence of the positive events (Gable et al. 2004; Langston 1994). Although sharing positive events with friends is associated with ones happiness above and beyond the valence of the event itself, Gable and her colleagues (Gable et al. 2006, 2004; Gable and Reis 2001, 2010) point out that perceiving the responses of the friend as positive and supportive (recognizing and validating the importance of the event) are equally important in inuencing the benets one might receive from this process. This is because, according to the theory and research, individuals experience better psychosocial outcomes when the responses of their friends make them feel understood, validated and cared for (Laurenceau et al. 1998; Maisel et al. 2008; Reis et al. 2004; Reis and Shaver 1988). Considering the fact that one might receive a variety of different responses upon sharing a positive event with a friend, it is essential to categorize these responses and investigate their implications for happiness. Gable and her colleagues (e.g., Gable et al. 2004), relying on past research on reactions to conict in close relationships (e.g., Rusbult et al. 1991) identied four types of responses to capitalization attempts: active-constructive (AC), passive-constructive (PC), active-destructive (AD), and passive-destructive (PD). AC responses entail giving enthusiastic reactions to ones capitalization attempts. PC reactions include silent and modest support responses. AD responses degrade the importance of the event and highlight potential problems with the positive event. Finally, PD reactions involve not showing an interest and ignoring the event. The following example displays these different responses. Jessica tells her same-sex best friend, Kate, that she received a job offer. Kate might react active-constructively if she states That is terric news. I am very happy for you. Lets go out and celebrate. She could provide a passiveconstructive response if she smiles and says That is cool. She might respond activedestructively by saying I heard that that university is accepting every applicant, so it is not a big deal. Finally, a passive-destructive response of Kate might be I have a date tonight.
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Empirical research investigating the relationships of perceived responses to capitalization attempts with relationship (e.g., quality) and individual well-being (e.g., happiness) revealed that of the four responses, only active-constructive reactions were positively associated with well-being. The other three responses were negatively related to these wellbeing indices (Gable et al. 2004, 2006). Similar ndings were obtained in a cross-cultural an and Demir 2009). Specically, it was reported that only study on friendship as well (Dog active-constructive responses were positively related to same-sex friendship quality and happiness among young adults in Turkey and the USA, whereas the other three responses were negatively associated with these outcomes. Considering the consistent relationships between the responses to capitalization attempts and well-being and in an attempt to simplify the presentation of responses, Gable and her colleagues created a composite score of capitalization by subtracting the scores for the three responses (AD, PC, PD) from the active-constructive scores. The composite score indicates more positive and less negative responses to capitalization attempts. (Gable et al. 2004, p. 234). In empirical research, composite capitalization score was associated an and Demir 2009; with higher levels of psychological well-being (e.g., happiness) (Dog Gable et al. 2004). This composite score was used in the present study when investigating the role of perceived responses to capitalization attempts in happiness. In light of the consistent ndings obtained in empirical research, it was predicted that the composite capitalization score would be positively associated with happiness. 2.2 Perceived Mattering There are times in any close relationship when the individual is concerned about her mattering to the signicant other. The individual might wonder about her standing on the list of things and relationships the friend cares about. The construct of interpersonal mattering addresses these feelings (Dixon Rayle 2005; Rosenberg 1985). Although mattering to signicant others constitues an important aspect of self-concept that has received considerable theoretical attention from scholars in different elds for several decades (Coopersmith 1967; Rosenberg and McCullough 1981; Rosenberg 1985), only recently have scholars provided conceptual as opposed to phenomenological denitions and focused on measurement issues. Specically, interpersonal mattering is dened as the psychological tendency to evaluate the self as signicant to specic other people (Marshall 2001, p. 474). Also, empirical research recently started investigating the psychosocial well-being correlates and consequences of perceived mattering to signicant others (Demir et al. 2011; Dixon Rayle and Chung 2007; Elliott et al. 2004; Mak and Marshall 2004; Marshall 2001). The theoretical and empirical research on perceived mattering to signicant others (e.g., friends) in the past decade can be summarized by three major points. First, mattering to another person is not about the quality of a relationship but the self-perceived relevance to a signicant other (e.g., friend). That is, mattering denotes a sense of belonging and relatedness and highlights the feelings of signicance and relevance to specic signicant others (Demir et al. 2011; Marshall 2001). Second, individuals develop a sense of mattering to signicant others by focusing on their past relationship experiences (Marshall 2001), comparing the attention they receive from the person in question to the amount of attention that specic person gives to other activities, friends, and things (Elliott et al. 2004) and through various relationship experiences (e.g., the friend going the extra mile to spend time with the individual) (Demir et al. 2011; Dixon Rayle 2005; Dixon Rayle and Chung 2007). Third, feelings of mattering to signicant others are positively associated
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with various indices of well-being (e.g., self-esteem) (Connolly and Myers 2002; Dixon Rayle and Chung 2007; Elliott et al. 2004; Schieman and Taylor 2001; Taylor and Turner 2001). Recent empirical research also investigated the association between perceived mattering to friends and positive psychological well-being. For instance, Dixon Rayle (2005) and Marshall (2001) have reported that individuals who perceive that they matter to their friends reported higher levels of well-being (e.g., self-esteem). More importantly, Demir and his colleagues (Demir et al. 2011) showed that mattering to friends was positively associated with happiness. In light of the empirical evidence, it was predicted that perceived mattering to a same-sex best friend would be positively associated with happiness. 2.3 Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction Self-Determination Theory (SDT, Deci and Ryan 2000) attempts to elucidate on why and how people perform certain behaviors, and the effects of these processes on psychosocial well-being. SDT consists of four mini theories, of which the present investigation focused on basic psychological needs theory. Basic needs theory (BNT) is concerned with three basic psychological needs and examines the link between peoples satisfaction of these needs and psychosocial well-being. According to theory, autonomy, competence and relatedness are three universal, fundamental and innate basic human needs (Deci and Ryan 2000). Indeed, these three needs were rated among the four most important needs by college students in different cultures (Sheldon et al. 2001). Autonomy refers to feelings of agency, volition and involves initiating ones own actions (Deci and Ryan 1985). Competence refers to feelings of efcacy and being capable (Ryan and Deci 2000). Finally, relatedness refers to feeling connected to and cared for by others, and developing close relationships with them (Baumeister and Leary 1995; Ryan and Deci 2000). BNT proposes that all of these needs have to be satised in order to experience optimal well-being (Deci and Ryan 2000). The theory further suggests that satisfaction of these needs in general or in close relationships have important implications for the well-being of the individual (e.g., Deci and Ryan 2002). Several empirical studies investigated the satisfaction of the basic needs in daily experiences, in a variety of different close relationships (parentchild and romantic relationships) and contexts (e.g., sports). Consistent with the theoretical arguments, these studies showed a positive association between needs satisfaction and happiness (Chirkov et al. 2005; Patrick et al. 2007; Reis et al. 2000; Sheldon et al. 1996; Vansteenkiste et al. 2006; Wilson et al. 2006). Of particular importance for the purposes of the present study, a few studies also showed that satisfaction of these basic psychological needs in a friendship zdemir 2010; was positively related to individual happiness (Deci et al. 2006; Demir and O La Guardia et al. 2000). Considering the available evidence, it was predicted that basic psychological needs satisfaction in a same-sex best friendship would be positively related to happiness. One theoretical issue that might inevitably arise in the investigation of basic psychological needs in predicting well-being outcomes pertains to the importance of one need over the other. That is, of the three needs, which one is the strongest predictor of happiness? In the literature, some investigators focused on the predictive ability of the overall needs satisfaction (e.g., Wei et al. 2005); whereas others examined not only overall needs satisfaction but also individual needs (e.g., relatedness) (e.g., La Guardia et al. 2000). In the present study, we were rst concerned with the relationship of overall psychological needs satisfaction with happiness. If the ndings showed that overall psychological needs
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satisfaction was the strongest predictor of happiness when compared to the other relationship-specic experiences, only then would we examine the role of individual psychological needs in predicting happiness. One essential theoretical issue to consider is that the friendship variables investigated in the present study are ultimately related to the overall quality of the friendship. Logically, one has to have a friendship in the rst place to develop a perception of these various relationship specic feelings and experiences (e.g., mattering). The growing literature investigating various friendship specic experiences has shown that these variables (e.g., perceived mattering) are positively associated with different indices of friendship (e.g., friendship satisfaction, overall quality) commonly studied in the literature (e.g., Deci et al. 2006; Demir 2011; Marshall 2001). These studies yield correlations in the r = .20.60 range, which clearly shows that friendship quality and these specic friendship experiences tap into different aspects of the relationship. Also, it has been argued that overall friendship quality might be a consequence of certain relationship experiences (e.g., receiving positive an and Demir 2009) or promote these relationship specic responses from a friend) (Dog zdemir 2010). All in all, the specic friendship feelings and feelings (e.g., Demir and O experiences examined in the present study are not redundant with friendship quality or other indices of friendship. Rather, they tap into relationship experiences not covered by the measures commonly used in the literature investigating the friendship-happiness link. Overall, only a handful of studies have shown that these three friendship specic feelings and experiences are positively associated with happiness. This rst aim of this investigation was to conrm and establish these associations in a large sample of college students. Then, we examined the relative importance of these variables in happiness. As explained earlier, this practice will help determine which particular friendship experience matters most for individual happiness. Since this is the rst study to simultaneously investigate these friendship experiences, we did not have any specic predictions. The second goal of this study was to investigate whether the associations between the friendship variables and happiness were similar across the two sexes. The literature on gender differences in friendship (e.g., women having higher quality friendships when compared to men) resulted in arguments suggesting that women, compared to men, would benet more from their friendship experiences. The next section addresses this issue in detail. 2.4 Gender Differences in Friendship Experiences and Happiness Any investigation of close relationships and how these intimate exchanges might be differentially related to individual happiness would not be complete without taking gender differences into account. In this section we rst review the literature on gender differences in happiness, friendship experiences and the friendship variables investigated in the present study. Then, we provide an overall review of the literature concerning gender differences in the social relationships-happiness link. Empirical research suggests that gender is not an important variable in predicting happiness (Demir and Weitekamp 2007; Diener et al. 2002). Men and women do not considerably differ from each other on happiness. When differences are found, they are very small and considered as negligible (Haring et al. 1984; Diener et al. 1999). On the other hand, men and women differ from each other in terms of the intensity of emotional experiences (Fujita et al. 1991). Overall, both men and women are equally likely to report being happy (e.g., Myers and Diener 1995). Accordingly, it was predicted that no gender differences would be obtained on happiness.
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One of the well-established nding in the literature on gender differences in friendship is that the same-sex best friendships of women are higher in overall quality when compared to men (King and Terrance 2008; for reviews and theoretical explanations accounting for this difference see Winstead et al. 1997). Not surprisingly, similar gender differences have been obtained for the variables of the present study. As for perceived responses to capitalization attempts, women, compared to men, report receiving more positive responses (e.g., active-constructive) following the sharing of a positive event with a signicant other an and Demir 2009; Gable et al. 2006; Roy et al. 2000). (romantic partner or friend) (Dog Research also found that women, when compared to men, report higher levels of perceived mattering and needs satisfaction in their friendships and other close relationships (Marshall 2001; Patrick et al. 2007; see Ryan et al. (2005) for a null nding). Considering the gender differences in friendship experiences, an important point to consider is whether these differences in friendship experiences translate into the associations of these variables with happiness. That is, are the relationships between friendship experiences and happiness stronger among women when compared to men? Decades of empirical research on gender differences in close relationships and in friendships in particular led to the arguments that women, compared to men, experience the benets and costs of relationships rather strongly (Burks et al. 1995; Walen and Lachman 2000). The reasoning behind this argument has been that since relationships play a more important role in the lives of women than men and women experience higher quality relationships compared to men, they should experience higher levels of psychological wellbeing. Empirical research focusing on marital quality and the quantity of social networks in old adulthood were consistent with this idea such that these relationship indices had stronger associations with happiness among women in comparison to men (Pinquart and rensen 2000; Proulx et al. 2007; for a review see Saphire-Bernstein and Taylor, in press). So In the case of friendship, however, the ndings have been inconsistent. Some studies found support for the idea that friendship experiences are more important for the adjustment of women than men (e.g., Patrick et al. 2001) whereas other studies provided evidence supporting the opposite pattern (e.g., Antonucci and Akiyama 1987; Demir and Urberg 2004). The majority of the studies on this topic, however, reported that friendship experiences are similarly related to the well-being (e.g., happiness) of both sexes (Cohen et al. 1986; Demir and Orthel 2011; Jenkins et al. 2002; Nangle et al. 2003; Oldenburg and Kerns 1997). As the review above suggests, the literature regarding gender differences in the friendship-happiness link has been inconsistent. Yet, the majority of empirical research showed that the associations of friendship experiences with happiness are similar across the two sexes. Accordingly, it was predicted that the associations of the study variables with happiness would be similar among men and women. 2.5 Summary of the Hypotheses In light of the literature, it was predicted that satisfaction of basic psychological needs, perceived mattering to the friend and perceived responses to ones capitalization attempts would be positively associated with individual happiness and the associations of these variables with happiness would be similar among men and women. No predictions were made regarding the relative importance of these variables in happiness since no study to date examined these friendship experiences simultaneously.
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3 Method 3.1 Participants The original sample consisted of 4,840 college students attending a Southwestern university in the US. Of the participants, 7 % (n = 339) did not report having a same-sex best friend and 4.5 % (n = 218) did not complete all of the measures. The rate for not having a zdemir 2010; Demir same-sex best friend is consistent with past research (Demir and O et al. 2007). With the exclusion of these participants, the nal sample consisted of 4,283 college students (1,130 men; Mage = 18.81, SD = 1.44; ranging from 1829 years). The ethnic distribution of the sample was as follows: 59 % European American, 24 % Latino American, 5 % Asian American, 4 % African American, 3 % Native American and 5 % mixed or other. Also, the majority of the participants were freshmen (79 %). 3.2 Procedure The data for this study were gathered online across ve academic semesters (20092011). The following specic procedures were consistently employed across the semesters. First, the study was announced via the departments online research participation system. Second, students who wanted to participate in the study were provided with a link to the survey after signing up for the study. It is important to note that there was not any connection between the sign-ups for the study and the survey. In other words, respondents remained anonymous. Participants had to agree to an informed consent prior to completing the questionnaires. The participants completed questionnaires other than the ones reported below (e.g., emotion regulation), but only the constructs relevant for the purposes of the present investigation are reported. In the survey, the order of the questionnaires was counterbalanced. Completion of the survey lasted for about 30 min and participants received extra credit for their psychology classes. It is important to note that the online research participation system relied on the recruitment of the participants controls for repeated participation in the study. That is, a participant who completed the survey earlier was not allowed to participate in the same study. Also, and more importantly, the participants across semesters did not differ from each other on the demographic variables (age, ethnicity) and their scores on the study variables (e.g., happiness). 3.3 Measures 3.3.1 Assessment of Best Friendships In an attempt to prevent any potential ambiguities in the meaning of friendship (Reisman 1981), the participants were provided a denition of friendship (Demir and Weitekamp 2007, p. 195). Following the denition, participants were asked to indicate whether they had a same-sex best friend. They were cautioned not to consider their romantic partner as a friend or to include any close friend they had any type of sexual involvement with or romantic interest in. The present study focused on same-sex best friendships because theory and empircial research suggest that best friendships usually involve same-sex peers zdemir 2010; Laursen and Bukowski 1997; Richey and Richey 1980), and it (Demir and O is difcult to maintain cross-sex friendships for various reasons (e.g., sexual tension) (Monsour 2002; OMeara 1989). Although young adults in college develop and maintain
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opposite-sex friendships (Monsour 2002), and may even consider them as their best friends, an overwhelming majority of young adults best and several closest friends are zdemir 2010; Sheets and Lugar 2005). same-sex (Demir et al. 2007; Demir and O As explained above, 7 % of the sample did not report having a same-sex best friend. These individuals were excluded from the analyses. Participants in the nal sample reported a mean duration of 70.51 (SD = 49.55) months for their best friendships. The duration of the friendship was not related to basic psychological needs, perceived mattering to the friend, perceived responses to ones capitalization attempts, and happiness (rs .03, .03, .05, and .05, respectively). 3.3.2 Responses to Capitalization Attempts The Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts scale (PRCA) of Gable et al. (2004) was used to measure participants perceptions of their same-sex best friends (SSBF) typical responses to the sharing of positive events. The PRCA consists of 12 items assessing four types of responses with three items each: active constructive (AC), passive constructive (PC), active destructive (AD), and passive destructive (PD). Participants were asked to rate each item on a 7-point scale (1 = not at all true through 7 = very true) using the stem, When I tell my same-sex best friend about something good that has happened to me,. Sample items for the subscales include: AC response I sometimes get the sense that my same-sex best friend is even more happy and excited than I am., PC response My same-sex best friend says little, but I know he/she is happy for me., AD response My same-sex best friend often nds a problem with it., and PD response My same-sex best friend doesnt pay much attention to me. A mean of items assessing different types of responses was taken to create the subscale composite scores. Past research has shown that only AC responses are positively associated with psychosocial well-being (e.g., happiness), whereas the other three responses are negatively correlated with relationship and individual well-being (Demir 2011; Gable et al. 2004). Consistent ndings were obtained in the present study for happiness for both men and women (correlations of AC, PC, AD and PD with happiness were: Men: r (1,130) = .20, -.11, -.25, -.32; Women: n (3,153) = .19, -.18, -.23, -.27; all values signicant at the p \ .01 level). Accordingly, in order to simplify the presentation of the scale and be consistent with earlier research (Demir 2011; Gable et al. 2004) a composite capitalization score was created by subtracting the mean of the PC, AD, and PD subscales from the AC subscale. A high composite score indicates more active-constructive and less passive-destructive responses. Previous research has shown that the composite capitalization score was positively associated with relationship quality, satisfaction (friends and romantic partners) and an and Demir 2009; Gable et al. 2004, 2006). As individual happiness (Demir 2011; Dog for reliability, it has been reported that the overall scale had Cronbachs alphas above .80 an and Demir and the internal consistency of the subscales ranged from .75 to .81 (Dog 2009; Gable et al. 2004). In the present investigation, the overall scale had acceptable reliability for both men (a = .85) and women (a = .83). 3.3.3 Perceived Mattering Perceived mattering to the same-sex best friend was assessed with the Mattering to Others Questionnaire (MTOQ; Marshall 2001). MTOQ assesses the degree of perceived mattering to signicant others. In the present study, participants were asked to indicate how they think their same-sex best friends were thinking about them. The instrument consists of 11
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items. Nine of the items (e.g., I feel special to my same-sex best friend, I matter to my same-sex best friend) are rated on a 5-point scale (1 = not at all, 5 = a lot) and two items ask the respondent to indicate where they would stand on a list (1 = bottom, 5 = top) if their friend made a list of things he/she thinks and cares about. Marshall (2001) provided structural and external validity information for the MTOQ. For instance, the scale has shown to be positively associated with self-esteem, relationship closeness, social support and purpose in life while being negatively related to negative friendship experiences (e.g., rejection). Past research has shown that the MTOQ has strong internal consistency among adolescents and young adults (Demir et al. 2011; Marshall 2001). In the present study, item ratings across the eleven items are summed to create the Perceived Mattering to Best Friend composite score (a was .91 among men and women). Higher scores indicate higher levels of mattering. 3.3.4 Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction The Need Satisfaction Scale (La Guardia et al. 2000) was used to assess the extent to which the participants satised their autonomy, competence and relatedness needs in their samesex best friendships. The scale consists of 9 items and assesses each need with 3 items. Items are rated on a 7-point scale (1 = not at all true, 7 = very true). Sample items are as follows: When I am with my same-sex best friend I feel free to be who I am (autonomy), When I am with my same-sex best friend I feel like a competent person (competence), and When I am with my same-sex best friend I feel a lot of closeness and intimacy (relatedness). Composite scores for the subscales were created by taking the mean of respective items (after reverse coding certain items). Also, a composite basic psychological needs satisfaction score was computed by taking the mean of all items. Higher scores indicate higher levels of needs satisfaction in the friendship. Previous research using the scale to assess satisfaction of needs in friendships showed that overall needs satisfaction was positively associated with relationship well-being (i.e., zen et al. satisfaction, quality) and happiness (Deci et al. 2006; La Guardia et al. 2000; O 2011). As for reliability, past research has shown that not only the subscales but also the overall scale had acceptable internal consistencies (alphas ranging from .65 to .94) (e.g., zdemir 2010; La Guardia et al. 2000). In the present study, the internal Demir and O consistencies of the autonomy, competence and relatedness subscales were .74, .76, .80 for men and .76, .75, .82 for women, respectively. The realibility of the entire scale was acceptable for both men (a = .78) and women (a = .80). 3.3.5 Happiness The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (Watson et al. 1988) was used to assess happiness. Prior studies also relied on this instrument to assess happiness (e.g., Sheldon et al. 2005). The PANAS consists of 10 mood states for positive affect (PA) (e.g. attentive) and 10 for negative affect (NA) (e.g., hostile). Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they feel each mood in general on a 5-point scale from very slightly or not all (1) to extremely (5). PANAS is a well-known and commonly used instrument to assess happiness with good zdemir 2010). The positive and negative affect internal consistency (e.g., Demir and O scales are related to other scales measuring different aspects of well-being (e.g., depression) in the expected directions (e.g., Lyubomirsky and Lepper 1999; Swami et al. 2009; Watson et al. 1988). For example, it has been reported that global assessment of ones
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happiness (e.g., Subjective Happiness Scale) is moderately and positively related to PA and negatively associated with NA (e.g., Mattei and Schaefer 2004; Swami et al. 2009). Composite positive and negative affect scores were computed by taking the mean of the respective items. The internal consistencies of the scales in the present study were satisfactory (PA: .88 for men and .85 for women, NA: .84 for men and .82 for women). Following the theoretical arguments about the predominance of positive affect over negative affect in dening happiness (e.g., Diener 1984), an affect balance score was created by subtracting the standardized negative affect composite scores from positive affect.
4 Results Descriptive statistics and correlations for the study variables are reported in Table 1. Analyses investigating gender differences on the study variables revealed that women, compared to men, reported signicantly higher levels of basic psychological needs satisfaction (t(4,282) = -14.769, p \ .01; d = .50), perceived mattering (t(4,282) = -19.451, p \ .01; d = .66), and capitalization scores (t(4,282) = -17.451, p \ .01; d = .60). On the other hand, there were no signicant differences between the sexes on PA (t(4,282) = .347, p = .729), NA (t(4,282) = -.991, p = .322) and the composite happiness score (t(4,282) = .869, p = .385). Also, as seen in the table, all of the study variables were positively and signicantly associated with happiness for both men and women to varying degrees. Fishers z-tests revealed only one signicant difference in the magnitude of these associations across the sexes. The association of needs satisfaction with happiness was signicantly higher among men when compared to women (z = 7.29, p \ .01). Overall, these ndings generally support the hypotheses. 4.1 The Importance of Friendship Experiences in Happiness In deciding the relative importance of one variable over the other we relied on the beta weights and semi-partial correlations obtained from the regression analyses. The squared form of the semi-partial correlation provides the percent of full variance uniquely accounted for by the independent variable (e.g., mattering) in the dependent variable (happiness) when other variables are controlled. It has been suggested that squared semipartial correlation is one of the most useful ways to assess the importance of an
Table 1 Means, standard deviations, and correlations of the study variables Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 M Men 1. Needs satisfaction 2. Perceived mattering 3. Capitalization 4. Positive affect 5. Negative affect 6. Happiness .59 .51 .33 -.32 .42 .60 .45 .32 -.18 .32 .47 .43 .19 -.26 .29 .43 .37 .19 -.20 .77 -.38 -.15 -.26 -.21 -.78 .52 .33 .29 .76 -.80 5.61 3.96 -2.89 3.70 1.97 1.73 Women 6.04 4.36 -.74 3.69 1.99 1.70 SD Men .86 .65 3.60 .64 .70 1.05 Women .82 .58 3.53 .66 .67 1.04
Correlations for men (n = 1,131) are reported above the diagonal, women (n = 3,154) below the diagonal. All of the correlations are signicant at the .01 level
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independent variable (Tabachnick and Fidell 2001). Moreover, Baltes et al. (2004) showed across several studies that traditional ways of assessing the importance of a given variable (e.g., squared semi-partials) were perfectly in line with other relative importance indices (e.g., dominance analysis). Yet, since the ndings obtained from squared semi-partials were perfectly in line with the beta weights, we only reported the latter in our analyses. As seen in Table 1, the correlations between the friendship variables were as high as .60. In the regressions reported below, we examined whether the moderate to high correlations between the study variables raised any concerns for multicollinearity. The tolerance and variance ination factor (VIF) values obtained from the regressions revealed that multicollinearity was not an issue (mean tolerance and VIF values across the predictors for men and women were .64 each and 1.563 and 1.581, respectively; Menard 1995; Myers 1990). Two regressions were computed to examine the relative importance of the study variables in happiness among men and women. In doing so, all of the friendship variables were entered in the same step since we did not have any theoretical reasons to control for one variable when investigating the effect(s) of the other(s) on happiness. Also, although it was not a goal of the study and we did not have any theoretical reasons to expect any interactions between the study variables, we entered the two- and three-way interactions (e.g., mattering*needs satisfaction; mattering* needs satisfaction* capitalization) in the second step of these regressions. Since none of the interaction terms were signicant, we did not report them. Results for men showed that the regression including the three friendship variables was signicant (F(3, 1127) = 141.625, p \ .001) and explained 27 % of the variance in happiness. As seen in Table 2, only basic psychological needs emerged as a signicant predictor when study variables competed for variance. For women, the variables explained 19 % of the variance (F(3, 3150) = 246.661, p \ .001). All of the variables were signicant predictors of happiness, yet the beta values suggest that needs satisfaction was the most important predictor. Next we wanted to examine whether the variables had differential predictive ability for men and women. For this purpose, we combined the data and created interactive terms between gender and the study variables. We used a hierarchical order of entry such that the study variables and sex were entered in the rst step and the interactions in the second step. The R-square increment was not signicant and we did not report it. This suggests that gender does not moderate the relationships of the friendship variables with happiness. For both men and women, satisfaction of basic psychological needs emerged as the most important variable. This robust nding across the sexes necessitated additional analyses. Specically, as explained earlier, we stated that the role of individual psychological needs in predicting happiness would be examined only if the satisfaction of overall basic psychological needs emerged as the strongest predictor of happiness. Accordingly,
Table 2 Regression analysis summary for variables predicting happiness Variable Men B Needs satisfaction Perceived mattering Capitalization *p \ .001 .59 .02 .02 SE .04 .05 .01 b .49* .01 .05 Women B .41 .17 .02 SE .03 .04 .01 b .33* .09* .08*
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M. Demir, I. Davidson Table 3 Means, standard deviations, and correlations for the needs satisfaction variables Variables 1 2 3 4 M Men Autonomy Competence Relatedness Happiness .64 .57 .35 .71 .56 .41 .46 .52 .32 .45 .53 .35 5.95 5.84 5.05 1.73 Women 8.27 6.11 5.74 1.70 SD Men .95 1.01 1.13 1.05 Women .87 .93 1.10 1.04
Correlations for men (n = 1,131) are reported above the diagonal, women (n = 3,154) below the diagonal. All of the correlations are signicant at the .001 level
supplementary analyses were conducted to investigate the relative importance of the satisfaction of individual needs in happiness. First, we investigated the correlations between the three needs and happiness. As seen in Table 3, all of the individual needs were positively associated with happiness among men and women. Fishers z tests of the correlations revealed that the relationships of autonomy and competence needs satisfaction with happiness were signicantly higher among men when compared to women (z = 6.73, p \ .01 and z = 8.41, p \ .01, respectively). Since the correlations between the individual needs were as high as .71, we again relied on the tolerance and VIF values to examine whether the associations between the variables raised any concerns for the analyses. The ndings revealed that that multicollinearity was not an issue in the sample (mean tolerance and VIF values for the three needs for men and women was .55 each and 1.911 and 1.800, respectively). Second, we conducted two regressions in which all of the needs were entered in the same step when predicting happiness for men and women. Among men, the regression was signicant (F(3, 1127) = 156.396, p \ .001) and accounted for 29 % of the variance in happiness. The regression among women was also signicant (F(3, 3150) = 241.760, p \ .001) and explained 19 % of the variance in happiness. Although all of the individual needs were signicant predictors of happiness for both sexes (Table 4), beta values revealed that satisfaction of the competence need was the most important need in predicting happiness. 4.2 Additional Analyses As described above, the majority of the participants with a same-sex best friend in our sample were European American (EA, 755 men, 1,771 women). Yet, our dataset also contained a considerable number of minority participants (24 % Latino Americans (225 men, 802 women); and 5 % Asian Americans (53 men, 161 women). Although it was not a goal of our study, we wanted to capitalize on this unique aspect of the dataset by investigating the predictive ability of the friendship variables in happiness in different ethnic groups. However, since a main goal of the present investigation concerned gender differences these initial exploratory analyses included EA and Latino American (LA) participants to obtain accurate estimations of the study variables across the sexes (Tabachnick and Fidell 2001). The initial analyses did not include Asian Americans because our sample did not have enough men (n = 53) to accurately estimate the predictive value of the variables (Tabachnick and Fidell 2001, p. 117). A 2 9 2 MANOVA was conducted to examine gender (men or women) and ethnic group differences (EA or LA) on the study variables. Findings revealed a signicant main
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Toward a Better Understanding Table 4 Regression analysis summary for needs satisfaction variables Variable Men B Autonomy Competence Relatedness * p \ .01, **p \ .001 .14 .32 .08 SE .04 .04 .03 b .13** .39** .09* Women B .14 .31 .09 SE .03 .03 .02 b .11** .28** .10**
effect for gender (Wilks Lambda = .893, F(5, 3545) = 84.542, p \ .001, eta squared = .11) and ethnic group (Wilks Lambda = .995, F(5, 3545) = 3.692, p \ .05, eta squared = .01). The interaction between gender and ethnic group was also signicant (Wilks Lambda = .987, F(5, 3545) = 9.644, p \ .001, eta squared = .01). Follow-up univariate analyses for the main effect of gender revealed that this effect was signicant only for the friendship variables (Needs Satisfaction: (F(1, 3552) = 238.152, p \ .001); Perceived Mattering: (F(1, 3552) = 296.567, p \ .001) and Capitalization: (F(1, 3552) = 154.876, p \ .001), with women scoring higher than men. As for the main effect of ethnic group, additional analyses revealed that the two groups only differed from each other on NA (F(1, 3552) = 11.240, p \ .001), with LAs reporting higher levels of NA (M = 2.06, SD = .74) than EAs (M = 1.95, SD = .67). The follow-up investigation of the interaction between gender and ethnic group revealed that only the interactions for needs satisfaction (F(1, 3552) = 22.589, p \ .001) and positive affect (F(1, 3552) = 8.430, p \ .05) were signicant. Simple effects tests demonstrated an ethnicity effect among men (F(1, 978) = 12.178, p \ .01), with EAs reporting higher levels of needs satisfaction in their friendships than LAs (M = 5.59, SD = .85 vs. M = 5.36, SD = .91). This effect was also signicant among women (F(1, 2571) = 11.382, p \ .01, and revealed that LAs had higher needs satisfaction scores in their friendships when compared to EAs (M = 6.10, SD = .80; M = 5.98, SD = .85). A gender effect among EAs (F(1, 2524) = 112.723, p \ .01) showed that EA women had higher needs satisfaction scores than men (M = 5.98, SD = .85; M = 5.59, SD = .85). Similarly, the gender effect among LAs (F(1, 1025) = 140.857, p \ .01) found higher levels among women than men (M = 6.10, SD = .80; M = 5.36, SD = .91). As for positive affect, analyses revealed an ethnicity effect among women (F(1, 2571) = 5.642, p \ .05). LA women (M = 3.68, SD = .67) reported more PA than EA women (M = 3.61, SD = .68). This effect among was signicant among men as well (F(1, 978) = 4.121, p \ .05), with EA men (M = 3.68, SD = .64) reporting more PA than LA men (M = 3.58, SD = .73). Finally, a gender effect was observed among EAs (F(1, 2524) = 4.876, p \ .05) and LAs (F(1, 1025) = 4.226, p \ .05). Results showed that EA men (M = 3.68, SD = .64) and LA Women (M = 3.69, SD = .67) had higher levels of PA when compared to EA women (M = 3.61, SD = .68) and LA men (M = 3.58, SD = .73), respectively. Next, the associations of perceived mattering, capitalization, and needs satisfaction with happiness across gender among the two ethnic groups were examined. All of the study variables were positively associated with happiness (p \ .01) in both sexes in both groups (EA men and women: .33 .29, .56 vs. 32, .28, .42, respectively; LA men and women: .40, .26, .57 vs. .36, .29, .47, respectively). Investigation of the magnitude of these associations
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across the groups revealed that the association of needs satisfaction with happiness was signicantly higher among men when compared to women only among the EAs (z = 4.25, p \ .01); among EA men in comparison to LA women (z = 2.42, p \ .01); and among LA men when compared to EA women (z = 2.81, p \ .01). The regression analyses investigating the predictive ability of the friendship variables in happiness among men and women across the two ethnic groups revealed that the model accounted for as high as 33 % of the variance in happiness across the groups (EA men: (F(3, 751) = 113.490, p \ .01, R2 = .31; EA women: (F(3, 1767) = 136.000, p \ .01, R2 = .19; LA men: (F(3, 221) = 36.763, p \ .01, R2 = .33; LA women: (F(3, 798) = 77.653, p \ .01, R2 = .23). Among men in both ethnic groups, and among LA women, needs satisfaction was the only signicant predictor of happiness (EAs: b = .55, p \ .01; LAs: b = .51, p \ .01; LA women: b = .38, p \ .01). Among EA women, all of the study variables were signicant predictors of happiness (Mattering: b = .08, p \ .01; Capitalization: b = .07, p \ .05; and Needs satisfaction: b = .33, p \ .01). Yet, the beta values suggest that needs satisfaction was the most important predictor of happiness among EA women. Since needs satisfaction emerged as the most important friendship variable in predicting happiness among men and women in both ethnic groups, we next examined the relative importance of the satisfaction of individual needs in happiness. The autonomy, competence and relatedness needs satisfaction were all signicantly and positively related to happiness (p \ .01) across the sexes in the ethnic groups (EA men and women: .49, .58, .36 vs. 32, .42, .32, respectively; LA men and women: .51, .57, .36 vs. .38, .44, .39, respectively). In both ethnic groups, the relationships of the autonomy and competence needs satisfaction with happiness were signicantly higher among men when compared to women (EA: z = 4.70, p \ .01, LA: z = 2.14, p \ .01), and EA: z = 4.93, p \ .01, LA: z = 2.31, p \ .01, respectively). Also, the autonomy-happiness and competence-happiness associations among men in EAs were signicantly different from the associations observed among women in LAs (z = 2.68, p \ .01, and z = 3.74, p \ .01); and the respective correlations among LA men were signicantly higher when compared to the correlations among EA women (z = 3.25, p \ .01, and z = 2.81, p \ .01). The results of the regression analyses investigating the roles of the three individual needs in happiness revealed signicant ndings across the groups, with the amount of variance explained in happiness ranging from 19 to 35 % (EA men: (F(3, 751) = 134.746, p \ .01, R2 = .35; EA women: (F(3, 1767) = 139.567, p \ .01, R2 = .19; LA men: (F(3, 221) = 39.027, p \ .01, R2 = .35; LA women: (F(3, 798) = 75.980, p \ .01, R2 = .22). Among men in both ethnic groups, competence need satisfaction was the only signicant predictor of happiness (EAs: b = .45, p \ .01; LA Men: b = .40, p \ .01). Among women, all of the individual variables were signicant in both groups (EAs: Autonomy: b = .06, p \ .05; Competence: b = .33, p \ .001; and Relatedness: b = .10, p \ .01; LA: Autonomy: b = .10, p \ .05; Competence: b = .27, p \ .001; and Relatedness: b = .18, p \ .01). However, investigation of the beta values suggests that competence need was the most important predictor of happiness among women in both ethnic groups. Overall, these results suggest that the ndings obtained in the entire sample are generalizable to both sexes among EAs and LAs. As explained above, our sample not having enough Asian American men prevented us from making meaningful comparison with the other two groups and reliably estimating the predictive ability of the variables. Thus, in this ethnic group, the correlational and regression analyses were conducted in the entire sample (n = 214), which is sufcient for reliable analyses (Tabachnick and Fidell, 2001). All of the friendship variables were
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positively associated with happiness (p \ .01) among Asian Americans (Mattering: r = .27, Capitalization: r = .32, Needs Satisfaction: r = .35). The friendship variables, controlling for gender, explained 19 % of the variance in happiness (F(4, 209) = 12.387, p \ .01). Consistent with the ndings obtained in the total sample for men and women, needs satisfaction was the most important predictor (Mattering: b = .09, p = 2.32; Capitalization: b = .17, p \ .05; and Needs satisfaction: b = .21, p \ .01). The regression investigating the relative importance of individual needs, when controlling for gender, explained 14 % of the variance (F(4, 209) = 8.507, p \ .01) in happiness and revealed that competence need satisfaction was the only signicant predictor (Autonomy: b = .10, p = .243; Competence: b = .22, p \ .01; and Relatedness: b = .11, p = .186). Overall, these results suggest that the patterns obtained in the total sample and among EAs and LAs are generalizable to Asian Americans as well.
5 Discussion The present investigation examined the roles of three friendship experiences and feelings in individual happiness in a large sample of college students. There are three major conclusions that can be drawn from the ndings. First, perceived mattering, capitalization and needs satisfaction are signicantly related to happiness and needs satisfaction is the most important relationship experience when the friendship variables compete for variance. Second, of the three basic psychological needs, satisfaction of the competence need is the strongest predictor of happiness. Third, the relationships of the friendship variables with happiness are generally invariant across the two sexes. These three conclusions and their implications for research on friendship and happiness are discussed in detail. Decades of empirical research have consistently shown positive associations between friendship and happiness. However, as explained earlier, the available studies overwhelmingly focused on friendship quantity and friendship quality (e.g., intimacy). As a result, less is known about the associations of friendship specic feelings and experiences with happiness. The present study addressed this issue and investigated three relationship specic experiences. The ndings showed that, for both men and women, receiving positive responses from a same-sex best friend upon sharing positive events, feeling that one matters to the friend, and satisfaction of basic psychological needs in the friendship were related to happiness to varying degrees. These ndings are consistent with the few studies that examined these constructs individually (Deci et al. 2006; Dixon Rayle and Chung 2007; Demir et al. 2011). All in all, these ndings suggest that in addition to number of friends and friendship quality, there are other aspects to friendship that has the potential to inuence ones happiness. Investigation of the three friendship variables simultaneously provided an opportunity to examine their relative contributions to happiness. Findings showed that, for both men and women, satisfaction of basic psychological needs was as the strongest predictor of happiness when all three variables competed for variance. This does not mean that capitalization or feelings of mattering are not important for happiness. Rather, the ndings should be interpreted as suggesting that the fulllment of basic needs is the most inuential variable in predicting ones happiness. Also, we believe that this nding should be interpreted with caution since this is the rst empirical study comparing these different relationship experiences. As reviewed earlier, past research frequently compared the roles friendship quantity and quality in happiness. This line of research produced a wellaccepted nding that friendship quality is more important than quantity in predicting
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happiness (Demir et al., in press). Thus, more research is needed to establish condence in the present ndings. Nevertheless, it is still critical to understand why the satisfaction of basic needs emerged as the strongest predictor of happiness in this study. Friendship is a universal relationship which promotes and creates a context for a variety of different feelings (mattering) and experiences (capitalization). Although individuals in all cultures share positive things with each other (e.g., Cohen 1961; Goodwin 1999) and develop a sense of mattering in their friendships as a function of their interactions (e.g., Demir et al. 2011, Hays 1985), theory does not consider these two friendship experiences to be fundamental in the lives of individuals. Theoretical arguments, however, suggest that these two friendships variables (capitalization and mattering) play critical roles in the maintenance of relationships (e.g., promoting closeness) and have the potential to contribute to ones psychological well-being (Marshall 2001; Gable and Reis 2010). On the other hand, basic psychological needs (e.g., competence) are proposed to be fundamental and innate human needs; satisfaction of which in life in general or in close relationships (e.g., friendships) has been posited to promote psychological well-being (e.g., Deci and Ryan 2000). Empirical research has supported the theory even when needs were assessed in different contexts and relationships with various methods (correlational, experimental, and longitudinal) (e.g., Sheldon et al. 1996; Reis et al. 2000; Deci et al. 2006). Accordingly, it should not be surprising that the satisfaction of innate and basic needs in same-sex best friendships were the strongest predictor of happiness when compared to other universal but not innate or fundamental friendship experiences. The nding that basic psychological needs are the strongest predictor of happiness inevitably raises one additional theoretical question: which of the three needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) is the strongest predictor of happiness? Findings revealed that satisfaction of competence needs was the most important one predicting happiness for both men and women. Before providing an explanation to account for this nding, two issues should be addressed. First, it might be argued that since the three needs tend to be highly correlated with each other, it is difcult and redundant to search for the most important need predicting happiness. Although this argument has merit, it is essential to highlight that the moderate to high correlations of the three needs did not raise any concerns for multicollinearity (please see above). Second, it could be argued that just because the analyses (e.g., beta values) suggest one need is more important than the other, it does not necessarily mean that its role in happiness is signicantly larger than the others. Even though this is a fair point, it is important to consider the fact that several studies investigating psychological needs in general or in different relationships rst show the importance of overall needs satisfaction with regards to the outcome investigated in that study, and then examine the most important individual need predicting that outcome. Deci and Ryan (2000) posit that all of these needs must be satised to experience optimal wellbeing. Yet, we believe that it is also essential to examine and understand whether the fulllment of these three needs appear to be differentially critical in predicting different outcomes. In explaining why competence needs satisfaction was the most important need in predicting happiness, we rst review the ndings of past research and then provide our arguments in light of theory. To start with, when researchers assess needs satisfaction in close relationships and predict relationship outcomes (e.g., attachment security, relationship quality, relationship satisfaction), relatedness emerges as the most important predictor (Demir et al. 2012; La Guardia et al. 2000; Patrick et al. 2007). Perhaps this is not surprising considering conceptual overlap between relatedness and relationship experiences. Accordingly, when researchers only focus on autonomy and competence needs, the
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former appears to be the next most important need (Demir et al. 2012; La Guardia et al. 2000). SDT might explain this pattern (relatedness [ autonomy [ competence) obtained when investigating relationship outcomes by suggesting that competence needs are likely to be fullled in different contexts, such as work or school (Deci and Ryan 2000; La Guardia and Patrick 2008). On the other hand, when researchers measure needs satisfaction in everyday life or with regards to the most satisfying event and predict psychological wellbeing outcomes, either competence or autonomy, or both, emerge as the most important one(s) (Reis et al. 2000; Sheldon et al. 2001; Sheldon and Filak 2008; Sheldon and Tan 2007; Sheldon and Niemiec 2006; Sheldon et al. 1996). Relevant to the ndings of the present study, Reis et al. (2000) and Sheldon and Tan (2007) showed that of the three needs competence satisfaction was the strongest predictor of happiness. The available literature suggests that the type of outcome investigated (happiness vs. attachment security) and the context of the assessment of needs (close relationship vs. daily life) inuences which individual need emerges as the strongest predictor. Accordingly, the ndings of the present study adds to this line of empirical research by showing that when needs are assessed in same-sex friendships with regard to happiness, competence needs satisfaction is the strongest predictor of the three needs. Why did competence but not the other two needs emerge as the strongest predictor of happiness among men and women? Feeling competent in ones actions and abilities in life in general and in close relationships has been proposed to be a fundamental need which has important implications for psychosocial well-being (Bandura 1977; Deci and Ryan 2000; Elliot et al. 2002; White 1963, 1965). Satisfying this need in friendships might be especially critical in a new and challenging environment. It is essential at this point to highlight that the majority of the participants in this study were 18-years old who were fresh out of high school and trying to adjust to college. Empirical research suggests that the transition from high school to university is a stressful experience (Buote et al. 2007; Devlin 1996; Friedlander et al. 2007; Pittman and Richmond 2008). Young college students might feel intimidated and stressed out by the demands and challenges of their new environment. In this particular situation, they might want to show their newly learned skills and abilities to their friends and might need their friends to validate that they are good at what they do. Even though they might have proven themselves and experienced high levels of competence in their friendships in high school, the unique and new environment might make competence need salient in their friendships and collegiate pursuits. Although this argument is reasonable, it raises an essential theoretical question. Would competence be still the most important need had we sampled juniors or seniors or adults in different age groups? Elliot et al. (2002) argued that overall psychological maturation and past experiences shape the level of the need for competence. Accordingly, it is plausible to argue that different needs (e.g., autonomy) in the friendship might be salient for individual happiness across the life-span (e.g., transition to parenthood). At this point it is critical to highlight Eriksons theory (1982) suggesting that individuals have a specic developmental task to resolve in different stages of life. For instance, during middle adulthood individuals are concerned with making a signicant contribution to their world and family members and colleagues at work become the focal relationships. In this unique situation, perhaps relatedness need in friendships might become the strongest predictor of happiness since competence and autonomy needs are likely to be salient in other relationships. Future research has the potential to shed light on this issue. The present investigation also contributed to the literature by showing that friendship experiences are similarly related to the happiness of men and women. Past empirical research (e.g., Walen and Lachman 2000) and recent theoretical arguments (Saphire-
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Bernstein and Taylor, in press) suggest that since women experience better friendships (e.g., more intimacy) they benet more from their relationship experiences. Although the friendship experiences of women were signicantly higher when compared to men (with moderate effect sizes), these differences were not reected in the associations of friendship variables with happiness. Instead, the relationships of friendship experiences with happiness were generally similar in both sexes, a nding consistent with past empirical research (e.g., Demir and Orthel 2011). The only exception to this pattern was the signicantly higher correlation between overall need satisfaction and happiness among men when compared to women. Also, additional analyses showed that gender did not moderate the friendship-happiness link, suggesting that the variables did not have differential predictive ability for men and women. The results of this study suggest that experiencing friendships rather strongly does not necessarily equate more happiness for women. This argument should be interpreted with caution considering the possibility that the results could have been different had we examined other well-being indices (e.g., depressed mood). It could be that gender differences in the relationship quality and well-being link is observed when rensen 2000; Proulx the focus is on dating and marital relationships (e.g., Pinquart and So et al. 2007). However, when the focus is on friendship, both men and women benet equally from their friendships experiences. Additional analyses conducted among European- and Latino-American men and women and among Asian American participants replicated the results obtained in the general sample. This suggests that the ndings discussed above are generalizable to these ethnic groups. Overall, these ndings are consistent with past research. Although some studies have documented ethnic differences in friendship experiences (DuBois and Hirsch 1990; Kao and Joyner 2004; Way and Chen 2000; Way et al. 2001), others found that friendships were similarly experienced in different ethnic groups (Azmitia et al. 2006, Levitt et al. 1993; Pagano and Hirsch 2007). Our ndings were consistent with this recent research such that the two ethnic groups did not differ from each other on the friendship variables. The results were also in line with past empirical studies showing that friendship is similarly associated with psychological well-being in different ethnic groups (Franco and Levitt 1998; Way and Robinson 2003). Yet, it is important to highlight that our additional analyses included only three ethnic groups. It remains to be seen whether these ndings can be generalized to the friendship experiences of other ethnic groups (e.g., Native Americans).
6 Limitations It is essential to acknowledge the limitations of the study. To start with, the present investigation was cross-sectional in nature which makes causal inferences a concern. Consistent with theoretical arguments (e.g., Deci and Ryan 2000), we treated the friendship variables as predictor of happiness. However, it is essential to consider the possibility that being happy promotes positive friendships. Another limitation of the current investigation pertains to the fact that the ndings are limited to the same-sex best friendships of college students and cannot be generalized to opposite-sex friendships and to same-sex best friendships in different age groups. Considering the empirical evidence showing that both types of friendships are positively associated with happiness in different age groups (Chan rensen 2000), we would and Lee 2006; Collins and van Dulmen 2006; Pinquart and So predict that similar patterns of associations between the study variables and happiness be observed. Yet, it remains to be seen whether overall needs satisfaction (and competence)
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would emerge as the friendship variable that matters most for happiness across the types of friendships in different age groups. One inevitable limitation of research on happiness conducted with American samples pertains to the generalizability of the ndings to other cultures. Indeed, this is a major concern in the psychological literature (e.g., Arnett 2008; Henrich et al. 2010). This becomes especially relevant when one considers the empirical research documenting cross-cultural differences in friendship (Adams and Plaut 2003; French et al. 2006). We believe that it is imperative to investigate the generalizability of any given nding or theoretical model to other cultural contexts to establish condence in the ndings obtained in the individualistic cultural context of the U.S. (e.g., Sheldon and Tan 2007). Accordingly, future research should investigate whether the ndings obtained in this study are generalizable to the friendship experiences of individuals in collectivistic cultures.
7 Conclusion These data reinforced the idea that there is more to friendship that has implications for happiness other than the number of friends or overall friendship quality. The three friendship variables investigated in this study explained one-fth of the variance in happiness. The data provide unique ways to understand why friendship experiences do matter for happiness. The data also indicate that the associations of friendship experiences with happiness are gender invariant.
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J Happiness Stud DOI 10.

1007/s10902-012-9341-7 RESEARCH PAPER

Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

Toward a Better Understanding

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