Effect of Friendship Motivation on Strategies for Handling Interpersonal Conflict in Japanese Young Adults

This study investigated the effects of friendship motivation on strategies for handling interpersonal conflicts and friendship satisfaction in Japanese young adults. Participants (N=218) completed a self-report questionnaire about friendship motivation, interpersonal conflict strategies, and friendship satisfaction. The results of path analysis revealed that intrinsic motivation was associated with a more integrating style, external motivation with a more forceful style, and introjected motivation with a more avoiding and yielding style. In addition, the results of multiple regression analysis indicated that introjected motivation was associated with lower friendship satisfaction. These findings suggest that friendships among contemporary adolescents are based on both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Moreover, the results suggest that friendships based on extrinsic motivation have lower friendship satisfaction. The reasons for interacting with friends on the basis of intrinsic motivation are discussed.