Role of friendship goals in the processes of interpersonal stress among college students

Abstract

The present study was conducted to examine the role of friendship goals in the processes of interpersonal stress in college students. College students (N = 514) completed measures of friendship goals, behavior of coping with interpersonal stressful events, and mental health. The participants were classified on the 2 dimensions of intimacy and number of friends, and into 4 types of friendship goals. The results indicated that the relation between coping behavior and mental health depended partly on friendship goals. Specifically, greater postponed-solution coping (e.g., "I let the breakup take its own course") was associated with reports of reduced distress when participants wanted poor relationships and many friends. Implications of these results for the interpersonal stress process are discussed.