Family relationships, friendships, and well-being in the United States and Japan.

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the influence of family relationships on friendships, and the influence of family relationships and friendships on the psychological well-being of adolescents and adults in the United States and Japan. Similarities and differences across age, gender, and culture were investigated. Previous research and theory regarding parents' influences on children's friendships, family members' influence on adults' friendships, and social relationships as influences on well-being guided the present study. This project involved two phases: (a) secondary analyses of surveys of representative samples of individuals ranging in age from 13 to 93 in the United States (<italic>N</italic> = 1498) and Japan (<italic>N</italic> = 1641) and (b) qualitative content analyses of 12 focus group discussions conducted separately with American and Japanese participants. Consistent with previous research, high quality family relationships were related to high quality friendships, and high quality social relationships were related to high psychological well-being. In addition, some evidence was found that a high quality relationship could compensate for another relationship of lower quality to bolster individuals' well-being. Family relationships influenced friendships by enabling or precluding them, and adults at times looked for qualities in friendships that were not available in family relationships. Family relationships and friendships influenced well-being by having someone in whom to confide, providing a sense of belonging, making too many demands and not allowing enough independence, and contributing to a sense of self-worth. Despite mean differences in relationship quality and well-being by age, gender, and country, these factors generally did not moderate associations between family relationship and friendship quality or between relationship quality and well-being.