Although satisfying friendships are crucial for well-being throughout adulthood, measures of friendship satisfaction have been limited by: (1) item content relevant to children only, (2) a focus on single relationships rather than the friendship network, and (3) disagreement about the number of dimensions necessary to capture the construct. To overcome these limitations, we assembled an item pool from a number of existing measures, created additional items drawn from research on friendships, and then examined the structure and psychometric properties of those items in two online surveys of over 2000 respondents each. Factor analyses consistently identified two correlated factors—closeness and socializing—but bi-factor modeling revealed that scores on both subscales load strongly on a general factor, suggesting that the multifaceted content can be scored efficiently as a unidimensional composite. Analyses using item response theory (IRT) supported the creation of a reliable 14-item instrument that demonstrated adequate convergent and predictive validity. Thus, the Friendship Network Satisfaction (FNS) Scale is a psychometrically sound tool to advance research on friendships across the lifespan.
Singles are an understudied yet growing segment of the adult population. The current study aims to expand the lens of relationship science by examining the well-being of unpartnered, single adults using latent profile analysis. We recruited singles (N = 4,835) closely matched to the United States census (ages 18-65; 57.5% female; 71.1% White; 14.5% Black; 13.8% Hispanic) for an exploratory cross-sectional survey using five variables that strongly predict well-being (friendship satisfaction, family satisfaction, self-esteem, neuroticism, and extraversion). All five variables significantly predicted life satisfaction for the full sample. Latent profile analyses detected 10 groups (or profiles) of singles. Half of the profiles were happy (above the full sample mean of life satisfaction) and half of the profiles were unhappy (below the mean). Each profile had its own unique patterns relating to personal relationships, self-esteem, and personality traits. The happiest profile had the best relationships, self-esteem, and personality, while the unhappiest profile had the worst relationships, self-esteem, and personality. The profiles in between these two extremes had more nuanced patterns. For example, one relatively happy profile in the middle had high friendship satisfaction but low family satisfaction, while an adjacent profile showed the opposite pattern. Overall, singles who had positive relationships—both with themselves and others—were happiest.
In homage to the life and work of Ed Diener (1946–2021), the present study assessed the dimensions of the tripartite model (positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) and two additional dimensions (domain satisfaction and happiness) to investigate the structure of subjective well-being using exploratory factor analysis and the bifactor model. Specifically, we tested whether these five dimensions belong to an essentially unidimensional subjective well-being construct. Towards this goal, we used a large, previously collected dataset closely matched to the U.S. census (N = 2,000, ages 18–65+ ; 52.4% female; 66.3% White; 14.9% Hispanic; 12% Black) and selected 24 items representing the five dimensions. Our results showed that all 24 items were internally consistent and highly correlated. Exploratory factor analyses revealed there were five underlying factors best characterizing the data. When fit to the bifactor model, a strong underlying general subjective well-being factor emerged. Additionally, general factor scores were highly reliable according to conventional reliability standards. A confirmatory factor analysis also supported the bifactor structure of subjective well-being. Overall, our findings suggest all 24 items from the five dimensions reflect one essentially unidimensional construct, which can be combined into a single subjective well-being score. Domain satisfaction and subjective happiness both belong to subjective well-being in the same way that the original three dimensions of life satisfaction, negative affect, and positive affect do.
The quality of individuals’ social relationships consistently predicts greater well-being. But little is known about the relative importance of different relationship types for life satisfaction, including the relative importance of friendships compared to other types of relationships. Some have theorized that one intimate relationship is all you need. However, romantic partners, family, and friends may contribute uniquely or interactively to well-being. The current study assessed life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction in survey data collected from a large, diverse sample of respondents. Satisfaction with each type of relationship was significantly and independently associated with life satisfaction, over and above other variables in the model. Friendship (not family) interacted with intimate relationships: when respondents were highly satisfied with their intimate relationships, they were happy with their lives regardless of friendship quality. But when they were unhappy with their intimate relationships, they were only happy with their lives if they had good friends.
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