ABSTRACT

Introduction Conceptions of friendship as an object for psychological research seem to refer to a variety of issues and topics. A pilot study was undertaken in order to clarify some aspects of this conceptual development. One of the most sensitive techniques for exploring these issues is to allow the child to develop his ideas within the context of a semi-structured interview. Thus interviews were conducted on the basis of a series of questions covering the area of friends and friendships although each particular interview proceeded according to the child’s responses to these questions. The interviewer’s role was to enable the child to elucidate as clearly as possible his thinking about these issues rather than attempting to extract defi nitions of particular concepts from each and every child.