Friendship, Needs Satisfaction, and Happiness Among College Students in France and Lebanon

  • Melikşah Demir
  • Frédérique Cuisinier
  • Brigitte Khoury
Chapter
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Abstract

Decades of research leave no doubt that friendship is a consistent correlate of happiness across cultures. Yet, less is known about the mediators of this association. The current study tested the role of satisfaction of basic psychosocial needs in same-sex best friendships as the mediator of the friendship quality-happiness association among college students in France (n = 259) and Lebanon (n = 191). It was proposed that friendship experiences provide a context in which one’s basic psychological needs are met, which in turn is associated with happiness. The model was supported in both countries, highlighting the robustness of the findings. Directions for future that could enhance our understanding of the friendship-happiness association in different cultures were presented.

Keywords

Friendship Cross-cultural France Lebanon Happiness Bootstrapping Needs satisfaction Happiness among college students in France and Lebanon 
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© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Melikşah Demir
    • 1
  • Frédérique Cuisinier
    • 2
  • Brigitte Khoury
    • 3
  1. 1.Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaffUSA
  2. 2.Paris West UniversityFranceFrance
  3. 3.American University of Beirut Medical CenterBeirutLebanon

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