How friendships affect the lives of young adults attending university

Abstract

Friendship and friendship in University is a widely researched topic, although it is usually researched in tangent with other aspects, such as friendships and gender, technology, transitioning, first year students etc. This study offers a holistic approach to friendship in University students with the participants offering their own experiences of what friendship is. Data was collected through the means of semi-structured interviews from five participants attending the University of Malta in undergraduate courses. Thematic analysis was then used the analyse the data collected. The five main themes that have emerged from the study were: friendship definition, importance of friendship, support, conflict and technology. Participants expressed how friendship was very valuable to them inside and outside university, especially when it came to dealing with academic stressors and personal relationships.