Abstract
The present study investigated the conflict concerning psychological distance that occurs to adolescents with respect to their significant friends when adolescents are uncertain about an appropriate psychological distance between them and their friend. This has been labeled “the Porcupine Dilemma.” The purposes of the present study were to (1) identify factors involved in the Porcupine Dilemma,(2) clarify psychological reactions to this dilemma, and (3) clarify the relation between this dilemma and psychological reactions having to do with the degree of psychological distance. From the dilemmas of approaching and leaving, two psychological factors were extracted respectively: “the dilemma that occurs with oneself” (avoiding feeling hurt or lonely oneself), and “the dilemma with respect to others” (avoiding causing others to feel hurt or lonely). The results also showed 3 psychological reactions to the Porcupine Dilemma: cowering, clinging, and giving up. Moreover,“the dilemma that occurs with oneself” was easier to connect with psychological reactions, and this tendency increased with psychological distance from the friend.
