The Japanese journal of adolescent psychology

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the support students who did not enter their first-choice university needed to perceive the entrance examination experience more positively. Data collected from questionnaires completed by 246 university students were analyzed. ANOVA showed that students who did not enter their first-choice university perceived the entrance examination experience more positively than those who did. Additionally, a multiple population analysis showed that emotional and informational support from friends, indirectly influenced by degree of adjustment to university, affected “continuous perception” positively and “negative attitude” negatively only for students who did not enter their first-choice university. In contrast, emotional support from friends directly influenced “negative cognition” so that it decreased for both groups of students. These results suggest that students who did not enter their first-choice university need emotional and informational support from friends to perceive the entrance examination experience more positively. In addition, these perceptions can be enhanced by assisting students in adjusting to university.

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This research studied adolescence dilemma of best friends by focusing on the internal working model through questionnaires and interviews. Following are the results: (1) Secure group is aware of their dilemma and can express it. The friends in this group are close; however, they also have a strong desire to be themselves. (2) In Dismissing group, the importance of best friends is low and they choose family as the most important people. Although their desire to be distant from friends and the tendency to think about themselves are strong, they also desire to be close with their friends because of the distance. (3) Preoccupied group’s characteristic is the strong desire to be close to their friends while still having the desire to be themselves. (4) Fearful group face dilemma, but they tend to not express it by stating that they are satisfied with their current situations. In conclusion, this research suggests that the dilemma of best friends as expected by the self-others view, and the one which people are actually aware of and express, are not necessarily the same.

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