The Educational and

Developmental Psychologist
Family warmth, self-perception, social
competence, and friendships in emerging
www.cambridge.org/edp adulthood
Albert Alegre1 and Mark J. Benson2
Original Article 1
East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvania, USA and 2Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
Cite this article: Alegre A and Benson MJ.
(2019) Family warmth, self-perception, social
competence, and friendships in emerging Abstract
adulthood. The Educational and Developmental
Psychologist 36: 75–81. doi: 10.1017/
This study examines the factors influencing friendship quality during emergent adulthood.
edp.2019.10 Data were collected on a sample of 393 college students (age range 18–22, M = 20.01). Nine
multi-item measures were used as indicators in this study. Seven scales were drawn from
Received: 25 March 2019 the Battery of Adolescent Measures (Benson & Faas, 2014). The other two were the pragmatic
Revised: 4 September 2019
(social) language and the aloof scales, which provided sensitised assessment of interpersonal
Accepted: 10 September 2019
First published online: 4 November 2019 deficits (Hurley, Losh, Parlier, Reznick, & Piven, 2007). The article hypothesises that family
warmth predicts friendship quality during emergent adulthood. It also hypothesises that this
Keywords: relationship is mediated by emergent adults’ self-perceptions and by their social competence.
friendship quality; family warmth; Structural equation models supported the first hypothesis and also showed that self-perceptions
self-perceptions; social competence;
emerging adulthood and social competence partially mediate the main relationship. We also examined each media-
tor separately for evidence of partial mediation, but the full model remained a significantly
Author for correspondence: better fit to the data compared to both single mediator models.
Albert Alegre, Email: merchalbert@yahoo.es

© Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2019.
Family contexts and friendship relations occupy central roles in human development. The
contemporary developmental theory emphasises family interactions as an enduring, central
influence for the developing person (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). During development
from adolescence toward adulthood, choice in friendships carries increasing importance.
Emerging adulthood theory characterises these years after adolescence as the most volitional
stage of development (Arnett, 2000, 2012). The conscious choices of emerging adults to cultivate
positive friendships and build social support during these years have far-reaching effects. Prior
research on social support in the adult years has shown links to a wide range of benefits such as
positive coping (Henly, Danziger, & Offer, 2005), positive parenting (Lee, Anderson, Horowitz,
& August, 2009), less depression (Lee et al., 2009), and less risk of living in poverty (Henly et al.,
2005). The enduring influence of family, combined with the ongoing value of friendships in
emerging adulthood warrants investigating potential linkages across these domains.
Among family features that could link these domains is the dimension of parental warmth,
characterised by acceptance, support and caring (Rohner, 1986). Prior research provides indi-
rect support for the potential association between family warmth and friendship quality. For
example, in adolescence, parental warmth has been linked to adolescent friendship intimacy
(Rodríguez, Perez-Brena, Updegraff, & Umaña-Taylor, 2014). Also, separate effects for mother
or father warmth have been found in relation to peer acceptance (Davidov & Grusec, 2006), peer
likeability (Kam et al., 2011), and friendship behaviours (Eiden, Colder, Edwards, & Leonard,
2009; Padilla-Walker, Nielson, & Day, 2016). This empirical evidence for links between family
and friendship domains throughout childhood and adolescence, together with the salience of
friendship in emerging adulthood, support the first hypothesis of this current study that warmth
in the family of origin will be associated with friendship quality among emerging adults.
If the assumption that family warmth is associated with friendship quality during emergent
adulthood holds, then how does this connection occur? One explanation that connects family
warmth to development derives from interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory;
Rohner, 2016). The theory proposes that interpersonal warmth serves an evolutionary role for
the human species and provides a psychological foundation for individual adjustment.
IPARTheory has evolved from PARTheory (Rohner, 1986, 2008; Rohner & Khaleque, 2010),
which focused on parent-child relationships. Although expanded to include interpersonal
relationships of all types, Rohner’s theoretical update (2016) clarifies that despite the name
change and broadened applicability, the IPARTheory maintains its valuable, original influence
as a conceptualisation for advancing research and understanding of parent-child relationships.
Within parent-child dyads, the theory suggests that parental warmth affects the overall psycho-
logical adjustment of their children through both internal and behavioural dispositions. The
current study tests the theory and examines the internal disposition of self-perception and a

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 76
behavioural disposition of interpersonal competence as potential
mediators between family warmth and friendship quality.
Prior theory and empirical evidence both support the relevance
of testing self-perceptions as a potential mediator between family
warmth and friendship quality (Booth-Laforce et al., 2006). In
IPARTheory, warmth is related to multiple dispositions that
overlap with self-perceptions, including self-esteem, self-adequacy
and positive worldview. Elsewhere, theorising about the self-
system has echoed the role of acceptance or rejection in the social
environment. As advanced by Leary (2000), for example, feelings
about oneself operate as a feedback gauge in response to acceptance
or rejection in the social environment. By extension, repeated
experiences of acceptance or rejection in primary relationships
become internalised into patterns of self-perception. Similarly,
prior findings have linked parental warmth to confidence in
personal choices among emerging adults (Zimmer-Gembeck,
Madsen, & Hanisch, 2011).
In addition to self-perception, theory and evidence also support
the relevance of testing interpersonal competence as a potential
mediator between family warmth and friendship quality.
IPARTheory hypothesises that parental warmth provides a climate
that fosters youth development of responsiveness, emotional
maturity and interaction skills (Rohner & Khaleque, 2010).
Prior research further suggests that family warmth is indirectly
related to interpersonal competence. For example, significant asso-
ciations have been found between maternal sensitivity and peer
competence (NICHD, 2001), and between expressive parental
warmth and peer empathy (Zhou et al., 2002). Similar links have
been found that connect the early experience of low warmth with
low interpersonal interest in emerging adulthood (Yoo, Park, &
Jun, 2014). To summarise so far, prior theory and research support
a hypothesised connection of family warmth with both self-
perceptions and interpersonal competence.
In turn, prior findings further suggest that self-perceptions
and interpersonal competence have implications for friendships.
Associations between self-perceptions and friendships are well
documented in childhood research (Gifford-Smith & Brownell,
2003). Similar links are beginning to appear in emerging adulthood
research. Global self-perceptions, for example, have been linked to
both friendship duration and friendship stability among college
students (Shany, Wiener, & Assido, 2013).
In addition to self-perceptions, elements of social competence
are expected to link to positive peer relations. Related research has
shown links between social competence and relationship quality
(Demir, Jaafar, Bilyk, & Ariff, 2012; Morry & Kito, 2009).
Besides, the current study sought to further unpack social compe-
tence, drawing from the science of its absence in the study of the
autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
The ASD field has advanced two key dimensions of social
competence: (a) social interest and (b) social skills. The dimensions
are reflected in both theory (Chevallier, Kohls, Troiani, Brodkin, &
Schultz, 2012) and measurement (Hurley et al., 2007). This
combination of interest and skills, in both typical and atypical
development, places a developing person in a state of readiness
for future friendships. Social interest reflects an approach orienta-
tion, the anticipation of social rewards, and receptiveness to future
social interaction. The importance of social interest is evident in
links to both individual mental health (Fung & Webster, 2018)
and interpersonal relationship quality (Rennebohm, Seebeck, &
Thoburn, 2017). If social interest inspires future friendships, social
skills facilitate its enactments. Through experiences across devel-
opment, youth acquire social skills, which are the conventional
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A. Alegre and M.J. Benson
interaction patterns that signal attention, imply connection, and
facilitate communication. Successful acquisition of these conven-
tional social skills has been linked to healthy developmental
outcomes in multiple contexts of functioning (Oshri, Topple, &
Carlson, 2017). Together, the twin elements of social interest
and social skills are examined in the current study using a measure
designed to capture variation across the normal and atypical spec-
trum developed by Hurley and colleagues (2007). As with self-per-
ceptions, the measured elements of social competence are expected
to link to positive peer relations.
In sum, the theory and supporting research suggest three
principal hypotheses tested in the current research. First, family
warmth will predict friendship quality in early adulthood.
Second, self-perceptions and interpersonal competence will pre-
dict friendship quality. And third, the effect of family warmth
on friendship quality will be mediated by both self-perceptions
and interpersonal competence.
Method
Participants
The participants were 393 college students within the age range of
18–22 years, M = 20.01, SD = 1.23. The participants represented
both women, 75.1%, and men, 24.9%, across self-identified ethnic-
ities that included Caucasians, 81.7%, Asian-Americans, 10.2%,
and additional ethnicities, 8.2%, (African American, Middle
Eastern, Hispanic, and multiracial).
Each participant provided background information and
responses to 10 indicator measures, which assessed the four
primary constructs of the study. All 10 subscales were drawn from
batteries that had shown prior evidence for reliability, factorial
validity, and concurrent/predictive validity. Table 1 presents the
descriptions of the technical features, reliability, and citation for
each measure.
The background showed approximately an equal split across
grade levels, including freshmen or first-year university students
(28%), sophomores or second-year students (27%), juniors or
third-year students (25%), and seniors or final-year students
(20%). Testing of means across the grade levels showed no
differences across study variables, with the exception of a weak
age effect noted for the indicators of friendship quality. The age
effect for friend bonds (r = −.17, p < .05) and friend interactions
(r = −.17, p < .05) reflects a trend, noted in prior research, toward
fewer and more stable relationships during the college years
(Borarai & Carey, 2006). Institutional Review Board approval
and informed consent were obtained for the study.
Procedure
Participants were recruited through advertisements placed around
campus, email listservs sent out to various academic departments,
or through an online recruitment system. After receiving the study
website information and providing informed consent, participants
completed basic demographic questionnaires, a battery of mea-
sures that included the scales used in this study. After completing
the study, participants were granted extra credit toward a psychol-
ogy class and a small financial compensation.
Measures
As noted in the method and Table 1, the nine multi-item measures
that were used as indicators in this study all showed sufficient
reliability for use in research, α > .77.
 The Educational and Developmental Psychologist 77

Note: All scales have five response choices, except for positive affect which has four. aNumber of items on scale. bSubscales from the Battery of Adolescent Measures (Benson & Faas, 2014). cSubscales (reversed) from Hurley and colleagues (2007). dNot at all
Seven scales were drawn from an assessment of adolescent

.86
.94
.96

.88
.89

.91
.78

.85
.82
α
assets and risks that yielded evidence for reliability and validity
in previous research (Benson & Faas, 2014). These seven previously
validated scales included both intact and modified scales from the
Battery of Adolescent Measures (Benson & Faas, 2014), which was
B&F α

developed and validated using a nationally representative U.S.

.80
.84
.84

.85
.71

.68
.68
NA
NA
sample of adolescents who were 12–18 years of age. Whereas
the reliability of the scale items was established with adolescents
(Benson & Faas, 2014), the technical adequacy of the scale for
use with young adults is evidenced in the current study. Table 1
shows both the original coefficient alphas from Benson and Faas
Possible range

and alphas from the current study. As seen in the table, the internal
3–15d
e

6–30e
e

3–15
6–30
1–6e
e
5–25
5–25

4–20

1–6
consistency estimates for each of the scales in the current study
with young adults is higher than the earlier study based on
responses from adolescents. These seven scales comprised the
indicators for family warmth (3), self-perception (2), and friend-
ship quality (2). Examples of the item content for each scale appear
in Table 1 of the brief report.
Indicators of social competence were drawn from two scales
3
5
5

6
4

3
6
12
12
Na

designed to assess social competence deficits in the ASD field

across a range from normal to atypical (Hurley et al., 2007). For
ease of readability and interpretation, subtest data (aloof and
pragmatic) were reverse coded to yield social interest and social
to very much. eStrongly disagree to strongly agree. fNever to most of the time. gVery rarely to very often. B&F = Benson and Fass (2014). NA = not applicable.
Degree of interaction with friends, including shared time together, the frequency of interaction

skills scores. The social interest scale items assess enjoyment

of social situations and connecting with people. The social
Openness to interaction, enjoyment of communication, and friendliness in interactions

skills items assess attention to conversation, speech fluency, and

Skills in conversational fluency, turn-taking, reading cues, and conversation tracking

interpretation of social cues. The reliability estimates are in the

acceptable range for both social interest (.91) and social skills
Pride in self, liking oneself, feeling loved, and confidence in personal qualities
Family members understood, had fun, and paid attention to the adolescent

(.78). Examples of the item content for each of these two scales
appear in Table 1. In addition, Table 1 shows the Cronbach’s alpha,
Attention from best friends, being understood, and having fun together

item range, response format, and the number of items for all nine
indicator scales.
Warm, loving, satisfied, communicate well, closeness, and caring
Warm, loving, satisfied, communicate well, closeness, and caring

Optimism, hopefulness, happiness, and personal enjoyment

Table 1. Study Measures by Construct, Items, Response Choice, Range, and Internal Consistency

Results
Full model tests (self-perception and interpersonal
competence)
The hypotheses were tested with structural equation modelling
(SEM) procedures (Jöreskog, 1993; Kline, 2005) with MPlus soft-
ware, Version 5.1 (Little & Rubin, 2002; Muthén & Muthén,
2007). We followed the standard procedures, which begin with
examining modification indices for significance and meaning
(Byrne, 2012). The modification indices revealed a significant,
meaningful coefficient for the path between two indicators, social
orientation and interaction frequency. This parameter reflects the
substantive link between interest and behaviour, which has been
Item Content

previously hypothesised and empirically documented (Yoo et al.,

2014). Because of this significant and ‘substantively meaningful’ link
(Byrne, 2012, p. 88), we estimated the parameter in subsequent
models. This subsequent measurement model evidenced a good fit
to the data, χ2(21) = 27.05, root mean square error or approximation
(RMSEA) .03, standardised root mean square residual (SRMR) .03.
The goodness of fit provided indirect support for the shared
Interpersonal competence

Interactions with friendsb

variance among related indicators and discriminative validity

Family understandingb

across unrelated indicators. Examination of the correlation coeffi-

Bonds with friendsb
Friendship quality

cients added support for convergence among related indicators

b

b
Mother support

Self-perception

b
Family warmth

Social interestc
Father support

Positive affect

and divergence across unrelated indicators. The median correla-

Self-esteemb

c
Social skills

tion among related indicators significantly exceeded those across

Subscale

unrelated indicators, r = .54 vs. 32, p < .001. The 36 individual

correlation coefficients among the nine study indicators further
evidenced discriminant validity. After correcting for measurement

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 78 A. Alegre and M.J. Benson

Table 2. Fit Statistics from Structural Equation Models Testing Mediation Hypotheses (N = 393)

Model (Step) Latent Variables χ2 df RMSEA SRMR

1 Step 1. IV→DV Family warmth → Friendship quality 4.20 4 .01 .02
2 Step 2. Family warmth → Self-perception, interpersonal competence 13.45 11 .02 .02
3 Step 3. Self-perception, interpersonal competence → Friendship quality 7.53 5 .04 .02
4 Step 4. Full model 24.29 20 .02 .03
5 Step 5. Mediation model 27.05 21 .03 .03
Note: The mediation model (step 5) shows no decrement in model fit compared to the full model (step 4), Δχ (1) = 2.76, p = ns, providing the basis for inferring mediation.
2

RMSEA = root mean square error or approximation, SRMR = standardised root mean square residual.

S-E PA
. .
.87 .85
FU Self-Perceptions BF
.87
.55 .37
.97 . .63
Family 09 (direct: .50) Friendship
.68 Warmth Quality
MS .15 .58

.54 Interpersonal .40

Competence IF
FS
Fig 1. Full model (Model 4). Indicators are: Family
Understanding (FU), Mother Support (MS), Father Support .65 .86
(FS), Self-Esteem (S-E), Positive Affect (PA), Interaction
Skills (IS), Social Engagement (SE), Bonds with Friends IS SE
(BF), Interactions with Friends (IF).

error, all fell well below the .85 threshold for inferring discriminant
validity (Henseler, Ringle, & Sarastedt, 2015; Kline, 2011). Two
indicators, self-esteem and positive affect, showed substantial over-
lap, r = .73, and .91 corrected. Because of the distinctly different item
content, the disparate origins, and separate purposes for these two
scales, subsequent models maintained these as separate indicators.
Mediation testing
Next, the mediation testing examined associations among predictor,
mediator and outcome according to the sequence recommended by
Holmbeck (1997) for testing mediation using SEM. The sequence
follows the classic mediation testing procedure, which involves a
prescribed series of steps (Baron & Kenny, 1986). In addition to test-
ing the significance and significant changes in path coefficients, SEM
enables testing the model fits at each step in the testing procedure.
Evidence of significance and good model fit tests the baseline
assumption of a relationship between the predictor and outcome.
If this structural path is significant, the model fit is good, and the
researcher proceeds to steps 2 and 3. These steps test the relationship
between the predictor and mediator, and the mediator and outcome,
respectively. Evidence for a significant path and good model fit
documents the relevance of the mediator to its predictor and out-
come. In step 4, all variables are included. In step 5, the reduction
in the magnitude of the structural path without compromising over-
all fit provides evidence of mediation.
As shown in Table 2, the series tests the relationships between
the predictor and outcome (step 1), the predictor and mediators
(step 2), and the mediators and outcome (step 3). In step 4, the full
model includes all variables including the path from the predictor
to the outcome (step 4).
As evident in Table 2, all four models showed a good fit to the
data, as indicated by the conservative tests of RMSEA and SRMR,
which were below the .05 threshold (Rigdon, 1996). A good fit was
also evidenced by the indices of the confirmatory factor index
(CFI) and Tucker Lewis index (TLI), which exceeded .98.
Because robust relationships among latent variables have been
shown to inflate CFI and TLI coefficients (Kenny, 2015), we fol-
lowed the recommended conservative procedure of using
RMSEA and SRMR (Rigdon, 1996).
If these first four tests are met, Holmbeck (1997) then recom-
mends testing for fit change between the full model and the
hypothesised mediation model, which omits the direct path from
predictor to outcome. Together with adequate models in the first
four steps, the lack of significant decline in fit between the media-
tion model relative to the full model provides the final basis for
inferring mediation. As shown in Table 2, when compared to
the full model, the mediation model in step 5 showed no significant
decrement in model fit relative to the full model in step 4,
Δχ2(1) = 2.76, p = ns. This provides the basis for inferring media-
tion. As noted in Figure 1, the structural path between the predictor
and outcome, family warmth to friendship quality, declined from
a robust significant effect in Model 1, β = .50, p < .001, to non-
significance in the full model, Model 4, β = .09, p = ns. In sum-
mary, self-perceptions and interpersonal competence mediated
the relationship between family warmth and friendship quality.
This finding confirms the second hypothesis of the study and sup-
ports the underlying theory.
Partial model tests
In addition to the twin mediators of self-perception and interper-
sonal competence as advanced by the theory (Rohner, 1986), we

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 The Educational and Developmental Psychologist
also examined each mediator separately for evidence of partial
mediation. With self-perception as the sole mediator, the full
model remained a significantly better fit to the data compared
to the single mediator model, Δχ2(1) = 5.83, p < .05. Similarly,
for interpersonal competence, the full model also proved to be a
better fit than the single mediator model, Δχ2(1) = 12.05,
p < .01. Although neither mediator independently evidenced com-
plete mediation, each remained a partial mediator. Compared to
the direct effect between family warmth and friendship quality,
β = .50, the effect reduced to β = .14, with self-perception as a
mediator. Similarly, the direct effect reduced when interpersonal
competence was added to the model, β = .21. In summary, both
self-perceptions and friendship quality played partial mediating
roles, and jointly, they fully mediated the relationship between
family warmth and friendship quality.
Discussion
The findings confirm two hypotheses: (a) warmth in the family of
origin relates to friendship quality during emerging adulthood, and
(b) self-perceptions and interpersonal competence together medi-
ate the link between family warmth and friendship quality. Overall,
these study findings add specificity to the tenets of IPARTheory
(Rohner, 2016), extend knowledge about emerging adulthood,
and imply strategies for enhancing friendship quality.
The findings add further evidence to the foundational tenant of
IPARTheory (Rohner, 2016) and advance key mechanisms that
link warmth and psychological adjustment. Regarding the central-
ity of parental warmth for psychological adjustment, the findings
associate warmth with three important indicators in the lives of
emerging adults: self-perceptions, interpersonal competence, and
friendship quality. The findings further extend IPARTheory by
implicating two overall dispositions that mediate the effects of
family warmth in emerging adulthood. The internal disposition
of self-perception and the behaviours of interpersonal competence
join an expanding list of dispositional and behavioural implica-
tions advanced in IPARTheory (Khaleque & Rohner, 2012;
Rohner & Khaleque, 2010).
Besides these theoretical contributions, the findings here extend
knowledge about development during emerging adulthood.
Warmth in the family of origin continues to play a key role in
emerging adulthood. As evidenced here, even beyond the adoles-
cent years, family warmth still shows important associations with
self-perceptions, interpersonal competence, and friendship quality.
Moreover, these family, personal, and friendship qualities have
continuing relevance for emerging adults in the areas of marriage
and parenthood. Characteristics such as resolved family relations,
positive self-perception and interpersonal competencies are
among criteria that most young adults view as necessary for
marriage (Carroll et al., 2009) and also reflect themes that predict
positive parenting in the family of creation (Lee et al., 2009).
In addition to contributing to theory and knowledge, the
current study findings have implications for educational and devel-
opmental psychologists because they suggest strategies for enhanc-
ing development during emerging adulthood. The mediation by
self-perception and interpersonal competence provides clues for
improving friendships in academic, work and community settings.
Emerging adults who experienced rejection or low warmth in the
family of origin, for example, retain the potential to change
self-perceptions and interpersonal competencies during emerging
adulthood. Prior research has documented that change in
self-perceptions does indeed occur during emerging adulthood
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79
(Chung et al., 2014) and that teaching interpersonal skills has
benefits for subsequent relationships (Licciardello, Harchick, &
Luiselli, 2008). Such changes are consistent with a view of self-
perception and interpersonal competence as not merely passive
outcomes, but as active processes undertaken by emerging adults.
Prior research with emerging adults supports the view that
feelings about oneself derive from a dynamic process involving
selective perception, active interpretation, and selective memory
(Tafarodi, Tam, & Milne, 2001). The active-processes view is also
implied in prior research showing that interpersonal competencies
in early adulthood buffered the effects of adverse family conditions
(Brown, Oudekerk, Szwedo, & Allen, 2013).
The contributions and findings from this study are constrained
by several limitations. First, the current sample is from a primarily
American residential student population. Emerging adults in other
living situations or other cultures may vary with respect to family
warmth. Prior research suggests that family is important for both
college student and worker samples (Crocetti & Meeus, 2014), but
the pattern of relations across constructs cannot be assumed for
non-residential or working samples. Second, because the data were
self-reported, the observed effect sizes may overestimate the under-
lying relationships. Nevertheless, the higher internal consistency
estimates observed in this study relative to earlier measures extend
the potential of these measures for use with young adults. Last,
theoretical tenets and time precedence support the logical sequence
of the variables, but the contemporaneous data collection pre-
cludes conclusions of causality.
Though focused on family and friendship contexts, the current
study shows potential for educational and developmental psychol-
ogists’ future research. Besides family, other contexts, such as edu-
cation, employment and voluntary organisations, could be
examined in relation to the mediators and outcomes. Moreover,
the prior evidence linking family of origin and romantic relation-
ships (Anderson et al., 2014; Seiffge-Krenke, Overbeek, &
Vermulst, 2010) implies the plausibility of testing these specific
mediators in the narrower, but salient field of romantic
relationships.
Overall, the current study findings suggest a process model for
further theory, research, and intervention. Family warmth gener-
ates an internal orientation for favourable self-schema and an out-
ward orientation toward interpersonal competence. Concurrently,
these internal and outward orientations provide a foundation for
developing high-quality friendships. These processes provide clues
for researchers, professionals, and organisations about ways to
enhance the lives of emerging adults.
Financial support. This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflicts of interest. None.
Ethical standards. The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this
work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional
committees on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of
1975, as revised in 2008.
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