Is friendship quality reflected in memory narratives?

The purpose of this study was to explore the link between friendship quality and content and structure of autobiographical narratives about friends. Gender differences were investigated as well. A total of 93 Italian undergraduates (51 males and 42 females) were asked to recall memories about their friends. Then, they were requested to write in detail one of their recalled memories. The Network of Relationships Inventory was used to measure the participants’ friendship dimensions. The results showed that males and females express their memories differently depending on the degree to which their friendship relationships are positive or negative. Authors interpret these results in terms of a mirror metaphor because linguistic characteristics of narratives about friends reflect qualitative features of their friendships.