Personality traits, self-efficacy, and friendship establishment: Group characteristics and network clustering of college students’ friendships

Friendship establishment was analyzed using constructs from social cognitive theory (self-efficacy and personality traits) and social network theory (reciprocity and triad closure). In further studies, we investigated the effect of personality traits, interpersonal self-efficacy, and network structure on the establishment of friendships. In this study, we used social network analysis method and exponential random graph model (ERGM). The following findings are reported. First, the friendship network of college students had small group characteristics, and the formation of this small group was more based on personality complementarity than similarity. The homogeneity hypothesis of personality was not tenable. Secondly, individuals with dominance or influence personality traits and high interpersonal self-efficacy were more likely to be in the center of the friendship network. Furthermore, personality traits and interpersonal self-efficacy may have interactive effects on the formation of friendship networks. Popularity and activity effects existed in friendship networks, but the reciprocal relationship based on personality traits was not verified. The balance structure can easily explain the agglomeration of friendships in a small range, indicating that small groups of friendships prefer a two-way circular close relationship. Finally, the formation of a friendship network includes the comprehensive process of individual characteristics and endogenous tie formation, which helps us to understand the social population structure and its process over a wider range.