Factor Structure and Criterion Validity of the 15-item Network Relationship Inventory-Social Provisions Version (NRI-SPV-15) in Chinese Children and Adolescents

Friendship quality is closely associated with mental health of children and adolescents, making its assessment crucially important for monitoring healthy development. While the Network Relationship Inventory-Social Provisions Version (NRI-SPV) is a well-established instrument to assess quality of interpersonal relationships, its psychometric properties have been tested mainly in Western cultures. Considering the specificity of friendship as compared to interpersonal relationships in a broader sense, and the understanding towards friendship may vary across cultural contexts, this study examined the psychometric properties of a 15-item NRI-SPV (NRI-SPV-15) among 2,111 Chinese children and adolescents (1,125 boys and 986 girls; aged 8 to 17 years). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a hierarchical model. The model encompasses four first-order factors—companionship, intimacy, instrumental aid, and affection—that load onto a second-order factor of friendship support presenting positive interactions; besides, a separate friendship conflict factor captures negative interactions in friendship. The instrument demonstrated strong measurement invariances across genders and developmental stages (childhood vs. adolescence), as well as satisfactory reliability and validity evidenced by internal consistency and criterion validity indexed as significant prediction on children and adolescent school engagement. Consequently, the NRI-SPV-15 emerges as a valid self-report measure for assessing perceived friendship quality among Chinese youth, offering a valuable tool for monitoring healthy child and adolescent development.