Youth and friendship: A qualitative study on rules, boundaries and violations

The aim of the study is to explore the rules in young people's friendships and the problems that arise from rule violations. The study examines the meanings young people attribute to friendship, their expectations from friendships, the rules they adhere to, the boundaries they set, and their attitudes toward boundary and rule violations while maintaining friendships. Friendships are relationships built on reciprocity and grounded in trust and sincerity. Young people often spend more time with their friends during their socialization processes, making their social relationships significant in this context. The study was designed as a qualitative study and employed a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 participants selected using the criterion sampling technique. The findings revealed that young people base their friendship boundaries on fundamental values such as privacy, respect, loyalty, and personal space, while rule violations lead to a loss of trust and emotional tension.