Making Friends and Dating (MFAD) Study, 2019

The Making Friends and Dating Study enrolled 149 young adult participants as they arrived as new students on a college campus in the United States, then followed up with them over their first semester as their social lives developed. To be eligible to participate, students had to be spending their first year on the target college’s campus (i.e., true first-years and first-year transfers were eligible), as well as willing and open to making new friends and interested in going on dates. Of the 149 students who enrolled, 143 participants attended the mandatory in-lab session and advanced to participate in the full, semester-long study.
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At the in-lab session, completed in the first few weeks of the semester, participants completed a self-report survey, assessing individual characteristics, well-being, relationship orientations (including perceptions of caregiver/parental relationship), and health (behavior and symptoms), and sat for a five-minute resting baseline during which ECG and respiration was collected (via MindWare). They also received in-depth instructions about the procedure for the rest of the study.
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Specifically, for the rest of the semester, when out living their lives, if a participant had a meaningful, in-person social interaction with someone whom they felt there was potential for friendship or romance, they completed a brief online questionnaire, or Social Interaction Tracker (SIT, N=591 total SITs). Among other questions, the SIT assessed features of the interaction, such as location, time spent together, and whether other people were present; it also assessed interaction quality, such as enjoyment, initial evaluations of their new potential friend/romantic interest, and positive interpersonal behaviors they and the other person engaged in during the interaction (e.g., shared laughter, capitalization). Completing an initial SIT automatically activated two brief follow-up reports on that new potential relationship about any subsequent interactions; these follow-ups were sent three days and one week later.
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At the end of the semester, a final follow-up or exit survey was administered (N=84 complete). This measured participant’s social network index, mental and physical well-being, stress, and a final update on the new relationships they formed (e.g., relationship status, quality).
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UNC IRB approval number: 19-1864