Intergenerational contact is beneficial for both younger and older adults, but friendships that span across generations are uncommon. While this is partially due to situational factors, people's beliefs about the possibility of intergenerational friendship may also affect how they approach potential intergenerational interactions. In a sample of 209 students from a Canadian university, we validate the Beliefs in Intergenerational Friendship (BIGF) scale. Young adults were more likely to believe in intergenerational friendship if they had less ageist attitudes and if they were more conscientious, open, agreeable, and emotionally stable. Number of non-kin intergenerational social contacts (but not number of kin contacts) and closeness of an existing relationship with an older adult also predicted greater belief in intergenerational friendship. BIGF scores predicted willingness to regularly spend time with older adults and were a better predictor than either hostile or benevolent ageism. While not everyone believes that intergenerational friendships are possible, this novel scale may uniquely capture people's willingness to form relationships across generations.

代际接触对年轻人和老年人都有好处，但跨越代际的友谊并不常见。虽然这部分是由于情境因素造成的，但人们对代际友谊可能性的信念也可能会影响他们如何处理潜在的代际互动。我们以来自加拿大一所大学的 209 名学生为样本，验证了代际友谊信念 (BIGF) 量表。如果年轻人的年龄歧视态度较少，并且更加认真、开放、和蔼可亲且情绪稳定，他们就更有可能相信代际友谊。非亲属代际社会接触的数量（但不是亲属接触的数量）以及与老年人现有关系的亲密程度也预示着对代际友谊的更大信念。BIGF 分数可以预测定期与老年人共度时光的意愿，并且是比敌对或仁慈的年龄歧视更好的预测指标。虽然并非所有人都相信代际友谊是可能的，但这种新颖的量表可能独特地捕捉到人们建立跨代关系的意愿。