Although many studies have examined the competencies associated with being well-liked by the peer group, far less is known about the competencies children need in order to make and maintain good quality friendships. This study addressed friendship tasks, investigating 5 of 10 previously hypothesized competencies necessary to make and maintain good friendships: managing disagreements, being a reliable partner, dealing with multiple friendships and issues of exclusivity, helping when a friend is in need, and maintaining reciprocity or a spirit of equality in the friendship. Fourth- and fifth-grade children were presented with 6 hypothetical situations representing each of the 5 tasks, for a total of 30 hypothetical situations. Children's strategies, or what children said they would do in response to each situation, were assessed, as were children's goals, or what they said they would be trying to accomplish. The research attempted to answer: (1) if there is a relation between the goals children endorse and the behavioral strategies they select; (2) whether the strategies and goals are predictive of their friendship adjustment; and (3) whether boys and girls differ in types of strategies and goals. Results showed that the goals children chose were consistently related to the strategies they chose, that none of the adopted strategies or goals predicted Positive Friendship Quality after accounting for gender and peer acceptance (but were predictive of how conflicting children were rated by their best friend), and that there were gender differences for 11 of the 12 strategies and goals, with girls endorsing the accommodating and compromising strategies and the relationship and moral goals more than boys. (Contains 33 references.) (EV)