Differential effects of maternal- and paternal-adolescent attachments on friendship security and intimacy

The present study examined the differential contributions of adolescent-reported maternal and paternal attachment anxiety and avoidance on friendship security and intimacy. Participants were 776 Canadian adolescents between the ages of 13 and 19 years (M = 15.18, SD = 1.58) who provided ratings of their perceived attachment avoidance and anxiety towards their mothers and fathers and responded to measures of friendship security and intimacy. Findings showed that maternal and paternal attachment avoidance and not anxiety negatively predicted friendship security. Moreover, maternal attachment avoidance was negatively associated with friendship intimacy. Multigroup analyses showed that security was negatively predicted by maternal anxious attachment for junior high school boys and girls. Additionally, paternal avoidant attachment was negatively associated with friendship intimacy for junior high school boys and girls. These findings highlight the unique effects associated with maternal and paternal attachment on specific friendship features and underscore the importance of the role of fathers in adolescence.     

What's the Buzz? Undercover Marketing and the Corruption of Friendship1

abstract Undercover marketing targets potential customers by concealing the commercial nature of an apparently social transaction. In a typical case an individual approaches a marketing target apparently to provide some information or advice about a product in a way that makes it seem like they are a fellow consumer. In another kind of case, a friend displays a product to you, and encourages its purchase, but fails to disclose their association with the marketing firm. We focus on this second type of case and argue that the constitutive dispositions of friendship that provide for the development and maintenance of intimacy also render friends especially vulnerable to undercover marketing techniques and so to the exploitation of friendship for commercial ends. We show how this is corrupting both of the friendship and the commercial agent.     

Friendship Intimacy Exchange Buffers the Relation between ADHD Symptoms and Later Social Problems among Children Attending an After-School Care Program

The friendships of children displaying symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been understudied, particularly in comparison to the domain of peer rejection. This study tested whether friendship intimacy exchange buffers the prospective relation between ADHD symptoms and social problems 1 year later in a sample of children attending a community-based after-school program. Children (N?=?131; 53 % boys; 66 % African American) ranging from 5 to 13 years of age participated in this study. At baseline, children reported on friendship intimacy exchange with their identified best friend, and program staff rated children on ADHD symptoms and social problems. Staff ratings of children’s social problems were collected again 1 year later. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for demographic variables and baseline social problems, friendship intimacy exchange significantly moderated the association between ADHD symptoms and social problems at the one-year follow-up. Specifically, the relation between ADHD and social problems was no longer significant for children reporting high levels of friendship intimacy exchange. This moderation was not further qualified by either child age or sex, although boys were more likely than girls to report low rates of friendship intimacy exchange. These findings indicate the importance of friendship intimacy for children displaying ADHD symptoms, who often experience significant peer problems. Friendship quality may be a promising target for prevention and intervention efforts in mitigating some of the long-term social problems associated with ADHD symptomatology, and future research is needed to extend these findings to other domains of friendship quality and clinical samples of children with ADHD.     

Attachment style and intimacy in friendship

Two studies with college students tested the hypothesis that a secure attachment style enhances intimacy in friendship. Three intimacy characteristics were studied: self‐disclosure; responsiveness to a partner's disclosure; and feeling understood, validated, and cared for by a partner during conversations. In Study 1, individuals with a secure attachment style were higher on all three intimacy characteristics In Study 2, a lab‐based assessment of intimacy revealed some relations between attachment and intimacy, providing mixed support for the hypothesis. Both studies found gender differences in intimacy characteristics The findings provide a starting point for a model accounting for individual differences in friendship.     

Developmental Trajectories of Perceived Friendship Intimacy,Constructive Problem Solving,and Depression from Early to Late Adolescence

This study examined friendship types in developmental trajectories of perceived closeness and balanced relatedness. In addition, differences between friendship types in the development of constructive problem solving and depression were examined. Questionnaire data of five annual waves were used from two adolescent cohorts (cohort 1: M = 12.41 years; cohort 2: M = 16.37 years). Growth Mixture Modeling revealed two developmental trajectories in cognitive representations of perceived friendship intimacy: interdependent and disengaged friendships. Adolescents in interdependent friendships were characterized by high perceived closeness and balanced relatedness across adolescence. Furthermore, adolescents in disengaged friendships had lower levels of and smaller increases in constructive problem solving. Girls in disengaged friendships showed smaller increases in balanced relatedness and higher levels of depression than boys in disengaged friendships and adolescents in interdependent friendships.     

Predicting Generative Concern in Young Adulthood from Narrative Intimacy: A 5-Year Follow-Up

According to Erikson’s developmental model, achieving intimacy in young adulthood should predict higher levels of generativity later in life. This mixed quantitative and qualitative, longitudinal study examined the relationship between generative concern and intimacy in young adulthood (from ages 26–32). Participants (N = 147; 69 % female; 74.1 % college educated) told a narrative about a “relationship defining moment” with a same-sex friend, and completed self-report questionnaires of optimism and generative concern at ages 26 and 32. Optimism and generative concern had strong stability over time, while friendship intimacy did not exhibit test–retest stability. Most participants (88.6 %) disclosed a different story at each time point, which contributed to the lack of rank-order stability for friendship intimacy in the present study. Friendship intimacy was positively correlated with age 26 and age 32 generative concern. Both sex and optimism predicted longitudinal increases in generative concern over 5 years, with women and people higher in optimism seeing larger increases. Friendship intimacy coded from narratives at 26 predicted (p = .052) increases in generative concern at 32. The present study extended prior research by examining the relationship between intimacy and generative concern as people develop from emerging to young adulthood. Following Erikson, developing close relationships with others, exhibiting an optimistic outlook on life, and being female appear to facilitate greater generative concern in young adults.     

A prototype matching model of satisfaction in same‐sex friendships

The hypothesis that people experience greater friendship satisfaction when their friendship matches the prototype of intimacy interactions was tested. Consistent with this hypothesis, both women and men reported the greatest satisfaction when their “real‐world” friendship matched the prototype of intimacy interactions. This relation was even stronger when the friendship matched prototypical intimacy interaction patterns (e.g., self‐disclosure) than when it matched nonprototypical patterns (e.g., practical support). Thus, there is evidence that people rely on relational knowledge—in this case, complex knowledge of patterns of relating—when evaluating the quality of their friendships.     

初中生的社会比较对认知与情感信任的影响

本研究旨在探讨不同友谊状态下,初中生的社会比较对认知与情感信任的影响,及两种信任在社会比较与亲密度变化关系中的中介作用。有效被试为522名(M=12.87岁, SD=0.67),开学初让被试提名一位最亲密朋友,期中考试后让其比较与该好友的成绩排名并评价对好友的认知与情感信任水平,随后重新评价该好友的亲密度。结果表明:在亲密朋友(第二次依旧为最亲密的朋友)中,向下比较的情感信任高于向上比较,社会比较不影响认知信任;在普通朋友(第二次亲密度降低的朋友)中,向上比较的认知和情感信任均高于向下比较;社会比较只通过认知信任影响亲密度变化(完全中介),即相比于向下比较,向上比较时的认知信任水平较高,从而更有利于维持友谊的亲密性。     

Androgyny and Adjustment in Later Life: Living in a Veterans' Home

This study builds on literature that suggests that interaction with friends in later life is important to the well-being of older adults and other research that argues that androgynous individuals may have a greater range of social skills with which to further their adjustment. We apply these arguments to later life through interviews from a pilot sample of 27 residents in a state-operated veterans' home. Findings suggest that women, who often hold high expectations for the interpersonal domain, are more likely to experience adjustment problems than are men. Men, who may have lower expectations for friendship and intimacy, seem less likely to report dissatisfaction, regardless of gender characteristics. A typology of adjustment and androgyny in later life is developed.     

Intimacy in young adults' narratives of romance and friendship predicts Eriksonian generativity: a mixed method analysis

A quantitative and qualitative study tested Erikson's ego developmental hypotheses regarding the positive relationship between generativity and intimacy. At age 26, participants (N = 100) told 2 stories about "relationship-defining moments," one about a romantic partner, and another about a same-sex friend. Levels of relationship intimacy were coded from these narratives. "True love" and "true friendship" themes arose as the most prototypical, highly intimate stories. Romantic intimacy and friendship intimacy as coded from narratives each contributed uniquely to the prediction of generative concern; as intimacy in each domain increased, so did generative concern. This relationship remained statistically significant, even when controlling for gender, current romantic relationship status, subjective well-being, optimism, and depressive symptoms. Results suggest that our "relationship-defining moment" narrative task is a useful tool for examining development in emerging adulthood and that intimacy may be an important precursor to generative concern in early adulthood, consistent with Erikson's model.     

Friendship and Reasons of Intimacy

Reasons of intimacy, i.e. reasons to care for friends and other intimates, resist categorization as either subjective Humean reasons or as objective consequentialist reasons. Reasons of intimacy are grounded in the friendship relation itself. not in the psychological attitudes of the agent or in the objective intrinsic value of the friend or the friendship. So reasons of intimacy are objective and agent-relative and can be understood by analogy with reasons of fidelity and reasons of prudence. Such an analogy can help us to understand which objective agent-relative reasons we have and which, such as deontological constraints, we do not have.     

Gender,masculinity-femininity,and emotional intimacy in same-sex friendship

Using multiple regression techniques, this research examines the relationship of gender and of masculinity— femininity to self-reported emotional intimacy in same-sex friendship among male and female college students, a segment of the population for which friendship is thought to be of particular salience. Findings indicate that, as hypothesized, males report significantly lower levels of emotional intimacy in same-sex friendship than do females. Masculinity, defined in terms of instrumental qualities, has little effect on the degree of reported intimacy, while femininity, defined in terms of expressive qualities, is positively associated with intimate friendship. Findings for differences among individuals classified on combinations of masculinity and femininity are also presented. Results are interpreted in view of sex-role expectations which appear to prohibit displays of emotional vulnerability among men.The author wishes to thank Frank Bean for his many contributions to the research on which this paper is based. Appreciation is also extended to Susan Marshall for comments on an early draft.     

Growing at the Hyphen: Female Friendships and Social Context

Although the psychological literature has focused more on immigrant women's roles in their families, women's friendships are important sources of support and identity development. This article explores the development of friendship in the context of immigration, cultural adaptation, becoming a template for identity and intimacy. Specifically, the author describes a personal friendship and a psychotherapy case vignette, integrating feminist, multicultural, and relational psychoanalytic perspectives, to illustrate the influence of female friendship in coping with loss, acculturative stress, discrimination, and the formation of bicultural identity. These examples highlight the ways in which personal friendships of the therapist and the client contribute to the psychotherapeutic relationship, growth in intimacy and authenticity, and the negotiation of a hyphenated identity.     

Male Emotional Intimacy: How Therapeutic Men's Groups Can Enhance Couples Therapy

Men's difficulty with emotional intimacy is a problem that therapists regularly encounter in working with heterosexual couples in therapy. The first part of this article describes historical and cultural factors that contribute to this dilemma in men's marriages and same-sex friendships. Therapeutic men's groups can provide a corrective experience for men, helping them to develop emotional intimacy skills while augmenting their work in couples therapy. A model for such groups is presented, including guidelines for referral, screening, and collaboration with other therapists. Our therapeutic approach encourages relationship-based learning through direct emotional expression and supportive feedback. We emphasize the development of friendship skills , core attributes of friendship ( connection, communication, commitment, and cooperation ) that contribute to emotional intimacy in men's relationships. Case examples are included to illustrate how this model works in clinical practice, as well as specific suggestions for further study that could lead to a more evidence-based practice.     

Intimacy expectations in same-sex friendships: a prototype interaction-pattern model

A prototype interaction-pattern model of intimacy expectations was proposed. The central tenet of this model was that people develop knowledge of the patterns of relating that are likely to produce intimacy in a same-sex friendship. Further, it was posited that these interaction patterns are structured as prototypes, such that some patterns of relating are regarded as more likely to create a sense of intimacy than others. Support for this model was found in 6 studies. Interaction patterns depicting self-disclosure, emotional support, and the like were considered more prototypical of intimacy expectations than patterns depicting shared activities and practical support. Regarding gender, women rated intimacy interaction patterns higher than did men, particularly prototypical patterns. However, women and men agreed that prototypical interaction patterns were more indicative of intimacy in a friendship than nonprototypical patterns. Implications for the controversy over whether women's friendships are more intimate than men's are discussed.     

Gender and friendship: Why are men's best same‐sex friendships less intimate and supportive?

Despite efforts to dismiss it, the finding that men's same‐sex friendships are less intimate and supportive than women's is robust and widely documented. We tested six possible explanations for this finding: lack of parental models for friendship, emotional restraint, homophobia, masculine self‐identity, competitive strivings, and role conflicts. Of these, emotional restraint and homophobia toward gay men provided the most explanatory power for gender effects on both intimacy and support in best friendships. Masculine self‐identity mediated the relationship between gender and intimate–but not supportive–friendship; and having a same‐sex parent with close friendships mediated the relationship between gender and supportive–but not intimate–friendship. Unexpected findings about the importance of a status orientation toward friendship suggest that researchers should abandon the male‐deficit model of friendship in favor of studying the reasons why some men and women seek close same‐sex friendships.     

Sex differences in same-sex friendship

Two studies examined sex differences in the same-sex friendships of college men and women. In a questionnaire study, self-reports were obtained of number of friends and frequency of interaction, typical and preferred kinds of interactions with friends, and emotional intimacy. A role-play study provided more direct information about conversations between friends. Men and women did not differ in quantitative aspects of friendship such as number of friends or amount of time spent with friends, nor in the value placed on intimate friendships. However, clear sex differences were found in both studies in the nature of interactions with friends. Women showed emphasis on emotional sharing and talking; men emphasized activities and doing things together. Results are discussed in terms of life-cycle constraints on friendship, and the possibility of sex differences in standards for assessing intimacy in friendship is considered.The authors express their appreciation to Jacqueline Goodchilds and Marianne Senko for assistance in designing and conducting the role-play study, and to Joseph Pleck for his helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.     

Friendship,Depression, and Suicide Attempts in Adults: Exploratory Analysis of a Longitudinal Follow‐Up Study

Social support is thought to protect against the risk of suicidal behavior in young people and late life, but less is known about the role of friendship in adults. We explored the effect of friendship on suicide attempt risk during 1‐year follow‐up of 132 adults presenting with major depressive episode (MDE). Items from the Social Adjustment Scale–Self‐Report were used as an index of frequency and quality of recent friendship contacts. Survival methods tested associations of friendship with risk of suicide attempt, recurrent MDE, and related outcomes during follow‐up. Impaired friendship predicted greater risk of suicide attempt in an unadjusted Cox model. This association was stronger for quality (p = .009) than frequency (p = .081) of friendship contacts. In the adjusted model, the effect of friendship on suicide attempts was largely explained by self‐reported depression severity. Friendship has a potentially bidirectional relationship with depression, and its effect on suicidal behavior appears to occur through its relationship with depression. Future research should examine the effect of antidepressant treatment on friendship and be designed to test mediation models of relationships between friendship, depression, and suicidal behavior.     

Friendships of Indonesian,South Korean,and U.S. college students

The friendships of college students in the United States (n= 61), Indonesia (n= 56), and South Korea (n= 35) were assessed to evaluate the H. C. Triandis, R. Bontempo, M. J. Villareal, M. Asai, and N. Lucca (1988) hypothesis that the friendships of individuals in collectivist cultures are more intimate and less extensive than those in individualistic cultures. Students rated the qualities of their friendships, reported the identity and characteristics of friends, and recorded details of their social interactions using the Rochester Interaction Inventory. The friendship characteristics of South Korean students were generally consistent with the H. C. Triandis et al. (1988) hypotheses, whereas those of the Indonesian students were not. It appears that friendships in some collectivist cultures, including Indonesia, display characteristics of extensive social contacts with others in conjunction with limited intimacy with specific individuals.     

When Empathy Matters: The Role of Sex and Empathy in Close Friendships

Based on prior theory and research (Ciarrochi & Heaven, 2009; Eagly & Wood, 1999), we hypothesized that the link between empathy and friendship would be moderated by sex: Girls will nominate empathic boys as friends, whereas boys will not tend to nominate empathic girls. We collected measures of empathy, friendship social support, and close friendship nominations in grade 10 across 1,970 students in 16 schools (M_age = 15.70, SD = .44; males = 993, females = 977). Multilevel models revealed that boys high in cognitive empathy attracted an average of 1.8 more girl friendship nominations than did their low empathy counterparts, whereas empathic girls did not attract a greater number of opposite‐sex friends. In addition, the more friendship nominations a boy received from either boys or girls, the more they felt supported by their friends; the number of friendship nominations received by girls, in contrast, had no effect on their felt support by friends. Regardless of the quantity of friendship nominations, empathy was linked to more supportive friendships for both males and females. These results inform a contextual understanding of the role of empathy in selecting and maintaining friendships.