Cross-sex Friendships Research Articles

Hooking Up and the “Ritual Retelling”: Gender Beliefs in Post-hookup Conversations with Same-sex and Cross-sex Friends

Most scholarship on hookup culture has focused on college students’ sexual activity and has overlooked the post-hookup “ritual retelling” as a subject of systematic research. This study examines the impact of gender beliefs regarding sexual activity, particularly the recreational and relational orientations of men and women, respectively, as well as the situational context, namely, the gender of their conversational partners. Results from a survey of college students (N = 470) reveal that men and women would be more likely to share a hypothetical hookup experience with same-sex than with cross-sex best friends. Moreover, women would be more likely than men to share relational rather than recreational details, though details vary by situational context. Results suggest that women’s ritual retellings generally reflect gender beliefs, but men switch between a recreational and a relational emphasis depending on the gender of their conversational partners. This suggests that women face greater constraints than men in expectations regarding sexual activities.

“A Boy Would Be Friends With Boys … and a Girl … With Girls”: Gender Norms in Early Adolescent Friendships in Egypt and Belgium

PurposeA gender analysis was conducted to illuminate the key elements of friendships highlighted by early adolescent girls and boys in two sites for the purpose of better understanding the impact of gender norms on adolescent friendships in different contexts. MethodsNarrative interviews with early adolescents were conducted in two sites: Assiut, Egypt (n = 37) and Ghent, Belgium (n = 30). The interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated into English, and coded using Atlas.ti for analysis. ResultsIn both Assiut and Ghent, early adolescents reported some similarities in defining key characteristics of their same-sex friends as well as in the activities they share. However, differences were noticed among boys and girls within each site. In addition, the scope of shared activity was broader in Ghent than in Assiut. In both sites, few opposite-sex friendships were reported. Gender norms influenced choice of friends as well as the type and place of shared activities. ConclusionsBuilding on knowledge that adolescent friendships guide and reinforce attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that impact immediate and long-term health, our findings indicate that gender norms inform early adolescent friendships, which may impact healthy development.

The Relationship Between Parental Mediation of Adolescent Media Use and Ugandan Adolescents' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

ABSTRACTIn sub-Saharan Africa, research about the role of media as an influence on adolescent sexual behavior has focused almost exclusively on the effects of health communication campaigns. Little research has explored the association between parents' attempts to guide their children's entertainment media intake, and adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors. The authors surveyed 360 Ugandan high school students regarding their parents' mediation of their media use; their attitudes about stereotypical gender roles in sexual relationships and casual sex; and their sexual behaviors. Co-using media with opposite sex friends was associated with higher endorsement of casual sex. Adolescents who reported their parents limited the amount of time they spent with media were less likely to report having ever had sex. However, both effects were smaller than the effects of relationship and demographic variables.

Sexual Conflict in Human Mating

Despite interdependent reproductive fates that favor cooperation, males and females exhibit many psychological and behavioral footprints of sexually antagonistic coevolution. These include strategies of deception, sexual exploitation, and sexual infidelity as well as anti-exploitation defenses such as commitment skepticism and emotions such as sexual regret and jealousy. Sexual conflict pervades the mating arena prior to sexual consummation, after a mating relationship has formed, and in the aftermath of a breakup. It also permeates many other social relationships in forms such as daughter-guarding, conflict in opposite-sex friendships, and workplace sexual harassment. As such, sexual conflict constitutes not a narrow or occasional flashpoint but rather persistent threads that run through our intensely group-living species.

The neural basis of human female mate copying: An empathy-based social learning process

Abstract We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural basis of human female mate copying. Consistent with previous mate copying effects, women's attractiveness ratings for target males increased significantly greater after the males were observed paired with romantic partners versus ordinary friends, and this was mainly accounted for by males being paired with attractive romantic partners. Attractiveness ratings for male targets were lower when they were paired with an attractive opposite-sex friend. The fMRI data showed that the observational learning process in mate copying recruited brain regions including the putamen, the inferior frontal gyrus, the middle cingulate, the SMA, the insula, and the thalamus – areas overlapped with brain regions involved in empathy. The blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals in higher cognitive functions including the parieto-frontal network, as well as visual areas, were significantly more activated when women evaluated males in the friend versus romantic-partner context, whereas brain regions were not more active in the reverse comparison, suggesting that less cognitive functions or as least no more functions were involved in evaluating the quality of target males in the romantic-partner context than in the friend context. Further analysis indicated that specific brain regions related to the evaluation process of mate copying were associated with bilateral fusiform gyrus (FFA). Thus, results are consistent with a view that mate copying is a domain-specific adaptation involving an empathy-based social-learning process that is also associated with reduced cognition.

Who Are Those Youths Who Consider Themselves as Unpopular?

Purpose: To examine the characteristics of adolescents and young adults (AYA) who perceive themselves as unpopular with peers from the same-sex, opposite-sex, or both. Methods: We used the baseline wave (2014-15; N¼5179) of the Generation FRee longitudinal study, gathering a cantonal representative sample of in-school 15-24 year-olds. The web-based in school administered questionnaire included the 2 items “Among same-sex/opposite-sex peers, I am very popular” (yes/no). Respondents were divided into 4 groups: Those who perceived themselves as popular with same-sex and opposite-sex peers (POP; N¼3’164, 61.09%); as unpopular with same-sex and opposite-sex peers (UNPOP; N¼1’228, 23.71%); as unpopular with same-sex peers only (UNPOPSame; N¼284, 5.48%), and as unpopular with opposite-sex peers only (UNPOPOther; N¼503, 9.72%). At the bivariate level, groups were compared on sociodemographic data, making same-sex and opposite-sex friends easily, emotional well-being, school performance and track, and substance use (current smoking, past 30-days e-cigarette, cannabis, and alcohol misuse, and other illegal drug use ever). All significant variables (p<.05) were included in a multinomial logistic regression using POP as the reference category. Data are presented as Relative Risk Ratios (RRR) with 95% confidence intervals.

Adolescent Weight Status: Associations With Structural and Functional Dimensions of Social Relations

PurposeTo examine the associations between weight status and structural and functional dimensions of social relations among 11- to 15-year-old girls and boys. MethodsAnalyses were based on cross-sectional data from the Danish contribution to the international Health Behavior in School-aged Children study 2010. The study population (n = 4,922) included students in the fifth, seventh, and ninth grade from a representative sample of Danish schools. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to study the associations between weight status and social relations, supported by a conceptual framework for the study of social relations. ResultsAmong girls, overweight/obese weight status was associated with spending less time with friends after school compared to normal-weight status (0 days/week: odds ratio: 6.25, 95% confidence interval: 2.18–17.95, 1 day/week: 2.81, 1.02–7.77, 2 days/week: 3.27, 1.25–8.56, 3 days/week: 3.32, 1.28–8.61, and 4 days/week: 3.23, 1.17–8.92, respectively vs. 5 days/week). Among girls, overweight/obese weight status was associated with being bullied (2.62, 1.55–4.43). Among boys, overweight/obese weight status was associated with infrequent (1 to 2 days vs. every day) communication with friends through cellphones, SMS messages, or Internet (1.66, 1.03–2.67). In the full population, overweight/obese weight status was associated with not perceiving best friend as a confidant (1.59, 1.11–2.28). No associations were found between weight status and number of close same-sex and opposite-sex friends, mother/father as confidant, and perceived classmate acceptance. ConclusionsThis study shows that overweight/obese adolescents have higher odds of numerous poor social relations than their normal-weight peers both in terms of structural and functional dimensions of social relations.

Observer influences on pain: an experimental series examining same-sex and opposite-sex friends, strangers, and romantic partners

Despite the well-documented sex and gender differences, little is known about the relative impact of male-female social interactions on pain. Three experiments were conducted to investigate whether the type of interpersonal relationship men and women have with an observer affects how they respond to experimental pain. Study 1 recruited friends and strangers, study 2 examined the effects of same- and opposite-sex friends, whereas study 3 investigated the differences between opposite-sex friends and opposite-sex romantic partners. One hundred forty-four dyads were recruited (48 in each study). One person from each dyad completed 2 pain tasks, whereas the other person observed in silence. Overall, the presence of another person resulted in an increase in pain threshold and tolerance on the cold-pressor task and algometer. The sex status of the dyads also had a role, but only within the friendship groups. In particular, male friends had the most pronounced effect on men's pain, increasing pain tolerance. We suggest that the presence of an observer, their sex, and the nature of the participant-observer relationship all influence how pain is reported. Further research should focus on dyadic relationships, and their influence on how men and women report and communicate pain in specific contexts.

“He’s Like a Brother”: The Social Construction of Satisfying Cross-Sex Friendship Roles

Unlike most forms of relating, cross-sex friendships do not inherit pre-established social roles that influence norms and form expectations. Instead, members of cross-sex friendships must construct an understanding of their relationship and find the language with which to explain it to others. This study identifies the role(s) commonly created or adopted for cross-sex friendship and determines which constructs of cross-sex friendship are correlated with relational satisfaction. Study 1 used in-depth interviews (N = 40) and qualitative analysis to discover roles with which cross-sex friends identify. Study 2 utilized a close-ended questionnaire (N = 206) to assess the relative frequency of the role types, whether men and women differed in their role selection, and whether role type is related to relational satisfaction. Both samples consisted of college students in the western United States. Results indicate that women most commonly construct their male–female friendship as a sibling relationship, and men most frequently label their relationship “just friends,” and both of these ways of constructing the relationship are related to a high level of friendship satisfaction. Participants who described their friendship as a romantic relationship had a significantly lower level of friendship satisfaction. The implication of these results for understanding the social construction of cross-sex friendship is discussed.

My Friends Are My Estate: Friendship Experiences Mediate the Relationship Between Perceived Responses to Capitalization Attempts and Happiness

Emerging adults share the positive events in their lives with their friends, a process that is related to higher levels of happiness when they perceive their friends’ responses as more positive and less negative. What might explain this association? The four studies (N = 2997) in this research tested the proposal that positive friendship experiences mediate the relationship between perceived responses to capitalization attempts (PRCA) and happiness. Study 1 showed that same-sex friendship quality mediated the relationship between PRCA and happiness. Study 2 supported the model for cross-sex friendships. Study 3 tested the generalizability of the model for the immediate social network of emerging adults and showed that the model was only applicable to best friendships. Study 4 documented that satisfaction of basic psychological needs in a same-sex friendship was another mediator of the PRCA-happiness link. Although the friendship experiences and PRCA scores of women were higher compared to men in every study, the associations of PRCA with friendship experiences and happiness were generally similar and the model was supported for both men and women. The implications of the findings were discussed and suggestions for future research were provided.

Projection of Romantic and Sexual Desire in Opposite-Sex Friendships

In two studies, the authors examined the projection of romantic and sexual desire in opposite-sex friendships. In both studies, perceivers who strongly desired their friends projected this desire onto their friends, believing that their desire was more reciprocated than was actually the case. In turn, projection of desire appeared to motivate perceivers into enacting relationship initiation behaviors, which predicted changes in targets' romantic and sexual desires over time (Study 2). Projection was elevated for perceivers who saw themselves as high in mate value, and targets appeared to be influenced by perceivers' overtures primarily when they believed perceivers were high in mate value. This research suggests that, for perceivers high in mate value, romantic and sexual desire creates biased perceptions that initiate self-fulfilling prophecies.

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 (Mage = 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.

Sex Differences in Young Adults’ Attraction to Opposite-Sex Friends: Natural Sampling versus Mental Concepts

When young adults are asked to either think of an opposite-sex friend or bring an opposite-sex friend to the lab, men report much more attraction to their friend than women do (Bleske-Rechek et al. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 29: 569–596, 2012; Kaplan and Keys Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14: 191–206, 1997). In two studies, we utilized a naturalistic sampling strategy to obtain our friendship dyads. We approached and surveyed male-female dyads who were lounging at a university student center and found that the mean difference between male and female friends’ attraction to one another was weak and statistically unreliable. We speculated that the opposite-sex friends that men and women find themselves with in their everyday life might be different from the opposite-sex friends who come to mind when asked by researchers to think of their friends. Men’s and women’s mating adaptations, which differ particularly in attention to attractiveness and proclivity toward short-term sex, might be reflected in how men and women conceptualize opposite-sex friends; hence, previous studies may have documented a stronger sex difference in attraction because men and women in those samples had different types of people in mind when they thought about opposite-sex friends. To test that possibility, we asked young adults to “think of an opposite-sex friend” and then choose descriptors for that person. Men less often than women characterized the person as “a friend” and more often than women characterized the person as someone they were “attracted to.” We conclude that men’s and women’s everyday experiences with opposite-sex friends differ from their mental conceptions of opposite-sex friends.

Staying friends with an ex: Sex and dark personality traits predict motivations for post-relationship friendship

Compared to motivations for cross-sex friendship, little research has examined motivations for friendship between ex-partners after romantic relationship dissolution (i.e., post-relationship friendship; PRF). In Study 1, participants (N=348) act nominated reasons for why someone might remain friends with an ex-partner. In Study 2, participants (N=513) rated the importance of staying friends with an ex-partner for each reason given in Study 1 and completed the PID-5-BF and HEXACO to measure domains of clinically relevant and non-pathological personality. Principle component analysis identified seven categories of reasons for staying friends. Reasons that indicated that an ex-partner is reliable, trustworthy, and of sentimental value (i.e., reliability/sentimentality) were given the highest importance ratings whereas reasons that indicated that continued friendship was practical (i.e., pragmatism) were given the lowest ratings. Men rated pragmatism and sexual access reasons as more important than women did. Furthermore, antagonism scores on the PID-5-BF, and the Honesty–Humility and extraversion scores on the HEXACO predicted importance ratings for pragmatism and sexual access. Our findings are consistent with previous research and suggest that PRF may provide opportunity for ex-partners to exchange desirable resources (e.g., love, status, information, money, sex) after romantic relationship dissolution.

Parental mediation of adolescent media use and demographic factors as predictors of Kenyan high school students’ exposure to sexual content in television

Research in Western nations suggests that parents’ involvement in their children's media use can make a difference in how adolescents select, process and respond to sexual television messages. Little or no published research has investigated this issue in sub-Saharan Africa, even though adolescents and young adults remain among the groups at highest risk for HIV transmission. This study investigated the relationship between Kenyan adolescents’ level of exposure to sexual television content and their parents’ mediation of their television use. A cluster sample of 427 Nairobi public high school students was surveyed regarding parental mediation of their media use and their intake of sexual television content. Co-viewing with opposite sex friends was associated with higher intake of sexual TV content. This relationship was stronger among boarding school students than among day school students. Parental mediation and co-viewing variables predicted three times as much variance among boarding than among day school students.

Human Mate Poaching Tactics Are Effective

Mate poaching refers to efforts to attract people who are already involved in committed relationships. The current dyadic, 5-week prospective study examined mate poaching behaviors in the context of opposite-sex friendships. Actors’ mate poaching behaviors predicted decreases in their friend’s commitment to their romantic partners, increases in their friend’s perceptions of actors’ mate value, and increases in their friend’s romantic desire for actors over time. These results are the first to suggest an interpersonal process in which mate poaching behaviors elicit psychological changes in targets that facilitate actors’ mate poaching goals. Furthermore, these results are the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of mate poaching tactics in friendships.

Analysis of university students' assertiveness level

This research aims to present university students’ assertiveness level and analyze whether the assertiveness level indicates significant difference in terms of participants’’ sociodemographic characteristics. The descriptive research conducted in Bingol University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences covers 400 students. For data collection, questions to determine sociodemographic characteristics and Voltan Turkish Adaptations of “Rathus Assertiveness Scale”, which was originally developed by Rathus were used. The data acquired was analyzed with SPSS 22.0 package program and statistical comparison of the data was evaluated by using Independent T-Test, Mann Whitney-U, One-Way ANOVA, and Tukey Post-Hoc Tests. Consequently, it was found that 63,2% of the students were assertive and ones who had a opposite sex friend and ones who had higher family income were more assertive than ones who hadn’t.

Jules Vallès and Séverine: Romantic Socialism and the Afterlife of a Cross-Sex Friendship in French Political Culture, 1880–1929

Jules Vallès and Séverine: Romantic Socialism and the Afterlife of a Cross-Sex Friendship in French Political Culture, 1880–1929

We could never be friends: Representing cross-sex friendship on celebrity gossip web sites.

We could never be friends: Representing cross-sex friendship on celebrity gossip web sites.

Intimacy as freedom

Friendship arguably offers itself as the freest of all human associations. A weakness of cultural prescription opens a terrain in which intimacy can be lived in a trust relationship that personifies equality, justice and respect. Friendship’s ‘relational freedom’ enables the mutual development of selves; it is generative. Therein lies ‘the beauty of friendship’, as Agnes Heller has reminded us. But the freedom of intimacy is limited. Embedded in a society that attributes different repertoires of intimacy to women and men and privileges male homosociality, friendship’s freedom is curtailed. Especially cross-sex friendships continue to show evidence of persisting tensions. ‘Erotic friendships’ that seek to realize sexual intimacy but eschew the commitments of coupledom continue to face normative-practical challenges. In this paper, I view central aspects of heterosexual intimacy through the small world of intimate friendship, a prism that refracts gendered tensions in the world at large.