Friendly Type Research Articles

The Meanings of Close Friendship: the Views of Four People with Intellectual Disabilities

The present study examined the views of four people with intellectual disabilities (IDs) on the relationships in their lives which they described as close friendships. A participatory approach was adopted in this study, whereby the participants were seen as experts on their own close friendship experiences and the researchers as marshallers of this expertise. To this end, two in‐depth interviews were conducted with each participant. They shared their individual expertise on the close friendships in their lives. The participants delineated two distinctive types of close friendships: the ‘good mate’ and the girlfriend/boyfriend. The factors mediating each of these friendship types are discussed. Avenues for further research and consideration are given. These include the significance of friendships with people with IDs, intimate relationships, the impact of environmental factors on friendship enactment and friendships with older people who have IDs. Finally, the present paper argues for the value of adopting participatory approaches to research with people who have IDs.

Types of preschool friendships

AbstractThe present study used observational data on preschool friends and cluster analysis to derive friendship types. Friend pairs were videotaped in a 1‐hour free‐play session, and observers rated several qualities of the interaction. Cluster analysis suggested that both 3‐ and 5‐cluster solutions produced meaningful groupings. For both solutions, the largest cluster included friend pairs that were harmonious, responsive, and interactive during play. A second type of friendship was characterized by harmony but relatively independent play. A disjointed friendship type, in which friends were low on measures of coordinated interaction and positive interaction, was the most stable over a 1‐year period and tended to contain at least one insecurely attached child. Discussion focuses on how an analysis of friendship type can be used to extend our understanding of the nature and socialization functions of friendship.

Cross-Sex Friends Who were Once Romantic Partners: Are they Platonic Friends Now?

Relatively little is known about the relationships between exromantic partners. For example, is it possible for them to have a platonic friendship? The present study addresses this question by surveying both males and females who report having a cross-sex friend who was once a romantic partner and a cross-sex friend with whom there was never any romantic involvement. Both types of friendship are compared using rules of friendship, costs and benefits of friendship, romantic desires, and overall quality of the relationship. The results indicate a significant difference in the feelings towards each type of friend with more positive qualities associated with the platonic friend and more negative qualities, in addition to more romantic desires, associated with the ex-romantic partner friend. It is suggested that the relationship between ex- romantic partners is qualitatively different from a platonic cross-sex friendship.

Close and General Friendships among African American, Latino, and Asian American Adolescents from Low-Income Families

Responding to the lack of research on friendships among racial/ethnic minority adolescents, a study of friendships was conducted among 160 African American, Latino, and Asian American adolescents from low-income families. The goals of the study were to (a) assess gender and racial/ethnic differences in the characteristics and quality of close and general friendships, (b) examine the independent and combined influence of individual-level (i.e., psychological well-being) and contextual (i.e., family relationships and school climate) variables on the quality of close and general friendships, and (c) examine the moderating effect of gender and race/ethnicity on the associations between individual-level and contextual variables and the quality of close and general friendships. Findings indicated significant gender and racial/ethnic differences in the characteristics and quality of close and general friendships. Furthermore, the correlates of friendship quality differed across the type of friendship (i.e., close or general) and across gender, underscoring the importance of distinguishing types of friendships and examining the role of gender in friendships.

Understanding friendship: Young adults with Down syndrome exploring relationships

Having friends and being a friend defines us as human beings. Friends can play many roles in our lives, and without friends, life can become increasingly lonely. For young people, friends often take a counselling role in times of emotional stress, so loneliness or a life without friends who can understand the emotional contexts of friendships and "counsel" may affect a person's psychosocial quality of life. This paper describes a six session program that was designed to help a group of young adults with Down syndrome understand friendships better. The Down Syndrome Research Program LATCH-ON staff at the University of Queensland developed the program in conjunction with the Queensland Family Planning Association. During the sessions, the students explored and discussed various types of friendships and the emotions associated with them, using the students' own experiences and videos in conjunction with structured materials such as The Circle Concept (Smith, 1987) and Network Hand (Birch & Higgs, 1996). Some reflections from the authors' experiences with the program are provided. Future research directions are suggested.

The nature of the relationship between remarried individuals and former spouses and its impact on marital satisfaction.

The relationship with a former spouse and its impact on marital satisfaction were examined in a sample of 290 remarried individuals. There was little continued attachment and friendship with the former spouse; although infrequent, feelings of hostility were still more common than either friendship or continued attachment. The relationship with the former spouse was more positive among the more highly educated and among those who did not have children from the former marriage. Continued attachment to the former spouse was especially negatively related to current marital satisfaction. Wives' marital satisfaction was negatively related to their husbands' attachment, and wives had more objections to this type of attachment. Particularly among women, friendship with a former spouse was dependent on their husband's positive attitude toward this type of friendship. Women were likewise more dissatisfied with marriage the more problems their husbands had with the way they related to the former spouses.

Problems with friends in old age

Although many studies of friendship support exist, little information is available on friendship's negative dimensions. Guided by a conceptual framework encompassing structure, process, and phase elements of friendship patterns, we explored troublesome aspects of friendship in a probability sample of community residents, focusing on four types of problematic friendships. Data from in-depth interviews reveal that problems with friends stem from structural features internal to the dyad, factors external to the dyad, changes in the extent to which lives intersect, and day-to-day interactions. These results are based on 42 respondents reporting friendship problems, usually with one of the four focal types of friends, about evenly divided across genders, but showing an age trend. Except for the ended friendships, some of which had dissolved long ago, problems were discussed in the context of ongoing relationships. Older adults do not necessarily terminate friendships that include certain difficulties.

Can and Should Businesses be Friends with One Another and with Their Stakeholders

An increasing number of philosophers have suggested that businesses be conceived on the model of friendship. The paper sketches two different models of friendship – Aristotelian and Kantian. This paper examines whether and in what sense these models are appropriate to business. Care must be taken to specify which type of friendship is meant before treating businesses as friendships. Whether businesses can be friends with one another and with their stakeholders depends crucially upon the type of friendship involved.

Friendship in María de Zayas's La traición en la amistad

María de Zayas's works have long been the object of study by scholars, but most serious inquiry has been focused on her prose. Not until recently has her production as a dramaturga become a matter of study in its own right. Her only known comedia, La traición en la amistad , has been analyzed from various perspectives, but no critic has defined precisely what is meant by "friendship," an important topic not only in the work, but in sixteenth and seventeenth-century literature in general. In this paper, I argue that Zayas casts aside the anthropocentric model of friendship, a construct based on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and limited to two participants, as unsuitable for women. Instead, she proposes a different type of friendship: one among several women, who in spite of the dangers ever-present to nascent feminine friendships in a male-oriented world, overcome the difficulties they face and achieve their goal.

Balancing Closeness and Individuality in Adolescent Close Relationships

A systemic perspective is adapted in this account of close friendships and romantic relationships in adolescence. Data from a series of studies conducted on dyads of close friends and romantic partners illustrate how, in each relationship, partners simultaneously negotiate closeness and the expression of individual needs. Two relational types—interdependent and disengaged—were consistently found across all adolescent age groups. Interdependent partners were clearly capable of co-operation. Disengaged partners, although they identified each other as closest friends, appeared incapable of restraining competition to act co-operatively. Differences between the two friendship types were evident at each developmental stage. A three-stage developmental model of adolescent friendship is proposed based on age-related issues as reflected in the two relational types.

Adolescent Intimacy Revisited.

Two studies examined intimacy in adolescent friendships. In the first, 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students completed a questionnaire assessing perceived friendship intimacy. Age and sex differences were identified in emotional closeness, self-disclosure, emphasis on individuality, control, and conformity. Across ages, emphasis on individuality increased, whereas control and conformity declined. There were no age differences in emotional closeness and self-disclosure. Females reported more emotional closeness and self-disclosure than males. In the second study, individual differences in friendship intimacy were examined in a sample of 9th-grade adolescents. A joint problem solving task identified interdependent and disengaged friends. Perceived intimacy among interdependent and disengaged friends was contrasted with that in a control group of subjects without friends. Adolescents with friends reported more closeness than those without friends. Interdependent friends reported greater levels of respect for individuality than disengaged friends. The results underscore the salience of intimacy for peer relationships during the adolescent years and suggest that intimacy may be an important construct distinguishing between different types of close friendships.

Former Spouses Who are Friends: Three Case Studies

Within the larger context of modified analytic induction, each of the three case-study couples in this article was selected to address questions that emerged during the research process about the nature and development of friendships between former spouses. The cases confirmed earlier descriptive findings on these friendships, the importance of perceived intentions, and de-escalation as a path to friendship after romantic involvement. The cases also yielded new findings. Modification and de-escalation emerged as additional paths to friendship. Partners of one couple disagreed whether they were friends, yet they were able to co-parent cooperatively. Also, focus of friendship varied; the partners of one couple focused on their children, whereas the partners of the other two couples focused on each other. These findings bridge the divorce and friendship literatures and have relevance for other types of friendships.

Interpersonal rituals in marriage and adult friendship

The purpose of this study was to examine inductively types of interpersonal rituals in marriages and adult friendship and assess ritual enactment among friendship types (males' and females' same‐sex, cross‐sex, and couple friendships). Twenty married couples were interviewed, and 79 couples completed open‐ended questionnaires about both their marriage and friendship rituals. From their reports, a typology of seven marriage ritual types (two with subcategories including seven total subtypes) and a typology of six friendship ritual types (two with subcategories including seven total subtypes) were developed. The typology of marriage rituals with subtypes in parentheses include: Couple‐ Time Rituals (Enjoyable Activities, Togetherness Rituals, Escape Episodes), Idiosyncratic/Symbolic Rituals (Favorites, Private Codes, Play Rituals, and Celebration Rituals), Daily Routines and Tasks, Intimacy Expressions, Communication Rituals, Patterns/Habits/Mannerisms, and Spiritual Rituals. The typology of friendship rituals with subtypes in parentheses include: Social/Fellowship Rituals (Enjoyable Activities, Getting Together Rituals, Established Events, Escape Episodes), Idiosyncratic/Symbolic Rituals (Celebration Rituals, Play Rituals, Favorites), Communication Rituals, Share/Support/Vent Rituals, Tasks/Favors, and Patterns/Habits/Mannerisms. Analyses further suggest that certain types of ritual enactment occur more frequently in certain types of friendship.

Friendship, Virtue, and Impartiality

The two dominant contemporary moral theories, Kantianism and utilitarianism, have difficulty accommodating our commonsense understanding of friendship as a relationship with significant moral implications. The difficulty seems to arise from their underlying commitment to impartiality, to the claim that all persons are equally worthy of concern. Aristotelian accounts of friendship are partialist in so far as they defend certain types of friendship by appeal to the claim that some persons, the virtuous, are in fact more worthy of concern than are other persons. This article argues that we can preserve the underlying impartiality of Kantianism and utilitarianism, while also preserving a certain partiality with respect to our friends: the partiality of commonsense only seems objectionable if we fail to understand the true grounds, nature, and implications of such partiality. Neo-Aristotelian partiality should be rejected in favor of commonsense partiality.

Intimate relationships among adolescent romantic partners and same-sex friends: individual and systemic perspectives.

Based on a comprehensive understanding of intimacy, and emerging from a systems theory, this chapter examines adolescent intimacy in close friendships and romantic relationships. Males and females deal differently with the balancing of closeness and individuality in the two types of close friendships. In addition, development of an intimate romantic relationship requires greater commitment for males than for females.

Evolution of friendship and best friendship choices

It has been recognized in the literature that the mechanisms driving friendship choices differ when different settings are considered. At the same time, it is likely that different types of friendships are governed by different mechanisms. Employing longitudinal sociometric data from classrooms in elementary schools, it is examined whether gender similarity, reciprocity, and proximity (joint membership of study groups) have similar effects on ‘friendship’ and ‘best friendship’ choices. The results suggest that children use loose definitions of ‘friendship’, as opposed to their definition of ‘best friendship’. The networks resulting from these different choices are found to evolve according to (partly) different mechanisms. This especially holds for the effect of gender similarity, which is profoundly predominant in the ‘best friend’ networks, but loses much of this importance when ‘friends’ are also considered. Also, ‘best friend’ choices are much more stable. Reciprocity of choices is found to primarily ...

The Friendship Model of Filial Obligations

ABSTRACT This paper [1] is a defence of a modified version of Jane English's model of filial obligations based on adult children's friendship with their parents. (I) Unlike the more traditional view that filial obligations are a repayment for parental sacrifices, the friendship model puts filial duties in the appealing context of voluntary, loving relationships. (II) Contrary to English's original statement of this view, which is open to the charge of tolerating filial ingratitude, the friendship model can generate obligations to help our parents even if we are no longer friendly with them. (III) Joseph Kupfer has pointed out several ways in which parent‐child relationships differ from peer friendships; but his arguments do not preclude our enjoying a type of friendship with our parents. (IV) In response to Christina Hoff Sommers, who objects that feelings of friendship toward our parents are too flimsy a ground for filial duties, the friendship model can provide a plausible, robust account of filial obligations. (V) As for adult children who have never formed friendships with their loving, caring parents, and refuse to give them much‐needed assistance, they can be criticised by moral considerations independent of but compatible with the friendship model.

Challenges confronting cross-sex friendships: “Much ado about nothing?”

This research was an investigation into four challenges purported to confront cross-sex friends. One hundred and thirty eight individuals (females = 86, males = 52) completed two surveys designed to explore the extent to which the “sexual,” “emotional bond,” “audience,” and “equality” challenges were present in their cross-sex friendships. Over 98% of the participants were heterosexual, 99% were Caucasian, and approximately 5% were Hispanic. Data gathered from the first survey were analyzed using a three-way analysis of variance, with gender, type of friendship, and romantic status as the independent variables, and three of the four challenges as the dependent variables. The first survey also included open-ended questions designed to explore the nature and existence of the challenges. The second survey was in a diary format. Respondents kept a frequency count for three weeks of discussions they had with their cross-sex friend concerning the challenges, and thoughts that they had as individuals concerning those challenges. Results from both surveys indicate that though the challenges exist and have powerful effects on a small percentage of individuals in cross-sex friendships, for the majority of participants the challenges are not perceived as salient.

Meanings of Intimacy in Cross- and Same-Sex Friendships

The purpose of this study was to investigate how individuals in cross- and same-sex friendships define and express intimacy. In a self-report questionnaire 164 college students were asked what they meant by the term `intimacy' in the context of cross- and same-sex friendships. Individuals assigned an average number of two meanings to the term `intimacy', though the number of meanings ranged from one to five. Results revealed substantial similarities in the meanings of intimacy in both types of friendship, as well as some gender differences. For instance, five of the seven most frequently mentioned definitions of intimacy were specified by both cross- and same-sex friends: self-disclosures, emotional expressiveness, unconditional support, physical contact and trust. One of the remaining two meanings of intimacy, i.e. sexual contact, was mentioned by cross- but not same-sex friends. Sharing activities was given as a definition of intimacy by 9 percent of the males in same-sex friendships, and 4 percent of the females in cross-sex friendships. Within cross-sex friendships, emotional expressiveness and sexual contact were specified as meanings of intimacy by a higher percentage of males than females, while physical contact was specified by a greater percentage of females in those relationships.

The pragmatics of inter generational friendships

Little research has focused on the communicative functions of intergenerational friendship. This exploratory study was guided by one major research question: Is there a difference between friendships within the same generation and friendships between individuals in different generations? Twenty elderly individuals and twenty undergraduate students were surveyed about their intergenerational friendships. The data were analyzed to determine similarities and differences between the two types of friendships. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered.