Cross-Gender Friendship Notes

Developmental Trajectory

• Sex segregation in friendships starts early (around age 2) and persists through adolescence.
• Two main theories:
  • Two Cultures Theory (Maccoby, 1990)
  • Behavioral Compatibility Hypothesis (Moller & Serbin, 1996)

Other-Gender Friendships in Adolescence

• Become more common with age.
• Girls tend to have them earlier than boys.
• Friendship qualities differ by gender.
• Young adults: Same-sex friendships offer more prosocial support.
  • Young women: More acceptance and intimacy in same-sex friendships.
  • Young men: More self-esteem or emotional support from cross-sex friendships.

Kuttler, La Greca, and Prinstein (2000) Study

• 47% of adolescents have at least one close, cross-sex friend.
• Same-sex friends provide more companionship.
• Younger girls: More prosocial support from same-gender friends (disappears by late adolescence).
• Adolescent boys: More esteem support from cross-sex friends.
• Having both types of friendships is normative.

Current Study

• Examined interactions with same- and other-gender friends in the context of problem discussions.
• Focused on subjective experiences:
  • Friendship quality (state).
  • General positive affect.
• Used an event-contingent sampling approach.

Method

• 510 adolescents (7th and 10th graders).
• Event-contingent experience sampling via palm pilot.
• Recorded interactions involving problem discussions lasting 5+ minutes over a week.
• Answered questions about the discussion, feelings, and friendship quality.

First Aim: Gender and Grade Differences

• Other-gender interactions: Odds 70% lower than same-gender.
• 10th graders: 65% greater odds of reporting other-gender friendships than 7th graders.
• Problem Disclosures: Boys 64% lower than girls; 10th graders 148% higher than 7th graders.

Second Aim

• Girls: 31% greater odds of same-gender problem disclosure.
• Boys: 32% lower odds of same-gender problem disclosure.
• Boys reporting problem disclosures:
  • 71% odds lower with same-gender friends compared to girls.
  • 45% odds lower with other-gender friends compared to girls.

Third Aim: Subjective Experiences – Positive Affect

• Problem Disclosures:
  • Boys: Greater positive affect with other-gender friends.
  • Girls: No significant difference (ns).
• Non-Problem Disclosures:
  • Boys: Same as above.
  • Girls: ns.
• Same-gender friend problem disclosures:
  • Girls reported more positive affect than boys.
• Other-gender friend problem disclosures: ns
• Same-gender friend non-problem disclosures
  • Girls more positive affect than boys
• Other-gender friend non-problem disclosures: ns

Positive Friendship Quality

• Problem Disclosures:
  • Girls: Greater friendship quality with same-gender friends.
  • Boys: Greater friendship quality with other-gender friends.
• Non-Problem Disclosures:
  • Boys: Same as above.
  • Girls: ns.
• Same-gender friend problem disclosures:
  • Girls reported more positive friendship quality than boys.
• Other-gender friend problem disclosures:
  • Boys reported more positive friendship quality than girls.
• Same-gender friend non-problem disclosures
  • Girls more positive friendship quality than boys
• Other-gender friend non-problem disclosures: ns

Discussion Points

• Developmental differences.
• Gender differences.
• Double-edged sword: benefits and costs.
• To whom do these differences apply?

Limitations & Future Directions

• Potential underreporting of interactions.
• Sample size considerations.
• Data collected during the summer (impact?).
• Generalizability of findings.
• Implications of the research.