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.