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There are both cultural similarities and differences in the definition of friendship in different societies. We have little knowledge of the meaning of friendship in non-Western industrialized societies. It seems that only in modern Western societies close friendship is a personal relationship mostly free from societal influence (Keller).

Friendship Quality (Berndt, 2002). - Children prize friendships that are high in prosocial behavior, intimacy, and other positive features. - Children are troubled by friendships that are high in conflicts, dominance, rivalry, and other negative features. - Friendships are high in quality when they have high levels of positive features and low levels of negative features. - High-quality friendships have often been assumed to have positive effects on many aspects of children’s social development. - The direct effects of friendship quality appear to be quite specific. - Having friendships high in negative features increases disagreeable and disruptive behaviors. - Having friendships high in positive features enhances children’s success in the social world of peers, but it apparently does not affect children’s general self-esteem. These findings are surprising because numerous studies with adults suggest that friendships and other supportive relationships enhance many aspects of adults’ physical and mental health, including their self-esteem - High-quality friendships may also have indirect effects on children’s social development. Most theories of social influence include some form of the hypothesis that children are more strongly influenced by their friends’ characteristics the higher the quality of those friendships.

The Study of Friendships in Adolescent Development (Crosnoe, R., & Needham, B., 2004)

Friendships in adolescent development include positive influences on how they act, feel, and think, and also problematic aspects including negative peer pressure. Which one is more prominent? To find out one needs to consider the characteristics of friends and how these friendships form. A study was conducted by the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health where 9,234 American adolescents were examined to determine how their engagement in problem behavior (stealing, fighting, sexual activity, truancy) was related to the kinds of friends they had and to the peer networks and schools in which these friendships were located. Findings revealed that adolescents were less likely to engage in problem behavior when their friends did well in school, participated in school activities, avoided drinking and had good mental health. Also, these positive characteristics are greater when done together within the social group. How adolescents are affected by friendships could be shaped by their location in their group. For example, the one who is most central to their peer networks were the most influenced by their friends. Results also found that adolescents has less problematic behavior when they attended schools with similar characteristics to their friends (friends who did well at school at an academically rigorous school). Ones that engaged in more problem behavior resulted from friends with opposing characteristics to the school (friends who drank at an academically rigorous school). Thus, whether adolescents were influenced by their friends to engage in problem behavior depended on how much they were exposed to these friends and whether they and their friendship groups “fit in” at school.

With life events as marriage, parenthood, and accelerated career development, young adulthood merges into middle adulthood. Following marriage, both women and men report having fewer cross-gender friends. Reasons being suspicion and jealousy, and spouses spend most of their free time together rather than separately in social situations that might lead to cross-sex friendship formation. Also, when people marry they generally become more dependent on spouses and less so on friends for meeting social needs (Friendships, 2012).

Friendships in Adulthood (Fowler) Just like adolescents, relationships with friends are important to older adults. Friends contribute to our satisfaction, give us a sense of belonging, competence, and self-worth. Friendship involves: - Enjoyment - spending time doing things together and sharing life experiences - Trust—believing that our friends act on our behalf. - Respect and understanding—believing that our friends have the right to their own opinions. - Mutual assistance—helping and supporting our friends and having them help us. - Confiding—sharing confidential matters with our friends.

Types of Friendships Friends are people we know and trust, and who are special to us socially and emotionally. Friends are usually chosen among people who are considered the same as us. The people adults select as friends tend to be those who: - we have grown up with - have similar occupations - have children the same age - have similar interests - are the same general age and the same gender

The majority of adults have three or more close friends and more than half of adults have ten or more friends. Men and women have the same number of friends, however, women are likely to confide more in friendships than men. Men tend to enjoy activities or discuss and practice special skills.

Duration of Friendships Long-term and short-term friends vary in their characteristics. Long-term friends are the people with whom we can reminisce about memories that occurred during our lifetime. Changes in life such as health changes or retirement are less disruptive on longterm friendships. Short-term friendships help us to deal with changes that affect our daily roles, such as moving into a new area or starting a new job.

Friends Keep Us Healthy Social interactions with friends help us lead longer and healthier lives. Studies show that people who enjoy interaction with friends live longer and healthier than those who are socially isolated. Friends are relied upon for emotional support, and a close network of friends can help us through challenges in life.

How Can Friends Help in Times of Crisis? Friends can strengthen relationships by: - keeping in regular contact by phone, mail, or in person - allowing your friend to express emotions - listening to your friend’s feelings and his/her perception of a situation - being non-judgmental and not offering advice unless asked

Elderly(Emotional and social development in late adulthood) - having friends is very important for the mental health among the elderly

Functions of Elder Relationships Intimacy and companionship - mutual interests, belongingness, and ability to express feelings and confide in each other Acceptance - late-life friends shield one another from negative judgments about their capabilities and worth as a person while aging A link to the larger community - for elders who cannot go out as often, interactions with friends can keep them socially interactive Protection from the psychological consequences of loss - older adults in declining health who remain in contact with friends show improved psychological well-being

Characteristics of Elder Relationships Older adults prefer familiar and established relationships over new ones, but friendship formation continues throughout life. With age, elders report that the friends they feel closest to are fewer in number and live in the same community. Elders tend to choose friends whose age, sex, race, ethnicity, and values are like their own. Compared with younger people, fewer report other-sex friendships. Older women have more secondary friends who are not intimates but with whom they spend time occasionally (group that meets for lunch, bridge, or museum tours). Through these associates, elders meet new people and gain in psychological well-being.