The Psychology of Friendship - Oxford University Press (2016)

Box 17.1 Recommendations for Future Research

• Examine more varied populations (e.g., minority groups, disability groups,
  immigrants, etc.; Erdley & Day; Rose & Hospital; Ledbetter; Hojjat et al.;
  McConnell et al.; cf. King et al.)


• Technology, electronic communication, and social media (Erdley & Day;
  Lunsford; Lunstad; Oswald), including a wider array of social media plat-
  forms rather than just Facebook (Ledbetter)


• Enhanced research designs (e.g., more complex, longitudinal, dyadic, social
  network analysis; Wzrus et al.; Ledbetter; Clark et al.; Oswald; cf. King et al.)


• Comparisons and/ or interdependencies with other types of relationships
  (Wzrus et al.; Hojjat et al.; Oswald)


• Examine the causal direction between friendship and other variables
  (Erdley & Day; VanderDrift et al.; cf. Lunsford)


• Research designed to develop and evaluate friendship interventions (Erdley
  & Day; Adams et al.; cf. King et al.)


• Study facilitators and barriers to cross- identity relationships and the inter-
  action patterns of individuals in such friendships (Rose & Hospital) as
  well as the positive and negative motivations for friendships between ex-
  romantic partners (Clark et al.)


• More qualitative research (Rose & Hospital; Ledbetter)


• Study the friendships of individuals who do not fit neatly into static, binary
  conceptions of gender (Monsour)


• More precise measures for classification of race, ethnicity, and sexual orien-
  tation (Rose & Hospital)


• Greater use of theory (Ledbetter)


• Do research recognizing the interplay between online and other forms of
  communication (Ledbetter)


• Examine whether offline and online friendships have the same health
  effects (Lunstad)


• Do more interdisciplinary research (Ledbetter)


• Study individual differences (e.g., attachment styles; VanderDrift et al.)


• Study the operation and fulfillment of higher- order needs in friendships
  (VanderDrift et al.)


• More research on mentors as friends (Lunsford)


• More attention to mediators and moderators (Clark et al.)


• More research on forgiveness and revenge in friendships (Hojjat et  al.)
  especially on the role of the transgressor


• More research on competition including examining it across the life span,
  as a situation versus a trait, as a multifaceted phenomenon, and cross-
  culturally (Hibbard & Walton)