Young and Middle Adulthood 29with coworkers; Morrison, 2002; Wrzus et al., 2013). Similarly, when young adults
marry, their number of friends increases on average (M. P. Johnson & Leslie, 1982;
Wrzus et al., 2013), partly due to becoming friends with the spouse’s friends (Kearns
& Leonard, 2004). Importantly, such context changes also challenge established
social relationships, which might result in losses of existing friendships (Asendorpf
& Wilpers, 1998; Zimmermann & Neyer, 2013). However, friendship gains often
exceed losses and result in an overall increase in the number of friends.
During middle adulthood (and later on), information- acquisition goals become
relatively less prevalent, whereas emotion- regulation goals become increas-
ingly important, as the remaining lifetime is perceived as more and more limited
(Carstensen, 1995). People then focus on close relationships, such as with close
friends, which presumably satisfy emotion- regulation goals through pleasant inter-
actions. In addition, work and family demands may restrict the available time and
resources and urge people to select friends out of their larger friendship networks.
Accordingly, the number of friends decreases, yet the amount of contact with the
remaining friends increases (Mund & Neyer, 2014). In particular, becoming par-
ents is related to a decrease in friendship networks (Bost, Cox, Burchinal, & Payne,
2002; Wrzus et al., 2013).
Changes in the Quality of Friendships
In young adulthood, as during other life periods, newly acquainted people become
friends through regular, intimate, and pleasant interactions (Fehr, 2000; Hays,
1985). During intimate interactions, people share personal information (i.e., engage
in self- disclosure), which engenders trust and emotional closeness and transforms
acquaintances into friends, typically within a few weeks and months (Nezlek, 1993;
Planalp & Benson, 1992). Yet, few studies have examined qualitative changes in
existing friendships over time in young and middle adulthood. In one such study,
however, when young adults entered college, attachment security with friends
and perceived support increased over the next 18 months (Asendorpf & Wilpers,
2000). In addition, changes in attachment security and perceived support were
related: Friendships that became more securely attached were also perceived as
more supportive.
When people marry or become parents, not only the number but also the quality
of friendships changes (Carbery & Buhrmester, 1998; Kearns & Leonard, 2004).
Among single people, friends and best friends were more important for emotional
needs (companionship, disclosure, reassurance) and support (advice and tangible
help) than among married people or people with children (Carbery & Buhrmester,
1998). For the latter two groups, the partner largely fulfilled these functions. This
suggests that friends fulfill emotional and supportive functions that are otherwise
fulfilled by spouses. As a result, the importance of friends decreases to some extent
when people marry and have children (although the number of friends increases