Friendship 261detail the quality of friendship.Quantity
refers to the number of friends or the size
of the network.Qualityrefers to the nature
of the friendship. Is it close? Is it intimate?
What functions does the friendship serve?
I discuss specific aspects of friendship
such as intimacy, self-disclosure, and con-
flict. After reviewing the different kinds of
friendship, I conclude by using the struc-
tural level of analysis to describe how
friendship changes across the life span.
Network Size
Most studies show that boys and girls have a
similar number of friends (Baines & Blatchford,
2009). However, boys may have larger social
networks compared to girls due to the struc-
tural differences in boys’ play versus girls’
play described in the previous chapter. Girls
are more likely to interact in dyads and to
spend time talking to one another, whereas
boys are more likely to spend time in large
groups that are focused on some activity. In
an observational study of play among 7- and
8-year-olds, boys’ social networks (defined
as children who were seen frequently playing
together) were nearly twice the size of that
of girls’, largely because boys were more likely
than girls to be playing team games (Baines &
Blatchford, 2009). In addition, girls’ primary
social network consisted of friends, whereas
boys’ primary social network consisted of
both friends and non-friends. This differ-
ence may contribute to the greater intimacy
that characterizes girls’ friendships discussed
later in this chapter.
Among adults, some studies show that
women have more friends, some studies
show that men have more friends, and other
studies show no sex difference in number ofcloseness: their tendency to self-disclose.
There is also astructural level of analysis
that emphasizes the different positions of
women and men in society. One position
or role in society that men traditionally
have held more than women is the paid
employee role. An example of a structural
level of analysis is the research showing
that men have more cross-sex friendships
than women because men are more likely
than women to work outside the home.
The structural level of analysis also calls
attention to the impact of situational vari-
ables on gender and friendship.
In reviewing research on friendship, I
begin with an examination of the quantity
of friendships and then describe in more
FIGURE 8.1 Batman and Robin are a famous
pair of same-sex friends.M08_HELG0185_04_SE_C08.indd 261 6/21/11 8:12 AM