Friendship 289for women who work in male-dominated pro-
fessions because there would be fewer poten-
tial female friends available. Contemporary
research shows that the number of friends and
the frequency of interaction with friends de-
creases for both women and men during adult-
hood due to career development and increased
time spent with family. Men spend less time
with friends after they get married, in part be-
cause they have more familial obligations and
in part because friends perceive they should
not spend time with them now that they are
married (Cohen, 1992). Thus both family and
work obligations limit friendship.
Marital status specifically influences
cross-sex friendship. Marriage may be a deter-
rent from friendly relations with the other sex.
A number of studies have shown that married
people are less likely than unmarried people
to have cross-sex friends (Werking, 1997a).Late Adulthood: Retirement and Empty Nest
The elderly value the same things from
friendship as do younger people—similar
beliefs, similar lifestyles, and similar demo-
graphics, such as sex, race, and marital sta-
tus (Rawlins, 2004). Similarity is based less
on age and more on capabilities. A major
barrier to friendship among the elderly is
increased health problems (Rawlins, 2004).
Health problems may reduce mobility, may
prevent reciprocity of support (a key compo-
nent of friendship), may pose difficulties for
communication, and can lead to increased
health complaints, which often drive net-
work members away. Although friends are
a major source of companionship for the
elderly, friends are less likely than family to
provide assistance with health problems.
Friends do not have the same obligations as
family to provide that kind of support.example, widowhood is more likely to affect
women than men because women live lon-
ger than men. However, widowhood may
have a stronger effect on men’s friendships
than women’s friendships because wives are
often the link to other relationships for men.
Retirement may have a stronger impact on
men’s friendships than women’s friendships
because men’s friends are more likely than
women’s to be found in the workplace. Here,
I examine some of the structural factors that
influence women’s and men’s friendships in
early and later adulthood.Early Adulthood: Marriage and Family
Historically, women’s friendships were based
at home and men’s friendships were based at
work. Women were the social organizers of
the couple’s friendships, often arranging social
activities with other couples. Years ago, young
married men had a larger social network than
young married women because men had op-
portunities to meet people at work, whereas
women’s opportunities to meet people were
restricted by having to stay home with chil-
dren (Fischer, 1979). Women who became
parents had even fewer friendships than men,
because child care took up a larger portion of
women’s than men’s free time.
However, today the majority of women
work outside the home, even when they have
children. Would you predict that these ear-
lier findings hold today? Are men’s friends at
work and women’s at home? Are men more
likely than women to have friends during the
early years of marriage and parenthood? One
reason that the earlier findings may hold today
is that women who work outside the home
are often responsible for housework and child
care, which would leave little time for friends.
Work also is less likely to lead to friendshipsM08_HELG0185_04_SE_C08.indd 289 6/21/11 8:12 AM