Podcast
Questions and Answers
At what age do cross-gender friendships nearly disappear?
At what age do cross-gender friendships nearly disappear?
What is a common aspect of friendship expectations among older children?
What is a common aspect of friendship expectations among older children?
What percentage of preschool children's friends are other-gendered?
What percentage of preschool children's friends are other-gendered?
What do adolescent friends expect from their friendships?
What do adolescent friends expect from their friendships?
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What is the primary influence on the relationships children have with their peers?
What is the primary influence on the relationships children have with their peers?
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When do cross-gender friendships start to become more common again?
When do cross-gender friendships start to become more common again?
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What happens to cross-gender friendships in university settings?
What happens to cross-gender friendships in university settings?
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What is a potential consequence of coercive mother-child relations during childhood?
What is a potential consequence of coercive mother-child relations during childhood?
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What do friends expect in terms of conflict resolution?
What do friends expect in terms of conflict resolution?
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Why are 'only' children more likely to have imaginary friends?
Why are 'only' children more likely to have imaginary friends?
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What is unique about sibling relationships compared to friendships?
What is unique about sibling relationships compared to friendships?
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What is a benefit of having strong friendships in childhood?
What is a benefit of having strong friendships in childhood?
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What do young children emphasize in their friendships?
What do young children emphasize in their friendships?
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What is a key factor that predicts having friends and friendship functioning in childhood?
What is a key factor that predicts having friends and friendship functioning in childhood?
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What percentage of children fail to form friendship relationships?
What percentage of children fail to form friendship relationships?
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What is a characteristic of girls' friendships that is more frequent than in boys' friendships?
What is a characteristic of girls' friendships that is more frequent than in boys' friendships?
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What is the main content of interaction between friends during the preschool years?
What is the main content of interaction between friends during the preschool years?
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Approximately what percentage of children have a best friend and several good friends during middle childhood?
Approximately what percentage of children have a best friend and several good friends during middle childhood?
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Which of the following is true about girls' self-ratings of their friendships?
Which of the following is true about girls' self-ratings of their friendships?
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In what year does the word 'friend' usually appear in a child's vocabulary?
In what year does the word 'friend' usually appear in a child's vocabulary?
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What is a benefit of close peer and friendships groups for homosexual individuals?
What is a benefit of close peer and friendships groups for homosexual individuals?
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What is a characteristic of the 'friendship model' that many adults follow?
What is a characteristic of the 'friendship model' that many adults follow?
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Study Notes
Adult Friendships
- Friendships provide social capital, or resources, and reduce mental health problems associated with stigmatization.
- Close peer and friendships groups lessen mental health problems like depression.
- Single people place high value on friendships.
- Many adults follow the "friendship model", where committed roommate arrangements become family.
Childhood Friendships
- Most children form friendships, but about 10% fail to do so.
- Social reciprocity and mutuality are central to the meaning of friendships for almost everyone.
- The word "friend" usually appears in the third or fourth year, and preschool-aged children may miss their friends when they are absent.
- Children typically define friendship in terms of concrete reciprocities, such as "We play".
- In preschool years, 75% of children have preferred playmates, and play is the main content of their interactions.
- By middle childhood, 85% of children have a best friend and several good friends.
- Girls' self-ratings of their friendships are more intimate, and self-disclosure is more common.
- Girls also employ relational aggression more frequently than boys.
Cross-Gender Friendships
- Cross-gender friendships provide an insider's perspective on how members of the other sex think, feel, and behave.
- In early childhood, 30% of preschool children's friends are other-gendered, but this percentage declines through middle childhood to 5%.
- Cross-gender friendships are nearly non-existent in middle childhood.
- In adolescence, 25% of teenagers' friendship networks become mixed gender, and individuals have more and closer cross-sex friends.
- Other-gender friends are likely to be "secondary" rather than "best friends" throughout childhood.
Friendship Expectations
- Young children expect friendships to involve common interests and concrete reciprocities, mainly in play.
- Older children describe friends as sharing values and rules about loyalty and trust.
- Friends expect to spend time together, engage in constructive conflict resolution, and share interests.
- Adolescent friends expect shared interests, understanding, empathy, and intimacy, and similarity between themselves and their friends is increasingly important.
- Symmetrical reciprocities remain the major basis for friendships, and continued consensual validation and commitment are required for friendships to be maintained.
General Research Findings
- Family relationships in earliest childhood set the stage for relationships with peers.
- Early caregiving and attachment security are antecedents of harmony, responsiveness, and competence in peer interaction during childhood and beyond.
- Coercive mother-child relations may lead to aggressive behavior during childhood, both at home and outside.
- Good family relations in the earliest years do not necessarily predict friendship functioning in either early or middle childhood.
- Peer competence linked to early family relationships predicts having friends and friendship functioning in childhood.
- "Only" children are more likely to have imaginary friends than those who have siblings.
- Sibling relationships and friendships are different social contexts, especially in terms of conflict.
- Friendships in childhood "buffer" children from family vulnerabilities and stress.
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Description
This quiz is based on Willard Hartup's article on friendships in childhood, focusing on the benefits of close friendships and their impact on mental health. It covers how friendships provide social capital, reduce mental health problems, and affect individuals.
