The present study examined the discrepancy in the literature regarding the absence of gender differences in the stability of same-sex close friendships. One hundred and twenty children and adolescents (60 females and 60 males) from three grade levels (5, 7, and 9) participated in the study. An interview measure was developed to assess for the level of intimacy, the social context in which the friendship occurred (dyad vs. group), and perceptions of equality of achievement for both current and former same-sex close friendships. Intimacy and equality are features most closely associated with the social context of girls' same-sex friendships. It was theorized that the more intimate, dyadic nature of girls' friendships would contribute to interpersonal difficulties within their friendships. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant. It was hypothesized that girls' close friendships would be more unstable than those of boys and that girls' friendships would show more signs of vulnerability to dissolution. Statistically significant gender differences were obtained, that were consistent with the hypothesis, when only the very closest same-sex friend for both genders was included in the analyses. Girls' current same-sex closest friendships were shorter in duration compared to boys, girls' were more likely than boys to report that their current closest friends had already done something to threaten their friendship, and girls' were more likely to report a history of break ups with former same-sex close friends. Girls were also more likely to report greater distress when asked to imagine the potential dissolution of their current friendships and more likely to both anticipate and to have experienced a greater life change following the imagined and actual dissolution of their current and former friendships, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of the possible reasons behind the greater fragility of girls' friendships rela
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.85063 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Christakos, Athena |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002172786, proquestno: AAINR06287, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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