The chapter addresses the intersection of individual development and relationship
development within the context of friendship. Friendship structures, functions, interactional�…

To consider friendships and their significance through the life course requires, first,
differentiation of deep structure (ie, reciprocity) from surface structure (ie, the social�…

Contemporary sociologists and psychologists have long been interested in youth friendship,
and have generated a large but disconnected body of literature on this topic. In this essay, I�…

Friendship is a desired and meaningful form of human relationship that can be seen at
nearly every point in the life cycle. Friendship is characterized by shared activities�…

Friends foster self-esteem and a sense of well-being, socialize one another, and support
one another in coping with developmental transitions and life stress. Friends engage in�…

A review of research literature indicates that friendship develops from a basis of mutual
liking and shared activities in early childhood, to include loyalty and mutual aid in late�…

Friendship occupies an important place in the growing body of literature in child
development and gerontological research. As such, it may be useful for researchers from�…

Hartup proposed a useful taxonomy that distinguishes between having a friend, the quality
of the relationship, and the characteristics or identity of the friend. This framework has�…

Friendships are crucial to children's well-being and happiness and lay important foundations
upon which later relationships in adolescence and adulthood are built. This clear, well�…

Friendship is a relationship that has existed across historical times in all types of societies. In
developmental psychology, Piaget's classical distinction between voluntary and symmetrical�…