And Cross-Sex Friendships Hannah Ford University of Maine - Main, [email protected]
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The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library Summer 8-19-2016 Predicting Relationship Satisfaction in Same- and Cross-Sex Friendships Hannah Ford University of Maine - Main, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the Child Psychology Commons, and the Developmental Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Ford, Hannah, "Predicting Relationship Satisfaction in Same- and Cross-Sex Friendships" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2475. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/2475 This Open-Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. PREDICTING RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION IN SAME- AND CROSS-SEX FRIENDSHIPS By Hannah A. Ford B.A. Clark University, 2009 M.A. University of Maine, 2013 A DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Psychology) The Graduate School The University of Maine August 2016 Advisory Committee: Douglas W. Nangle, Professor of Psychology, Advisor Cynthia A. Erdley, Professor of Psychology Shannon K. McCoy, Assistant Professor of Psychology Emily A. P. Haigh, Assistant Professor of Psychology Rachel L. Grover, Associate Professor of Psychology at Loyola University ii DISSERTATION ACCEPTANCE STATEMENT On behalf of the Graduate Committee for Hannah A. Ford, I affirm that this manuscript is the final and accepted dissertation. Signatures of all committee members are on file with the Graduate School at the University of Maine, 42 Stodder Hall, Orono, Maine 04469. Dr. Douglas W. Nangle, Professor of Psychology Date LIBRARY RIGHTS STATEMENT In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Maine, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for “fair use” copying of this dissertation for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Librarian. It is understood that copying or publication of this dissertation for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Signature: Date: PREDICTING RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION IN SAME- AND CROSS-SEX FRIENDSHIPS By Hannah A. Ford Dissertation Advisor: Douglas W. Nangle, Ph.D. An Abstract of the Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Psychology) August 2016 Friendships between members of the opposite sex become more common and increase in importance across adolescence (e.g., Kuttler, La Greca, & Prinstein, 1999); however, little research has examined these relationships. Of the limited research, most has focused on comparing mean-level differences in friendship features between cross- sex (CS) friendships and same-sex (SS) friendships. Overall, this research has suggested that CS friendships are lower in positive quality compared to SS friendships. These findings offer little insight into why CS friendships continue to be valued and maintained. The current study used two approaches to better elucidate the value of CS friendships in a sample of 309 college students. First, this study added to the existing literature by evaluating both positive and negative dimensions of quality in SS and CS friendships. Results suggested that although greater positive quality was reported in SS friendships, lower negative quality was simultaneously reported for CS friendships. Second, the current study examined participants’ self-reports of the interactions that occurred within their CS and SS friendships, as well as what they wanted to occur to determine how the fulfillment of desired behaviors contributed to satisfaction in each friendship. This approach allowed participants to determine the types and amount of ii interactions that they would like from their friendship partners, rather than relying on pre- determined notions of quality. Polynomial regression with response surface analysis was employed to examine how discrepancies between received and desired maintenance impacted satisfaction. Results partially confirmed a matching hypothesis, with greater satisfaction reported when levels of received and desired maintenance were similar. However, in contrast to the interdependence theory hypothesis, greater levels of satisfaction were reported at higher levels of maintenance. Importantly, response surface results suggested that high overprovision was associated with a corresponding decrease in satisfaction for SS friendships. This result is in contrast to traditional, “more is better” conceptions of friendship features and suggests that participants may experience “too much of a good thing” with friends. Overall, the use of these two approaches is thought to be a more balanced investigation of CS friendships than previous assessments of positive quality that have dominated the literature. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor and committee chair, Dr. Douglas Nangle for his mentorship and guidance throughout my training at the University of Maine. His support, encouragement, and commitment have been essential in helping bring this project to fruition. I am also extremely thankful to my committee members, Drs. Cynthia Erdley, Emily Haigh, Shannon McCoy, and Rachel Grover for their excellent insight and guidance throughout the dissertation process. The members of Dr. Nangle’s research laboratory also contributed greatly in helping to make this project possible. I would like to thank my lab mates, Ethan Rothstein, Jennifer Sauve, Karim Assous, Shannon Brothers, and Natalie Holbrook. From initial development to running participants, they have contributed their knowledge, time, and support throughout this project, and I would not have been able to complete it without them. I would also like to thank the undergraduate research assistants who volunteered their time and worked tirelessly on this study. Thank you to my family who have provided me with endless support and encouragement throughout my graduate training. Your constant faith in me has helped provide me the confidence to pursue my passion, even when it was really hard. Finally, thank you to my amazing friends. To my girl friends, for always listening and being there when I wanted to talk, and to my guy friends, for always being there to hang out and have fun when I didn’t want to talk about it. You all know exactly what I need, and I could not have completed this journey without you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x Chapter I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 Friendship ................................................................................................................2 Definition of friendship................................................................................2 The role of friendship across development ..................................................3 Friendship quality ........................................................................................9 Defining friendship quality ..............................................................9 Assessing friendship quality ..........................................................10 Relation to adjustment ...................................................................13 Gender differences in same-sex friendship ................................................17 Gender differences across development ........................................17 Implications for friendship quality.................................................19 Cross-Sex Friendships ...........................................................................................22 The role of cross-sex friendships across development ..............................23 Comparison with same-sex friendships .....................................................26 Conceptions of same-sex and cross-sex friendships ......................26 Friendship quality across same-sex and cross-sex friendships ......................................................................................28 v Comparison with romantic relationships ...................................................31 Conceptions of cross-sex friendships and romantic relationships ...................................................................................31 The role of romantic and sexual interest in cross-sex friendships ......................................................................................32 Relationship quality in cross-sex friendships and romantic relationships ...................................................................................39 The unique role of cross-sex friendships ...................................................40 Gender differences in cross-sex friendships ..............................................44 Summary ................................................................................................................49