Attachment style and intimacy in friendship

Abstract

Abstract'Itvo studies with college students tested the hypothesis that a secure attachment style enhances intimacy in friendship. Three intimacy characteristics were studied: self-disclosure; responsiveness to a partner's disclosure; and feeling understood, validated, and cared for by a partner during conversations. In Study 1, individuals with a secure attachment style were higher on all three intimacy characteristics In Study 2, a lab-based assessment of intimacy revealed some relations between attachment and intimacy, providing mixed support for the hypothesis. Both studies found gender differences in intimacy characteristics The findings provide a starting point for a model accounting for individual differences in friendship.

Adolescents’ interactions with a best friend: Associations with attachment style

“…However, some findings fail to support an association between attachment and friendship. For example, attachment was not related to self-reports of social support from friends (Kobak & Sceery, 1988) or to self-reports of overall friendship quality (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991;Grabill & Kerns, 2000;Kerns & Stevens, 1996).…”

“…Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) interviewed adolescents about their attachment relationships and friendships and found a modest relation between interviewer ratings of participantsÕ attachment style with family and with friends. Grabill and Kerns (2000) found that more secure participants reported greater intimacy (e.g., self-disclosure) with friends than did less secure participants. However, some findings fail to support an association between attachment and friendship.…”

How the quality of peer relationships influences college alcohol use

“…Gender differences are also evident in the intimacy of relationships. Intimacy is formed by self-disclosure with friends [100,101]. Although men and women spend similar amounts of time with peers, men's expression of intimacy tends to be activity-based, while women tend to convey intimacy through self-disclosure [100,[102][103][104][105].…”

“…Intimacy is formed by self-disclosure with friends [100,101]. Although men and women spend similar amounts of time with peers, men's expression of intimacy tends to be activity-based, while women tend to convey intimacy through self-disclosure [100,[102][103][104][105]. In addition, men tend to be less intimate and demonstrate less self-disclosure with others than females in same-sex relationships [104,106], even with best friends [50,107].…”

Sex Differences in Salivary Cortisol Responses to Sex-Linked Stressors: A Test of the Tend-and-Befriend Model

“…This is consistent with findings that show that social support is particularly important for females throughout the lifespan, especially during the reproductive years. The existence and availability of same-sex friendships serves as a core source of social support for females during adolescence and through at least young adulthood (Gabrill and Kerns 2000;Rubin, Bukowski, and Parker 1998). The support processes that occur within these relationship interactions have been shown to be adaptive and protective in nature (Uchino, Uno, and Holt-Lunstad 1999), and are associated with a lower incidence of stress-related psychopathology (Taylor 2006).…”