“…Boys' capacity to handle relationships, despite lower sensitivity to partners, might result from their prior experiences in large groups where they learn to handle their relationships and conflict (Eder, Evans, & Parker, 1995). In contrast, girls might be more sensitive to their partners because of a greater desire for intimacy, probably because girls are raised, and encouraged, to be more invested in relationships (Jordan, 2004) and more attuned to, and accommodating of, their partners (Schoenfeld, Bredow, & Huston, 2012). Considered together, we might speculate that boys and girls learn to handle their relationships competently, but their approaches might evolve from different experiences.…”