Women’s Friendships

Friendship is a broad interpersonal category that is defined as a voluntary relationship marked by features of trust, support, and loyalty. Friendship is also a dynamic construct, and the specific characteristics of individual and group friendships vary based on intersecting factors such as gender and life span development. This entry provides an introductory overview of the ways in which gender socialization affects the formation and features of friendship between females and how these friendships function throughout the life span. The entry concludes with a brief discussion of the outcome research related to female friendships.

Gender Socialization

Gender socialization is the process by which individuals learn social norms and rules that guide the attitudes and behaviors that are expected of a person based on his or her ...

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