Gender and gender role orientation in same-sex friendship

The present study was conducted to examine the same-sex friendships of women and men. Research has shown that such friendships differ along the dimensions of activity and intimacy orientation. As a partial replication and extension of Wright & Scanlon (1991), participants (n=287) completed several personality and relationship measures, including The Acquaintance Description Form, The Friendship Scale, The Bem Sex Role Inventory, and the Intimacy and Activity Scale. Women indicated more intimacy and support than men, yet no differences were found regarding activity related behaviors. Gender role orientation was found to be associated with these differences, since androgynous individuals usually indicated higher ratings when compared to other types. It is also proposed that there may be a link between femininity and positive friendship dynamics. Results suggested that the expression of friendship may be moderated by gender in combination with socially constructed gender roles.