Adult Friendship
- Rosemary Blieszner - Virginia Tech, USA, Virgina Tech University, USA
- Rebecca G. Adams - University of North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, USA, Roosevelt University, Chicago, USA, Barat College, Lake Forest, IL, Indiana University Northwest, USA, Elmhurst College, USA
The authors discuss state-of-the-art research on the interplay between social structure, individual disposition and dynamic processes of friendship, and findings on both similarities and differences across adult lifecourse stages. They provide a theoretical framework, incorporating both sociological and psychological perspectives. Using this framework, they offer a new and integrative model of friendship to synthesize research, identify gaps in the literature, scrutinize methods used and produce a map for future research.