Prior research on adolescent peer relationships has focused on interpersonal dimensions of friendships but not of romantic relationships, and has rarely examined minority groups. We used a random sample of 122 adolescents to examine race and gender differences in friendships, romantic relationships, and the congruence between closest friendship and romantic relationship on five interpersonal domains: mutual support, self-disclosure, hurtful conflict, fear of betrayal, and interpersonal sensitivity. Significant race by gender differences in the difference between relationship type for both positive and negative dimensions of relationships were found. White girls reported significantly higher levels of self-disclosure in their friendship ties in comparison to romantic relationship, whereas white boys reported nearly equivalent levels. In comparison to white adolescents, Black adolescent girls and boys had similar levels of self-disclosure in their romantic relationships as their same-sex friendships. With regards to negative elements of relationships, girls reported more hurtful conflict in romance than friendship, whereas boys reported an opposite pattern. Results highlight the importance of consideration of race and gender influences on youth interpersonal skills within peer and romantic relationships.
KeywordsFriendship; Romance; Adolescents; Race; Gender Peer relationships play a critical role in the lives of adolescents, facilitating their exploration of social identities, individuation from the family, and tolerance of stress (Harter, 1999;Hirsch & DuBois, 1992;Youniss & Smollar, 1985). Most studies on peer ties have examined friendships (Brown, 2004); only recently have empirical investigations of precollege romantic relationships begun in earnest (Bouchey & Furman, 2003; Florsheim, 2003).Prior studies in these areas have typically examined White, suburban populations. The lack of comparative research among diverse demographic groups has several drawbacks (Giordano, 2003;McLoyd, 1990
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript differences in friendship. Second, our understanding of minority youth is incomplete, and perhaps biased, given the focus on problematic sexual behavior and the inattention to core interpersonal relationship dimensions.Adolescents experience both closeness and conflict in close peer relationships. Selfdisclosure and the provision of mutual support play important roles in the development of intimacy (Connolly, Furman, & Konarski, 2000;Savin-William & Berndt, 1990;Youniss & Smollar, 1985). Conflict can lead to closer ties and new understandings of others (Youniss & Smollar, 1985) or to fear of betrayal and interpersonal sensitivity (Downey, Bonica, & Rincón, 1999;Way, 1998).Gender differences have been consistently found in research on friendships among White adolescents, with higher levels of intimacy in friendships between girls in comparison to boys (Brown & Klute, 2003;Giordano, 2003). Whereas the majority of girls appear to have close friends...