Intimacy Between Adolescent Friends: Age and Gender Differences in Intimate Affect and Intimate Behaviors

Abstract Employing a longitudinal design, we examined intimate affect and intimate behaviors in the social interactions of adolescent boys and girls. A total of 128 adolescents were observed in a semistructured interaction with a same-gender friend in Grades 9,10, and 11. Developmental changes were evident. Intimacy based on discussion and self-disclosure increased between Grades 9 and 10, and the capacity for sustained intimate affect increased between Grades 10 and l l. These developments occurred for both boys and girls. Moreover, the boys and girls did not differ in their sustainment of shared affect in interactions with their friends. However, they did differ in intimate behaviors: The girls were more likely than the boys to establish intimacy through discussion and self-disclosure; the boys were more likely than the girls to establish intimacy through shared activities. The implications of these findings regarding development and differential gender patterns of intimacy are discussed.