Preferences for Closeness and Endurance in Friendship: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Cross-Cultural Research • Vol/Iss. 59(4) • Sage Journal • • Published In • Pages: 455-480 •
By Apostolou,  Menelaos, Sullman,  Mark, Ayers,  Jessica D., Błachnio,  Agata, Choubisa,  Rajneesh, Gadelrab,  Hesham F., Hill,  Tetiana, Kamble,  Shanmukh, Lisun,  Yanina, Manrique-Millones,  Denisse, Millones-Rivalles,  Rosa, Ohtsubo,  Yohsuke, Przepiórka,  Aneta, Tekeş,  Burcu, Vera Cruz,  Germano, Wang,  Yan, Watanabe,  Yukino, Ghorbani,  Arya, Shahrour,  Ghada

Abstract

This article asks about the types of friendships people prefer across cultures, focusing on closeness and endurance. The authors hypothesize that people generally favor close and enduring friendships, especially when seeking support and social input, while those with self-serving or mate-seeking goals may prefer casual and convenient ones. Using data from 6,224 participants across 12 countries, they find that most people prefer close and enduring friendships, and that preferences largely align with actual friendships. Results also show small but significant effects of Dark Triad traits—particularly Machiavellianism—on friendship preferences. The conclusion is that friendship preferences are broadly consistent across cultures but shaped by individual goals and personality.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
OthersResearcher's ownSubset of data gathered from the researcher's previous study. (Apostolou et. al, 2024)

Hypotheses (10)

HypothesisSupported
People would likely to prefer having combination of close and casual friendships, leaning towards the former. Supported
People would prefer to have a combination of enduring and convenient friendships, leaning towards the former.Supported
Preferences for closeness and endurance in friendship would be generally consistent across cultures.Supported
People are likely able to be effective in getting the friends they want.Supported
Stronger preferences for friendships for support and socializing are likely to be associated with stronger preferences for close and enduring friendships.Supported
Stronger preferences for friendships in self-serving goals would likely be associated with stronger preferences for casual and convenience friendships.Supported
The higher a participant scores on the Machiavellianism scale, the stronger their preference would be for casual and convenience friendships.Partially Supported
Collectivist/low relational-mobility societies are likely to value closeness in friendships.Supported
Collectivist/low relational-mobility societies are likely to value endurance in friendships.Partially Supported
A participant’s age and sex will likely affect their friendship preferences with closeness & endurance.Partially Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jonathan.zhang