Original scientific paper

Some determinants of opposite-sex friendships initiation and dissolution

Svjetlana Salkičević ; Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb

Abstract

From the evolutionary perspective, friends help us solve the adaptive problems of reproduction, our own survival, and survival of our offspring. Opposite-sex friendships (OSFs) provide individuals with a wider net of quality friends, potential mates, and protectors, with sex differences originating in parental investment differences: in OSFs
men pursue sexual access, while females seek physical protection and long-term mate potential. We investigated the relationship of sex, gender roles, sociosexuality (SOI), and romantic involvement with the reasons for OSFs initiation and dissolution in a sample of 94 female and 90 male heterosexual students of Zagreb University. Initiation of OSF because of sexual attraction and availability is more important to men and participants with higher SOI, while friendship dissolution for the same reason is more important to those with higher SOI, masculinity, and femininity. Initiation of OSF because of physical protection is more important to women and participants with higher femininity, and dissolution for the same reason is more important to women; OSF initiation because of romantic relationship
potential is more important to men. These findings can be explained by sex differences in long-term mating strategies, rendering the reasons for initiation of OSFs similar to those for engaging in long-term romantic relationships.

Keywords

opposite-sex friendships; sociosexuality; gender roles; relationship status

Hrčak ID:

128168

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/128168

Publication date:

1.9.2014.

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