An in-depth interview format was used to explore gender and age differences in friendship patterns. Groups described friendship in superficially similar ways. However, in the taped interviews, large gender differences appeared that followed conceptually along instrumental/expressive dimensions. Age differences also appeared. (Author/ABB)

Questionnaires were administered to a sample of adults to assess the extent of social distance between people of different ages. The findings suggest that the greater the age difference (younger or older) between people, the greater the social distance they feel. (Author)

The salience of kin and other categories of relationships for people at various stages of the life cycle is investigated. Their sets of close relationships, conceptualized as personal networks, are found to vary with age and life stage, in composition, stability, and degree of involvement. (Author)

Adolescents' attitudes toward aged were positive, regardless of age. Contact with grand-parents and more positive attitudes were found in middle class compared to lower class, and among whites compared to nonwhites. Questionnaires were given to all 9th and 12th grade students in a rural high school (N=413). (Author)

Occasions where children oppose each other have been claimed to convey intellectual benefits through their association with justification and resolution. They have been claimed to promote social rejection through their association with aggression. Because it is inconceivable that intellectual benefits imply social costs, either the relation…

Young and middle-aged adults contrast with aged adults in their reactions to sudden economic expansion in a small town favored by many as their retirement community. During anthropological research in this community, conflicts between various age strata were noted to be more intense when persons are strangers. (Author)

Identification of age differences as a major characteristic of satisfying heterosexual love relationships was investigated. Married couples (N=102), divided equally into three groups, i.e., young, middle-aged, and older adults, completed a 108-item instrument, rating each statement in terms of how well it described their current love relationship.…

Examines the quality of communicative interaction and task performance among younger and older women in relation to conversation distance and density. Results indicate that older persons exhibit positive communication behaviors in response to spatial intrusions while younger subjects show the negative, compensatory withdrawal behaviors normally…

A study examined two factors thought to affect an individual's preference for confrontation or avoidance strategies when ending a relationship--communicator age and sex role orientation. Subjects were 29 fifth grade students, 64 high school sophomores, 43 college students, and 37 adults enrolled in a night class. All subjects read a scenario from…