Keeping and Ending Casual, Close and Best Friendships

Strategies for maintaining and ending casual, close and best friendships were investigated using a sample of ninety young adults, aged twenty to twenty-eight. As hypothesized, best friendships were regarded as more self-maintaining, more based on affection and less affected by a decrease in contact than close friendships, which in turn were more dependent on affection and interaction and less dependent on proximity than casual friendships. Best and close levels were more clearly differentiated for hypothetical cases of friendship than for actual ones. Life-stage and sex also affected friendship conceptions. The implications of the friendship level results for friendship research methodology are discussed.