title: Male Iranian adolescent's reasons for having an other-gender friend.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to identify the primary reasons why male Iranian adolescents enter into other-gender friendships.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative study was conducted with a sample of 21 male adolescents recruited in public places in Tehran, Iran. Information about each boy's experiences with other-gender friends was collected via semi-structured interviews whose contents were analyzed with a conventional qualitative content analysis approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five reasons were identified for engaging in other-gender friendships: (a) for the purpose of entertainment, (b) financial benefits, (c) increased popularity with peers, (d) sensation seeking and (e) sexual experiences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study revealed that adolescent males do not follow appropriate goals for communicating with the other-gender. In many cases, these goals could endanger their own health and the health of their other-gender friends. Future researchers must focus on identifying and understanding the factors that influence an adolescent to enter into an other-gender friendship.
authors.forename: Nasim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bahrami
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simbar
authors.forename: AbouAli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vedadhir
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Bukowski
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Panarello
keywords: adolescents; content analysis; friendship; qualitative study