title: Girls' and boys' problem talk: Implications for emotional closeness in friendships.
abstract: This research highlights the critical role of gender in the context of problem talk and social support in adolescents' friendships. Early- and middle-adolescents' (N = 314 friend dyads; Ms = 13.01 and 16.03 years) conversations about problems were studied using observation and a short-term longitudinal design. Mean-level gender differences emerged in that girls participated in problem talk more than boys and responded in a more positive and engaged manner to friends' statements about problems (e.g., by saying something supportive, asking a question) than did boys. Interestingly, boys used humor during problem talk more than girls. Despite mean-level differences, there were not gender differences in the functional significance of participating in problem talk and positive engaged responses in that these behaviors predicted increased friendship closeness for both boys and girls. In contrast, humor during problem talk predicted increased closeness only for boys, highlighting an understudied pathway to closeness in boys' friendships.
authors: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri.
authors: Amanda J
authors: AJ
authors: Rose
authors: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut.
authors: Rhiannon L
authors: RL
authors: Smith
authors: Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
authors: Gary C
authors: GC
authors: Glick
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Maine.
authors: Rebecca A
authors: RA
authors: Schwartz-Mette
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004522:Educational Status; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012919:Social Behavior; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic