Gummerum,M.
Keller,M.

The development of friendship understanding has rarely been explored from a cross-cultural perspec- tive. In this study, children and adolescents from Iceland, China, Russia, and the former East Germany were investigated in one longitudinal and three cross-sectional samples. Children from three different Chinese ecologies were inter viewed to account for within-culture variation. Participants were inter viewed about friendship closeness and intimacy at ages 7, 9, 12, and 15 years. Their state- ments were scored according to (a) structural–developmental stages and (b) content aspects of friendship reasoning. Results reveal that the development of friendship reasoning of participants from all societies could be captured by the cognitive–structural stages and content categories developed in western cultures. At the same time, distinct cultural differences emerged, especially between the Russian and Chinese participants, on the one hand, and the Icelandic and East German participants, on the other hand. The within-China analyses reveal little differences for the content aspects of friendship understanding between the three ecologies, but differences in the cognitive–structural aspects of friendship reasoning were found.

Gummerum, M., & Keller, M. (2008). Affection, virtue, pleasure, and profit: Developing an understanding of friendship closeness and intimacy in western and Asian societies. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 32, 218-231. (Full text)

Publication year	2008
Document type:	Article
Publication status:	Published
External URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0165025408089271 View
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Keywords:	closenessculturedoraemon and nobitaeast germanyfriendshipguanher friend birkicelandintimacyjonathanliu beironiarussiasworn brothersthethe fox tod andthe hound copperthe robber