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What Is a Friend? An Exploratory Typology of the Meanings of Friendship

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  • Verónica Policarpo

    (Research Centre for Communication and Culture, Catholic University of Portugal, Palma de Cima, Lisbon 1649-023, Portugal
    Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK)

Abstract

In this article I explore the contemporary normative meanings of friendship, unpacking the subject through two different questions: “what is a good friend?” and “what is an intimate friend?” Drawing on survey data from a national representative sample ( n = 1142), the topic is explored in the context of a southern European country (Portugal) that represents an interesting case study, for its characteristics of late, though abrupt, entrance into late modernity. Statistical analysis of the results enabled the construction of an exploratory typology of representations of friendship, according to the meanings ascribed to friends: family-oriented ; trust-oriented ; self-oriented ; and presence-oriented . Results inspire a two-folded interpretation. On the one hand, they point to a pervasiveness of hegemonic representations such as friendship as trust and self-disclosure, namely among the younger and more educated. On the other hand, they highlight the pervasiveness of kinship ties in the definition of friendship, namely among the elderly and less educated. This suggests that patterns of suffusion may not only refer to more individualized and plural arrangements of personal life, but also to the persistence of more traditional representations and practices, characterized by an ideological commitment to the family in its more institutional forms.

Suggested Citation

  • Verónica Policarpo, 2015. "What Is a Friend? An Exploratory Typology of the Meanings of Friendship," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:4:y:2015:i:1:p:171-191:d:45717
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lynn Jamieson, 2011. "Intimacy as a Concept: Explaining Social Change in the Context of Globalisation or Another Form of Ethnocentricism?," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(4), pages 151-163, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Verónica Policarpo, 2017. "Friendship, Gender and Sexual Experience: Retrospective Narratives about the Formation of a Sexual Self during Youth," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 22(2), pages 118-129, May.
    2. Bo-Chiuan Su & Li-Wei Wu & Yevvon-Yi-Chi Chang & Ruo-Hao Hong, 2021. "Influencers on Social Media as References: Understanding the Importance of Parasocial Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-19, September.

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