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7/15/2025, 9:02:58 PM
>Yet when one looks at the research on adolescent boys, discussions of close friendships are almost entirely absent. When male friendships are discussed, they are often relegated to the superficial category of “buddies” and described as a “loose collections of peers that offer very little sharing or emotional support” (Biddulph, 2008, p. 40). Male friends are framed as back-slapping pals more interested in playing, competing, and boasting about various types of conquests than in talking together or sharing their inner lives (Oransky & Marecek, 2009). These relationships are, in essence, defined by their simplicity rather than by their complexity, emotional nuance, and depth ... Content analyses of the semistructured interviews of 135 boys, who were freshman in high school during the first year of my 3–5 year longitudinal studies of friendships, suggested three themes: (1) the importance of and desire for sharing secrets in their close friendships; (2) the importance of close friendships for their mental health; and (3) the loss of such friendships and/or trust as they transitioned from middle to late adolescence, although they continued to desire such friendships. These themes were evident in the interviews of over half of the boys in my studies, with themes such as the desire for intimacy and the importance of close friendships for mental health being evident in the interviews of over 85% of the boys
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