Other-Sex Friendship Involvement among Delinquent Adolescent Females

• Published date: 01 January 2006
• Date: 01 January 2006
• Author: Brett Johnson Solomon
• DOI: 10.1177/1541204005282313
• Subject Matter: Articles

10.1177/1541204005282313Youth Violence and Juvenile JusticeSolomon / OTHER-SEX FRIENDSHIPS

OTHER-SEX FRIENDSHIP INVOLVEMENT

AMONG DELINQUENT ADOLESCENT

FEMALES

Brett Johnson Solomon

Santa Clara University

Ninety-two delinquent and nondelinquent African American and Hispanic adolescent

females (ages 13 to 17) from Los Angeles County were interviewed to determine the like-

lihood of male friendship selection. Using both qualitative and quantitative measures,

the group’s demographic backgrounds, friendship selection, and quality were compared.

Additionally, delinquent girls completed measures examining their self-perceptions and

feelings of loneliness. Results indicate that delinquent girls are significantly more likely

than nondelinquent girls to identify males as their closest friends. Age of friend, per-

ceived advantages of the friendship, and involvement in delinquent and similar activities

are related to male friendship selection. The results also reveal that delinquent girls

with male friends do not differ from the female-friend groups on quantitative measures

of friendship quality. Finally, among the delinquent population only, no differences be-

tween friendship groups exist for feelings of loneliness, competence, and self-worth.

Keywords: human females; female delinquency; friendship; relationship quality

Girls talk too much. They’re always bitching. Always complaining. Wherever there’s a

female, there’s drama.

One might assume that an adolescent boy made the above statement, but in fact, it was

made by a 14-year-old delinquent girl!1These words represent the sentiment that some de-

linquent girls have about other girls. Some delinquent girls also reveal a tendency to iden-

tify boys as their closest friends. As background for this study, the topic of girls identifying

boys as their closest friends was explored during focus groups that were conducted with de-

tained adolescent girls at a Los Angeles County juvenile detention center. During discus-

sions in these groups, a constant theme emerged relating to the fact that girls did not identify

other girls as their friends but rather identified boys. It is interesting that they did not refer to

75

Author’s Note: This research was supported in part by fellowships from the Spencer Foundation and the Univer-

sity of California, Los Angeles. Data presented in this study were collected for the author’s dissertationwhile she

was a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles. This manuscript was written during the au-

thor’s appointment at SantaClara University. The author wishes to thank the staff of the Los Angeles County Juve-

nile Probation Department for their cooperation throughout this study and Dr. Sandra H. Graham and Dr. Eleanor

Willemsen for their feedback and editing. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brett

Johnson Solomon, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053; e-mail: bsolomon@

scu.edu.

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, Vol. 4 No. 1, January 2006 75-96

DOI: 10.1177/1541204005282313

© 2006 Sage Publications

other adolescent girls as girls but rather as “females.” Furthermore, they did not consider

girls as their friends but rather as “associates.”

The research reported in this study examined nonromantic close friendships as re-

ported by delinquent adolescent girls about their male friends (other-sex friendships). One

reason it is important to examine the possibility that delinquent adolescent girls identify

males as their closest friends is the limited empirical research on the social factors related to

(predictive of) female adolescent delinquency. The fact that littleis known aboutdelinquent

girls and their social networks can be attributed to the fact that delinquency research has pri-

marily focused on the male population. Furthermore, the delinquency research that does ex-

ist has primarily examined academic, familial, and peer influences, to the relative exclusion

of close friendships. Little is known about how other-sex friends might affect psychological

growth and/or influence delinquent behavior among adolescent girls. There is literature that

suggests that children and preadolescents who have only an other-sex friend have higher

levels of social maladjustment and fewer positive feelings of competence and self-worth

(Bukowski, Sippola, & Hoza, 1999). To date, however, a body of literature does not exist

that examines characteristics and developmental outcomes of delinquent adolescents who

identify solely an other-sex friend.

As such, the goals of this study are threefold: (a) to determine if delinquent adolescent

girls are more likely than nondelinquent girls to identify males as their closest friends, (b) to

identify the quality of friendships among delinquent and nondelinquent adolescent girls and

their friends, and (c) to understand feelings of loneliness, perceived competence, and self-

worth among the delinquent participants in the study.

Literature Review

Friendship Quality

Friendship quality refers to a group of positive or negative features that, when taken

together, assess overall satisfaction with or quality of the relationship. Researchers believe

that developing a quality friendship requires a sophisticated set of interpersonal skills, such

as emotional support, reliability, intimacy, helpfulness, and the ability to perceive and un-

derstand the needs and feelings of the other person (Asher, Parker, & Walker, 1996;

Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis, 1988). Some researchers have considered a qual-

ity friendship between two individuals as being mutually exclusive, reciprocating, and en-

during across time (Bukowski, Hoza, & Boivin, 1994). Furthermore, being involved in a

quality friendship has been related to positive self-esteem among adolescents (Berndt,

1996). Bukowski et al. (1994) have operationalized the conceptually meaningful aspects of

friendship that comprise friendship quality to include companionship, conflict, help, secu-

rity, and closeness. The above aspects are measured in the Friendship Qualities Scale

(Bukowski et al., 1994).

Other-Sex Friendships

“Basic research on adolescent relationshipswith other-sex peers isalmost non-existent”

(Sippola, 1999, p. 408). Of the research that does exist, the main focus is on factors that in-

fluence heterosexual relations between girls and boys as well as on the advantages that these

friendships served in predicting later romantic relationship success. Few studies exist that

76 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice