Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people.

[1] Friendship is a
stronger form of interpersonal bond than an association. Friendship has been
studied in academic fields such as communication, sociology, social psychology,
anthropology, and philosophy. Various academic theories of friendship have been
proposed, including social exchange theory, equity theory, relational dialectics,
and attachment styles.

Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to
place, certain characteristics are present in many types of bond. Such
characteristics include affection; kindness; love; virtue; sympathy; empathy;
honesty; altruism; mutual understanding and compassion; enjoyment of each other's
company; trust; and the ability to be oneself, express one's feelings, and make
mistakes without fear of judgment from the friend.

Contents [hide]
1 Developmental psychology
1.1 Childhood
1.2 Adolescence
1.3 Adulthood
1.4 Older adults
2 Developmental issues
2.1 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
2.2 Autism
2.3 Down syndrome
3 Health
3.1 Mental health
4 Dissolution
5 Demographics
5.1 Gender differences
6 In animals
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links
Developmental psychology[edit]
Childhood[edit]

Childhood friends
The understanding of friendship in children tends to be more heavily focused on
areas such as common activities, physical proximity, and shared expectations.
[2]:498[a] These friendships provide opportunity for playing and practicing self-
regulation.[3]:246 Most children tend to describe friendship in terms of things
like sharing, and children are more likely to share with someone they consider to
be a friend.[3]:246[4][5] As children mature, they become less individualized and
are more aware of others. They gain the ability to empathize with their friends,
and enjoy playing in groups. They also experience peer rejection as they move
through the middle childhood years. Establishing good friendships at a young age
helps a child to be better acclimated in society later on in their life.[4]

Based upon the reports of teachers and mothers, 75% of preschool children had at
least one friend. This figure rose to 78% through the fifth grade, as measured by
co-nomination as friends, and 55% had a mutual best friend.[3]:247 About 15% of
children were found to be chronically friendless, reporting periods without mutual
friends at least six months.[3]:250

Potential benefits of friendship include the opportunity to learn about empathy and
problem solving.[6] Coaching from parents can be useful in helping children to make
friends. Eileen Kennedy-Moore describes three key ingredients of children's
friendship formation: (1) openness, (2) similarity, and (3) shared fun.[7][8][9]
Parents can also help children understand social guidelines they haven't learned on
their own.[10] Drawing from research by Robert Selman[11] and others, Kennedy-Moore
outlines developmental stages in children's friendship, reflecting an increasing
capacity to understand others' perspectives: "I Want It My Way", "What's In It For
Me?", "By the Rules", "Caring and Sharing", and "Friends Through Thick and
Thin."[12]

Adolescence[edit]

Two friends in Bhutan

In adolescence, friendships become "more giving, sharing, frank, supportive, and
spontaneous." Adolescents tend to seek out peers who can provide such qualities in
a reciprocal relationship, and to avoid peers who's problematic behavior suggest
they may not be able to satisfy these needs.[13] Relationships begin to become more
focused on shared values, loyalty, and common interests, rather than physical
concerns like proximity and access to play things that more characterize childhood.
[3]:246

A study performed at the University of Texas at Austin examined over 9,000 American
adolescents to determine how their engagement in problematic behavior (such as
stealing, fighting, and truancy) was related t