Preferences for Closeness and Endurance in Friendship: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Friendships vary in closeness and endurance: Some friendships are closer while others are more casual; some are more enduring while others last only as long as they are convenient. The present study examined friendship preferences in these dimensions. Using data from a cross-cultural sample ( N = 6224) taken from 12 countries, we found that the vast majority of participants preferred a combination of close and casual friendships, with a preference for having more close friendships. Similarly, most participants preferred a combination of enduring and convenience friendships, with a preference for having more enduring friendships. Additionally, participants’ preferences closely matched their actual friendships, with these findings being generally consistent across cultures. We found also that participants who preferred friendships that enabled them to receive support and social input were more likely to prefer close and enduring friendships over casual and convenient ones. The opposite was true for participants who preferred friendships that allowed them to achieve self-serving goals and gain access to mates. Furthermore, we found significant but small direct and indirect effects of the Dark Triad personality traits, especially Machiavellianism, on preferences for closeness and endurance in friendship.

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Publication Details

Journal
Cross-Cultural Research
Published
2025-04-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/10693971251332974
Primary Topic
Cultural Differences and Values
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Preferences for Closeness and Endurance in Friendship: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Germano Vera Cruz, Menelaos Apostolou, Hesham F. Gadelrab, Rajneesh Choubisa et al.
Cross-Cultural Research
Cultural Differences and Values
article

Preferences for Closeness and Endurance in Friendship: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Germano Vera Cruz, Menelaos Apostolou, Hesham F. Gadelrab, Rajneesh Choubisa, Burcu Tekeş, Aneta Przepiórka, Agata Błachnio, Shanmukh Vasant Kamble, Mark J. M. Sullman, Yohsuke Ohtsubo, Ghada Shahrour, Jessica D. Ayers, Denisse Manrique‐Millones, Rosa Millones-Rivalles, Yan Wang, Yukino Watanabe, Tetiana Hill, Yanina Lisun, Arya Ghorbani
article en

Abstract

Friendships vary in closeness and endurance: Some friendships are closer while others are more casual; some are more enduring while others last only as long as they are convenient. The present study examined friendship preferences in these dimensions. Using data from a cross-cultural sample ( N = 6224) taken from 12 countries, we found that the vast majority of participants preferred a combination of close and casual friendships, with a preference for having more close friendships. Similarly, most participants preferred a combination of enduring and convenience friendships, with a preference for having more enduring friendships. Additionally, participants’ preferences closely matched their actual friendships, with these findings being generally consistent across cultures. We found also that participants who preferred friendships that enabled them to receive support and social input were more likely to prefer close and enduring friendships over casual and convenient ones. The opposite was true for participants who preferred friendships that allowed them to achieve self-serving goals and gain access to mates. Furthermore, we found significant but small direct and indirect effects of the Dark Triad personality traits, especially Machiavellianism, on preferences for closeness and endurance in friendship.

Cross-Cultural ResearchVol. 59(4)
Karnatak University (IN), John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (PL), Boise State University (US), University of Hertfordshire (GB), Jordan University of Science and Technology (JO), University of Nicosia (CY), State University of Trade and Economics (UA), Başkent University (TR), Fudan University (CN), Universidad Científica del Sur (PE), Kuwait University (KW), Institute of Psychology (PL), Universidad Marcelino Champagnat (PE), Université de Picardie Jules Verne (FR), The University of Tokyo (JP), Ras al-Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University (AE)
Openalex Percentile: Top 92%
Cultural Differences and Values
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