How Is a Friendship Defined?

Friendship is a unique relationship of mutual complementarity between individuals. It's actually a more powerful form of emotional bond than a romantic relationship and is typically studied in social science, interpersonal communication, psychology, interpersonal interaction, and anthropology. It can also be viewed as a process whereby two people share their thoughts, feelings, perspectives, and even confidences with each other. Friendship develops over time as people become open and reveal to each other more about themselves, because they are interested in the other person's thoughts, opinions, values, hopes, fears, hopes, achievements, challenges, weaknesses, strengths, and capabilities.


There are many different types of adult friendships. It can be founded on academic or social relationships. It can also be formed from work life, professional relationships, hobby or family relationships, childhood relationships, or as a result of one's membership in a particular ethnic group, community, or religion. In the United States, many sociologists argue that ethnicity forms the basis for much of our societal relationships, so it is no surprise that many people look to familial relationships, civic organizations, or professional associations to form bonds of friendship.

Friendship is a complex and delicate relationship. It is most certainly not based on sexual attraction or even on lust. A friendship is established based on a deep emotional need to know the other person well and to be understood. Emotionally young children experience significant emotional needs every day, and those needs are usually met through early childhood relationships. In fact, many of our first friends were not even born; they became friends by being neglected during early childhood development. And, these friendships often become meaningful early in life.

A friendship is similar to a marriage. Two people who are friends will go to great lengths to share their thoughts, dreams, loves, pains, interests, and adventures. In fact, two individuals who are friends will go to great lengths to spend time together, to care for each other, to encourage each other, to tell each other jokes, to get along, to be nice to each other, to be critical of each other, to express anger, to compromise, to open up to new experiences and knowledge, to take risks, and to have fun. A friendship is therefore a two-way communication process between two individuals who are close and dependent upon one another. A friendship is also a process of establishing and maintaining reciprocal respect, trust, intimacy, belonging, and happiness between two people.

A friendship is more common than most people think. Many psychologists believe that friendships are probably more common than most people think because most people have at least one close relationship with someone who is also a close friend. However, only about 25% of married adults say that they have close relationships with their married partners. Friendships and marriages are therefore quite common, but there is not the same degree of emphasis placed on friendship and relationships.

A friendship means much more to some people than others. For some, a friendship means casual acquaintanceship that tends to deteriorate as time goes by, while for others, a true friendship means close personal bonds, emotional intimacy, and dependence. True friendship is usually defined as a unique combination of our shared characteristics, interests, and feelings, coupled with our willingness to pursue these traits and interests in the hopes that we will gain something out of it and feel emotionally fulfilled. Friendship is therefore a very important part of relationships.

True friendships may be difficult to come by when one or both of the individuals involved feels like they need to be the sole person responsible for dealing with issues, finances, work issues, or relationship issues. In addition, people sometimes feel like they cannot be "just friends" because of past hurts. Also, if there have been past breakups, some individuals may fear that they may lose the companionship of a former partner, and therefore put off starting a new relationship. These concerns can weigh heavily on a couple's relationships, causing the formation of what are known as "character defects," or unfavorable personality traits.


Character defects are also a common part of relationships, especially those where one or both partners have experienced past breakups. Character defects such as selfishness, dishonesty, disloyalty, anger, jealousy, pride, and so on, can cause one person to be distanced from another, which can result in not only a lack of friendships, but the loss of a good friend too. It has been shown that those who develop character flaws, or those who allow their good friend to suffer from such faults, do not themselves develop the good social skills that are required to be successful at interpersonal relationships. So friendships that focus on each partner's strengths, building on the strengths of the other, usually fare better in the long run.