Same and other: Interdependency between participation in same- and other-sex friendships

Linear and curvilinear associations between experiences in the same- and ot her-sex peer groups and the protective functions of friendship with an othe r-sex peer for early adolescents without a same-sex friend were examined in a sample of 231 fifth, sixth, and seventh grade girls and boys. Findings i ndicate that (a) at the level of the individual, early adolescent girls and , to a much smaller extent, early adolescent boys show a preference for sam e-sex peers; (b) this unilateral difference in expansiveness accounts for d ifferences in participation rates in same- and other-sex friendships; (c) c hildren of both sexes who are either very popular or very unpopular are mor e likely than other children to have other-sex friends; and (d) among child ren without a same-sex friend, having an other-sex friend is linked to high er levels of perceived well-being for boys and lower levels of well-being f or girls. Each of these results is discussed according to our understanding of how the same- and other-sex peer systems function as a system to affect development in early adolescence.