Conceptions of cross-sex friendships and romantic relationships in early adolescence

Adolescents' conceptions of cross-sex friendships and romantic relationship s were explored in a sample of 1755 adolescent boys and girls ranging in ag e from 9 to 14 years. These adolescents uniquely characterized romantic rel ationships in terms of passion and commitment whereas cross-sex friendships were largely characterized by affiliation. Even the youngest of the adoles cents made these distinctions. Nonetheless, both age and experience were as sociated with changes in the use of descriptors. References to intimacy inc reased in both types of relationships, and references to passion and affili ation decreased. These age- and experience-related differences occurred ind ependently of each other The results are consistent with the view that even young adolescents who are lacking extensive experiences with cross-sex and romantic relationships would have an awareness of the core features of rom antic relationships. Moreover their conceptions were consistent with adults ' views of love and friendship suggesting a shared cultural base for concep tions of cross-sex friendship and romantic relationships.