The Role of Communication in Same-Sex Friendships: A Comparison among African Americans, Asian Americans, and European Americans

Abstract

This study explored whether affectively oriented forms of communication are accorded the same significance in the friendships of Asian and African Americans as they are in the friendships of European Americans. Participants (72 Asian American men and women; 50 African American men and women; and 55 European American men and women) indicated the importance of affectively versus instrumentally oriented communication skills using a revised version of the authors’ Communication Functions Questionnaire. Results indicated a complex pattern of differences due to ethnicity, sex, and type of communication skill. In particular, European American women viewed the affectively oriented skills of their same-sex friends as more important than did African American women. These and related findings are discussed in terms of the role communication plays in friendships, and how this role is moderated by ethnicity and sex.

Keywords:

• Friendship
• Communication Skills
• Communication Values
• Gender Differences
• Ethnic Differences

Notes

Wendy Samter (PhD, Purdue University, 1989) is a Professor in the Department of Communication, Bryant University, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917, USA (Tel: [phone]; Email: [email protected]). Brant R. Burleson (PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982) is a Professor in the Department of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA (Tel: [phone]; Email: [email protected]). A version of this paper was presented at the Biennial International Conference on Personal Relationships, Saratoga College, Saratoga Springs, NY, 1998. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to the first author.

To assess whether the age of participants confounded the effects of sex and ethnicity, we assessed the potential covariation of age with sex and ethnicity with a 2 (sex)×3 (ethnicity) analysis of variance (ANOVA) in which participant age was the dependent variable. This analysis indicated that participant age did not covary with sex, F(1, 171)=3.17, ns; ethnicity, F(2, 171)=1.76, ns; or the interaction between sex and ethnicity, F(2, 171)=1.07, ns. To further assess the potentially confounding effects of age, this variable was entered as a covariate in a 3×2×10 (ethnicity×sex×skill type) mixed-model ANOVA with importance of skill as the dependent variable. Including age as a covariate did not alter the pattern of significant effects reported in the results section. Details of this supplemental analysis are available from the authors on request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brant R. Burleson

Wendy Samter (PhD, Purdue University, 1989) is a Professor in the Department of Communication, Bryant University, 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917, USA (Tel: [phone]; Email: [email protected]). Brant R. Burleson (PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1982) is a Professor in the Department of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA (Tel: [phone]; Email: [email protected]). A version of this paper was presented at the Biennial International Conference on Personal Relationships, Saratoga College, Saratoga Springs, NY, 1998. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to the first author.