The Interpersonal Lives of Young Adult Women: A Study of Passionate Friendship

172 Pages·2017·0.76 MB·English

Utah State University
THE INTERPERSONAL LIVES OF YOUNG ADULT WOMEN:
A STUDY OF PASSIONATE FRIENDSHIP
by
Jenna Ann Glover
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in
Psychology
Approved:
______________________________ ______________________________
Renee V Galliher , Ph.D. Susan L. Crowley, Ph.D.
Major Professor Committee Member
______________________________ ______________________________
Melanie Domenech Rodriguez, Ph.D. Gretchen Gimpel Peacock, Ph.D.
Committee Member Committee Member
______________________________ ______________________________
Julie Gast, Ph.D. Byron R. Burnham, Ed.D.
Committee Member Dean of Graduate Studies
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
Logan, Utah
2009
ii
Copyright © Jenna Ann Glover 2009
All Rights Reserved
iii
ABSTRACT
The Interpersonal Lives of Women: A Study of
Passionate Friendship Among Women
by
Jenna Ann Glover, Doctor of Philosophy
Utah State University, 2009
Major Professor: Dr. Renee V. Galliher
Department of Psychology
This study was designed to further understand passionate friendships in a sample
of heterosexual and lesbian, bisexual, and questioning (LBQ) women. Previous research
has established that LBQ women engage in same-sex passionate friendships (unusually
intense friendships that are similar to romantic relationships but devoid of sexual
intimacy), but no systematic classification system has been established to identify these
relationships in a general sample of women. A new quantitative measure, the Passionate
Friendship Survey, was developed to measure passionate friendship experiences in
women across adolescence and young adulthood. Qualitative interviews were also
conducted to understand the subjective experience of passionate friendships in
heterosexual and LBQ women.
Passionate friendships are present in both heterosexual and LBQ women during
adolescence and young adulthood, but are developmentally more likely to occur during
adolescence and are correlated to more positive outcomes during adolescence compared
iv
to young adulthood. Passionate friendships also appear to serve different functions
related to exploration and integration of sexual orientation for LBQ compared to
heterosexual women. Characteristics, correlates, and functions of passionate friendship
are presented as well as recommendations for future research in this area.
(171 pages)
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The past five years of my academic experience have been some of the hardest and
most rewarding in my life, and so much of that journey has been enjoyed and successful
because of the mentorship I have received from Dr. Renee Galliher. She has provided
support and unlimited opportunities for me to grow as both a student and person. Her
openness, direction, and support have helped me complete many goals including this
project, but I know her greatest contribution to me has been as a model for how to help
graduate students develop into better professionals and, more importantly, people. Thank
you for everything you have done; truly there are not enough words to express the ways
you have influenced me for good.
I also greatly appreciate the time and expertise of my committee members, Drs.
Melanie Domenech-Rodriguez, Gretchen Gimpel Peacock, Susan Crowley, and Julie
Gast. Your feedback helped me better refine my project and create a more meaningful
and robust study. Additionally, your comments provided encouragement for me to
continue to develop this line of research as I pursue my career.
All I can do is laugh and say thank you as I think of my friends and colleagues
who have traveled on this journey with me. You helped me find my perspective and
humanistic orientation throughout this process! Also, thank you to my amazing friends
outside of school for caring and listening to me talk about my work, and for always being
excited and supportive during this process. It has meant more than each of you could
know.
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I am most indebted to my family who has been my constant support and cheering
section through life and especially graduate schools. I love my brothers and their
willingness to help me throughout this period of my life in ways not directly related to
school, but in ways that reduce my stress so I could accomplish my academic goals.
Finally, I am so grateful for my parents and all the substantial material, emotional, and
spiritual gifts they have blessed me with. Thank you for instilling in me the drive to
accomplish my academic goals as well as the common sense to know what is most
important in life. You two are the greatest in my heart.
Jenna Ann Glover
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CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Friendship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Romantic Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Passionate Friendship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Purpose and Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
III. METHODS .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Quantitative Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Qualitative Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
IV. RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Quantitative Analyses
Passionate Friendship Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Passionate Friendship Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Passionate Friendship Correlates .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Qualitative Analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
V. DISCUSSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Measure Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Passionate Friendship Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Passionate Friendship Correlates .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Passionate Friendship Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Summary and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
viii
Page
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Appendix A: Recruitment Letter and Consent Form for
Quantitative Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Appendix B: Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Appendix C: Consent Form for Qualitative Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Appendix D: Semistructured Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
CURRICULUM VITAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Principal Axis Factoring of Passionate Friendship Survey
Adolescent Friendships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2 Principal Axis Factoring Three-Factor Solution of Passionate
Friendship Survey Adolescent Friendships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3 Principal Axis Factoring of Passionate Friendship Survey
Current Friendships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4 Principal Axis Factoring Three-Factor Solution of Passionate
Friendships Survey Current Friendships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
5 Means, Standard Deviations, and Alphas for Passionate and
Nonpassionate Friends on the Passionate Friendship Survey
Subscale, Jealousy Items, and Total Score (N = 229) . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6 Dependent-Samples t Tests Comparing Adolescent and Current
Friends on the Passionate Friendship Survey Subscales,
Jealousy Items, and Total Score (N = 226) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
7 Means and Standard Deviations for Passionate and Nonpassionate
Friends on the Passionate Friendship Survey Subscales, Jealousy
Items, and Total Score (N = 229) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8 Two-Way Contingency Tables Statistical Results for Characteristics
With Passionate and Nonpassionate Friendship for Adolescent
Friendship (N = 230) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
9 Independent-Sample t Tests Comparing Sexual Orientation Groups
on Adolescent Scores of the Passionate Friendship Subscales,
Jealousy Items, and Total Score (N = 223) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
10 Independent-Samples t Tests Comparing LDS Versus non-LDS
Individuals on Adolescent Scores of the Passionate Friendship
Survey Subscales, Jealousy Items, and Total Score (N = 234) . . . . . . . 60
11 Independent-Sample t Tests Comparing Infrequent and Frequent
Daters on Adolescent Scores of the Passionate Friendship Survey
Subscales, Jealousy Items, and Total Score (N = 230) . . . . . . . . . . . 62