Friendship

Friendship is a relationship between two or more people who hold mutual affection for each other. The value of friendship The value of friendship may be expressed as the benefit gained from a friend who is consistently demonstrating any of the following:

The tendency to desire what is best for the other Sympathy and empathy Honesty, even in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth Mutual understanding and compassion; ability to go to each other for emotional support Enjoyment of each other's company Trust in one another Positively strong, deep, close reciprocity, mutualityequal give-and-take between the two parties The ability to be oneself, express one's feelings and make mistakes without fear of judgment.

Types of friendships Friends are people we know and trust, and who are special to us socially and emotionally. Friends are usually chosen among people who are considered the same as us. The people adults select as friends tend to be those who:

have grown up together have similar occupations have children the same age have similar interests are the same general age and the same gender

The majority of adults have three or more close friends and more than half of adults have ten or more friends. Men and women have the same number of friends, however, women are likely to confide more in friendships than men. Men tend to enjoy activities or discuss and practice special skills. Adults also often make friends based on who their children are friends with. Many times, parents within a neighborhood are all friends because they are around each other so much because of their children. Parents will also often make friends with other parents on their childrens sports teams for the same reason. Not all adult associations will end up in the friendship stage, however, it is likely that some will share commonalities and form a deeper relationship Making a friend Three significant factors make the formation of a friendship possible:

proximity, which means being near enough to see each other or do things together; repeatedly encountering the person informally and without making special plans to see each other; and opportunities to share ideas and personal feelings with each other.[