Friendships are developmentally important and personally beneficial relationships for all children and youth. Despite emphasis from families and educators of students with severe disabilities on the importance of promoting and supporting friendships with their typically developing (TD) peers in inclusive settings, such relationships remain…

In this systematic review, we examined quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies on loneliness in autistic adults. A total of 1460 articles were identified, and 34 of these met inclusion criteria. Results demonstrated that (1) there is a paucity of qualitative data providing first-hand descriptions of loneliness from autistic adults; (2)…

Longitudinal, mixed method research on friendships, conducted over the past two decades with Black, Latino, Asian, and European American boys, reveals three themes: (1) the importance for boys of being able to share their secrets with their close friends; (2) the importance of close friendships for boys' mental health; and (3) the loss of but…

The development of intimate same- and other-sex friendships in Arab children and adolescents in Israel was investigated in relation to their perceived parenting styles. It was hypothesized that girls would show higher levels of intimacy than boys, and that cross-sex intimacy in both groups would increase with age, whereas same-sex intimate…

In order to explore factors that influence gender differences in same-sex friendship behaviors, the present study examined how affiliation motive, as measured by thematic apperception to same-sex cues, and affiliation value, obtained from modified Edwards (1957) Personal Preference Scale, determine type of friendship situation and its particular…