Crossing the Chasm: a Qualitative Analysis of Cross-Sex Friendship

This is an exploratory study of cross-sex friendship specifically utilizing a qualitative method of research to examine how individuals define friendship, the satisfactions gained in cross-sex friendship, and the maintenance strategies used in order to keep the friendship platonic. While there has been a plethora of studies focusing on relationship genres such as same-sex friendship and romantic love, cross-sex friendship has not been given sufficient exploration. A constant comparative method was utilized in order to categorize data retrieved through an interview process into emerging themes that answered the research questions guiding this study. Results indicated interesting similarities and differences that men and women hold in their perception of the phenomenon of cross-sex friendship