Friendships and Acquaintanceships

In this chapter, we review and integrate the literature on friendships and acquaintanceships in adulthood. We begin with a broad perspective on friends and acquaintances by considering them as members of a larger social network, with friends as part of the inner layers and acquaintances in the outer layers. Then we review the literature focused on friendships, including their life course (formation, maintenance, and endings). Most friendships begin as acquaintances, but not all acquaintances become friends. In a third section we focus on the diverse types of acquaintances, factors associated with how many acquaintances people have, and the unique needs met by acquaintances. Friends and acquaintances have influences on many areas of people’s lives including their romantic relationships and their health and well-being, which are issues also discussed in this chapter.