Friendship, Marriage and Self-Esteem

This study compares best same-sex friendship and friendship within marriage for men and women and investigates links between relationship quality and self-esteem. Partners in 219 couples completed measures of friendship quality, marital adjustment and self-esteem. Results indicate that men and women see their spousal friendships more similarly than their best friendships. Men make greater distinctions between spouses and friends than do women. These findings suggest that women perceive similar provisions from their spouses and friends, whereas men may not. Marital adjustment and friendship quality are significantly related to self-esteem for both sexes. Although women appear more sensitive to disagreements in their marriages, the detrimental effect of conflict on self-esteem was similar for men and women.