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Homophily, Close Friendship, and Life Satisfaction among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, and Bisexual Men and Women

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  • Brian Joseph Gillespie
  • David Frederick
  • Lexi Harari
  • Christian Grov

Abstract

Friends play important roles throughout our lives by providing expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. We examined sexual orientation, gender, and age differences in the number of friends people can rely on for expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. Additionally, we examined the extent to which people relied on same-gender versus cross-gender friends for these types of support. Participants (N = 25,185) completed a survey via a popular news website. Sexual orientation differences in number of same-gender and cross-gender friends were generally small or non-existent, and satisfaction with friends was equally important to overall life satisfaction for all groups. However, the extent to which people’s friendship patterns demonstrated gender-based homophily varied by sexual orientation, gender, and age. Young adult gay and bisexual men, and to some extent bisexual women and older bisexual men, did not conform to gendered expectations that people affiliate primarily with their own gender.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Joseph Gillespie & David Frederick & Lexi Harari & Christian Grov, 2015. "Homophily, Close Friendship, and Life Satisfaction among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, and Bisexual Men and Women," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0128900
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128900
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sonja Lyubomirsky & Chris Tkach & M. DiMatteo, 2006. "What are the Differences between Happiness and Self-Esteem," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 78(3), pages 363-404, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Janet Lever & David A. Frederick & Rosanna Hertz, 2015. "Who Pays for Dates? Following Versus Challenging Gender Norms," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(4), pages 21582440156, October.
    2. Brian Joseph Gillespie & Clara H. Mulder & Christiane Reichert, 2022. "The Role of Family and Friends in Return Migration and Its Labor Market Outcomes," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 115-138, February.
    3. Paweł Grygiel & Sławomir Rębisz & Anna Gaweł & Barbara Ostafińska-Molik & Małgorzata Michel & Julia Łosiak-Pilch & Roman Dolata, 2022. "The Inclusion of Other-Sex Peers in Peer Networks and Sense of Peer Integration in Early Adolescence: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-24, November.

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