Brian Joseph Gillespie

Close adult friendships, gender, and the life cycle

Drawing on 25,185 responses collected via an online news website, our findings extend and update Fischer and Oliker’s (1983) classic study on gender and life cycle differences in friendship. We found no substantial gender differences in number of friends people can count on to celebrate birthdays, discuss intimate matters like one’s sex life, or depend upon when experiencing trouble late at night (ds = .04–.20); however, number of friendships varied substantially according to marital status, age, and parental status. Residential population size was not associated with number of friendships. We also found that virtually all respondents reported having at least one close friend. Satisfaction with friends was a better predictor of life satisfaction than was number of friends.

What Keeps Passion Alive? Sexual Satisfaction Is Associated With Sexual Communication, Mood Setting, Sexual Variety, Oral Sex, Orgasm, and Sex Frequency in a National U.S. Study

Passion and sexual satisfaction typically diminish in longer-term relationships, but this decline is not inevitable. We identified the attitudes and behaviors that most strongly differentiated sexually satisfied from dissatisfied men and women who had been together for at least three years (N = 38,747). Data were collected in 2006 from cohabiting and married men (M) and women (W) via an online survey on a major national U.S. news Web site. The vast majority of these participants reported being satisfied with their sex lives during their first six months together (83% W; 83% M). Satisfaction with their current sex lives was more variable, with approximately half of participants reporting overall satisfaction (55% W; 43% M) and the rest feeling neutral (18% W; 16% M) or dissatisfied (27% W; 41% M). More than one in three respondents (38% W; 32% M) claimed their sex lives were as passionate now as in the beginning. Sexual satisfaction and maintenance of passion were higher among people who had sex most frequently, received more oral sex, had more consistent orgasms, and incorporated more variety of sexual acts, mood setting, and sexual communication. We discuss implications of these findings for research and for helping people revitalize their sex lives.

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

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.

Correlates of Sex Frequency and Sexual Satisfaction Among Partnered Older Adults.

This study examines behaviors associated with sex frequency and sexual satisfaction in a national sample of partnered older adults, age 50 to 85 (N = 9,164), together for over one year. The results indicate that older adults with active and satisfying sex lives engage more frequently in open sexual communication and setting the mood for sexual activity. Additionally, synchronicity in sexual desire and activities is related to a high-frequency and highly satisfying sex life in older adulthood. An expansive sexual repertoire, as measured by the number of sexual activities used during the last sexual encounter and the incorporation of sexual variety, is also associated with greater sex frequency and sexual satisfaction.

Adolescent Intergenerational Cohesiveness and Young Adult Proximity to Mothers

We consider how mother–child cohesion in adolescence relates to geographic proximity in young adulthood. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (N = 3,985), ordered probit models the association between adolescents’ emotional closeness to mother and subsequent residential distance, controlling for key factors. Young people “at risk” of living at a distance (i.e., who have left the parental home) may be characterized by poorer relationships with parents. To take account of potential selection bias, two-stage Heckit models address spatial proximity as it relates to the choice to live with parents. The results suggest that emotional closeness to mother is robustly associated with later spatial proximity. The finding holds controlling for family structure, which is often taken as proxy for relationship quality. Although emotional closeness figures in the decision to leave home and move away, we do not find that selection out of coresidence biases the results for geographic proximity.

Sexual Synchronicity and Communication Among Partnered Older Adults

Based on secondary analysis of respondent narratives (N = 2,049), this study examined attitudes and behaviors associated with sex frequency and sexual satisfaction in a national sample of partnered older adults, age 50 to 85. In contrast to conventional assumptions about diminished sexuality in older adulthood, the results of this study indicate that sex frequency and sexual satisfaction continue to play an important part in the lives of many partnered older adults. Open communication and sexual synchronicity, including open communication about sexual synchronicity, encourage active and satisfying sex lives in older adulthood. Implications for therapists helping older adults maintain an active and satisfying sex life are discussed.

Intergenerational cohesiveness and later geographic distance to parents in the Netherlands

Although spatial proximity no doubt facilitates interaction and assistance, no research to date has addressed the extent to which children who are emotionally closer to parents choose to live nearby. Using the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N = 1055), this research evaluates the relationship between parent-child cohesion at age 15 (measured retrospectively among individuals 18-35 in 2002-2004) and later geographic distance between young adults and their parents in 2006-2007. Importantly, this research is the first to consider the relationship between intergenerational solidarity and young adults later geographic proximity to parents, proximity known to contribute to exchanges of support between the generations. For both mothers and fathers, each model yielded qualified evidence of the cohesion-proximity relationship. These findings highlight a potential selection issue related to intergenerational support and contact as it is facilitated by geographic proximity.

Household Mobility in America Overview and Conclusion

General understandings about the causes, correlates, and consequences of household mobility are, in part, a function of how it is studied. This chapter outlines several methodological issues currently confronting mobility researchers. Directions for future research are also discussed in the context of the research and literature covered in previous chapters. Lastly, the main points of each chapter are reviewed, emphasizing the importance of the life course perspective as a guiding framework for the holistic study of household mobility.

Social Stratification at the Top Rung: Classed Reports of Students’ Social Experiences on a Selective University Campus

Drawing on 44 in-depth interviews with undergraduates, this research explores whether and how class background matters for students’ social experiences at an elite university. The findings reveal that, compared with upper-class students, both lower- and middle-class students are disadvantaged in their social integration due to a lack of resources (time and money) and a mismatch of cultural styles. Middle-class students tend to reference upward to their upper-class peers, developing a critical view of the campus social system. In contrast, lower-class students reference their less advantaged peers or family members who do not have access to elite spaces. Our findings suggest that the stratified social system on campus reduces lower- and middle-class students’ potential for upward mobility within a high-stakes setting. Thus, scholars and policymakers should pay attention not only to the experiences of lower-class students but also to the challenges confronting middle-class students at highly selective universities.

Policy Initiatives, Programs, and Praxis

This chapter ties together the previous chapters and situates them in broader policy-based and applied contexts. First, the chapter details major policy debates regarding the large-scale effects of selective mobility and social disorganization discussed in Chap. 7. Since these policies influence programs and interventions at the neighborhood level, community- and school-based initiatives designed to facilitate postmove adjustment for mobile families are discussed. Lastly, the chapter identifies targeting and intervention strategies for social workers and other practitioners working with mobile and highly mobile families.