Adult Friendship: Examples of Intercultural Patterns

Abstract

Intercultural friendship provides one of the main avenues for meaningful interpersonal contact and is considered a catalyst for successful sojourn experiences and positive attitudes toward the host culture. Yet one of the most common complaints of foreign sojourners in the United States is the lack of friendship with Americans. This chapter examines the unique challenges of intercultural friendship formation by discussing definitional issues, highlighting prominent theoretical frameworks for research in intercultural relationship development, and exploring the factors instrumental in intercultural friendship formation, including culture, personality, self-esteem, friendship elements, expectations, adjustment stage, communicative competence, demographic variables, proximity, host-culture elements, and chemistry. The focus is on foreign students on U.S. campuses. Examples from their experiences are supplied, culture-specific patterns are described, and international perceptions of U.S. friendship patterns are discussed.

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