You have full access to this open access article. Prior studies on individual differences in the preference for cross-sex friendships found that this preference was not normally distributed but was instead bimodal. In one group of people, the preferences for higher or lower proportions of cross-sex friendships appear to be normally distributed, whereas in a second and unexpectedly large group of people, the preference for cross-sex friends is exactly zero. If the people in the second group with no cross-sex friends at all actively avoid forming cross-sex friendships, then these individuals may be expected to differ systematically and meaningfully from individuals who report having at least one cross-sex friend.
The present study tests this hypothesis. The Big Five, homophobia, physical attraction to the opposite sex, and demographic variables from a data set of adult participants were used as potential predictors of group membership.
Results showed that most predictors except the Big Five contributed to supporting the separability of the two groups. Findings are discussed with regard to the differentiation between close and general friends and the potential influence of cultural factors.
Thus, who we choose to be friends with should be relevant to our quality of life as well. Only a few studies have explored these interindividual differences in the preferences for same-sex or cross-sex friendships homo- or heterosociality. The predictors used in these studies can be categorized into three clusters: a person or demographic characteristics, b personality factors, and c attraction. According to this literature for an overview, see Altmann, , cross-sex friendship formation processes may well be expected to also depend on cultural influences.
However, studies on the topic of cultural influences on cross-sex friendship formation processes in particular are still lacking. Second, personality factors may contribute to explaining the formation of cross-sex friendships. These previous studies have shown that Openness and to some extent Neuroticism and Conscientiousness predict greater preferences for cross-sex friends.
