Friendship patterns of sexual minority individuals in adulthood

Abstract

This study focuses the social context for sexual minority friendships by investigating the friendship patterns of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Participants were 405 self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals (18 to 79 years old). Results suggest that like their heterosexual counterparts, sexual minorities primarily form close friendships with individuals who are similar to themselves in sex and race. Sexual minorities, however, are more likely to report cross-orientation over same-orientation friendships. Among sexual minorities, unique friendship patterns exist across sex, sexual orientation, and race. Lesbian and gay participants drew the majority of their friends from the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community while bisexual women and men primarily formed friendships with heterosexual individuals.

Keywords

cross-orientation friendship cross-race friendship cross-sex friendship friendship sexual minority sexual orientation

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