Keeping the ball in the air: contact in long-distance friendships

J Women Aging. 2005;17(3):91-106. doi: 10.1300/J074v17n03_07.

Abstract

As people continue to be more mobile, maintenance behaviors for long-distance friendships will continue to be a part of the relocation experience. In this qualitative study, 25 women age 45 and over, who had relocated a number of times, were asked to talk about how their friendships had transitioned to being long-distance relationships and what current maintenance behaviors entailed. Communication was a major theme involving electronic mail (e-mail), Christmas cards, telephone calls, and visits. Results from the current study suggest that maintaining the perception of the existence of a well-connected social support system could be accomplished with a single, annual contact. Further, the long-distance friendship biographies explored in this study provided characteristics of friendship maintenance behavior that could be grouped into three main categories forming a proposed typology of long-distance friendship maintenance.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Electronic Mail
  • Female
  • Friends* / psychology
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Middle Aged
  • Object Attachment*
  • Peer Group
  • Psychological Distance
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United States
  • Women's Health