Supporting Nurturing Friendships Between Boys

Don’t be fooled by their calm, cool and collected attitudes. Boys want “deep depth” friendships with other boys where secrets are shared, trust is total and they have the confidence that their friends will not betray them or laugh at them when they are feeling vulnerable.

These types of strong friendships are evident in elementary and even middle school aged boys. But in high school, these relationships might not continue.

How can we nurture the emotional lives of boys, as well as girls, well into adulthood?

One researcher suggested the following:

“We need to rethink how we are defining maturity, which, in this culture, is equated with independence, autonomy and separating from others. I think maturity should be defined as the ability to have mutually supportive, intimate and deeply empathic relationships.” 

Check out the article by Niobe Way, a professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at N.Y.U.’s research for more information on this important topic.