As the children of baby boomers enter adolescence, the world they live in has changed immensely from the time of their parents' adolescence. The work force is changing dramatically as women establish careers in areas that have traditionally been dominated by men. Kids today are more aware of issues such as affirmative action, sexual harassment, and the politics of inter-gender violence and abuse. In view of these observations, friendships between boys and girls are more likely to occur today than ever before. Thus, numerous interesting questions emerge for which we do not have the data to begin to answer. Some of the questions that we hope to answer by the Saskatoon Youth Longitudinal Study are:
What is the developmental trajectory of other-sex relationships?
Is there a pattern to the evolution of other-sex relationships in adolescents or can several different patterns be identified? In other words, do some adolescents form other-sex friendships before they begin dating relationships while some move directly from the same-sex group to dating relationships? What are the consequences of making one type of transition vs. another type?
Are other-sex friendships unique or similar to same-sex friendships?
Is it possible for a girl and a boy to be "friends"? If so, are the characteristics of other-sex friendships similar to same-sex friendships or do they have unique characteristics that assist in adolescent development? What factors influence the development of other-sex friendships and are these similar to the factors that influence the development of same-sex friendships? Do other-sex friendships last as long as same-sex friendships?
Do other-sex relationships "buffer" adolescents from negative effects of poor relations with same-sex peers?
If an adolescent has had difficulty forming friendships with same-sex peers in childhood, does this necessarily mean that he/she will have difficulty forming friendships with other-sex peers in adolescence? Or, could other-sex friendships in adolescent serve to buffer the individual from the negative effects of problematic same-sex relationships? As the boundaries between the genders come down in adolescence, the pool of potential friends expands to include other-sex peers. This may be an important opportunity for those kids who have been neglected or rejected by their same-sex peers.
Are kids who are popular with same-sex peers also popular with other-sex peers?
What happens to the kid who was popular with same-sex peers in childhood but is not necessarily popular with other-sex peers in adolescence? How do these kids deal with the loss of "status" within their peer network?
What are the challenges to maintaining same-sex friendships in the face of emerging relationships with the other-sex?
What happens when one good friend forms a romantic relationship before the other friend is ready for these types of relationships? Are there differences between boys and girls in terms of how they adjust to the "loss" of a best friend to a romantic relationship?
What are the lessons being learned through relationships with the other-sex in adolescence?
What are adolescents learning about life as they negotiate the transition into meaningful, other-sex relationships? Do these relationships predict competency in mature relationships between men and women - both those involving romantic interests and those that are strictly "platonic"?
