ALWAYS THERE FOR ME - FRIENDSHIP PATTERNS AND EXPECTATIONS AMONG MIDDLE-CLASS AND WORKING-CLASS MEN AND WOMEN

Using data from semistructured qualitative interviews with 52 working- and middle-class women and men, this paper compares differences in both friendship patterns and expectations of friendship. Working-class respondents' friendships revealed a high degree of reciprocity and interdependence with respect to material goods and services. Norms of working-class friendship emphasized being able to rely on friends for such services. Middle-class respondents, in contrast, celebrated shared leisure and the existence of large networks of interesting friends. Middle-class friendships enhanced the individuality that characterizes contemporary middle-class life. As a result of class differences in the meanings and expectations of friendship, the potential strains and conflicts differed. Working-class respondents far more open conflict with friends over the exchange of services than did middle-class respondents. Middle-class respondents reported difficulties in asking friends for help, even though being able to do so was a widely shared ideal of friendship.