'Daring' friendships more common for girls

Tuesday, 1 November 2011 9:43 AM

Are your friendships healthy? Women tend to be more daring in friendship choices than men and will sacrifice their own feelings for those of their friends, researchers believe. A third of women said they had a friend who 'add colour to their life'.

The poll by online dating site swoon.co.uk found one in four respondents (25%) said that they have had a friendship that their family and close circle of friends consider an unusual match, with 28% of women admitting to having an unusual friendship match compared to just 22% of males.

Women were also found to be more selfless in friendship, with just 12% of women surveyed saying that they would put their own feelings before those of their friends.

Experts say women tend to be more empathetic due to having more oxytocin - the hormone responsible for bonding in relationships, falling in love and so on. 

Harley Street relationship therapist and life coach, Trevor Silvester, said: "If people have a value on appearing rebellious then they'll often be attracted to whoever represents a counter culture to their upbringing or social circle." 

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