text: Friendships Friendships are a resource that helps emerging adults help master this developmental stage of tasks. During emerging adulthood, friendships sometimes will be more important than your family relationships. Shulman (1975) found that when emerging adults (18–30) were asked who was in their personal networks 41% were more likely to put down friends instead of family members. Emerging adults have reported that they have less positive feelings with their siblings, but have positive feelings with their friends. There was a study done on single emerging adults, that reported their most preferred companions were friends, especially if the emerging adult has no partner and no longer fully relies on their parents.
  Friendships seem to broaden as one enters into emerging adulthood. They tend to become more diverse if put in the position to become so, as well as more willing to have friends of the opposite-sex. Romantic relationships in emerging adulthood tend to affect the necessity and importance of friendships. Those who are single or dating tend to hold their friends to a higher importance while those in relationships have an increase in time spent with their friends at the beginning of a relationship but then gradually decrease the amount of time spent with their friends as the relationship continues. Although those in emerging adulthood use their friends as a safe haven, the presence of a romantic partner will decrease this use of friendship while the use of the significant other as a safe haven is more likely.