Buddy System

Understanding men and their friendships

Dr. Geoffrey Greif is a Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and author of Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships. See full bio

October 27, 2009

Men's friendships are different from women's

I am constantly asked, "How are men's friendships different from women's?" Read More

October 2, 2009

Responses to Clark and Gerrido and Men Friends

Re: men's friendships ---- let us remember that friends are human, too, with their loyalties and their doubts. Friends often see flaws but are still accepting. The two guys on tv in Ray Clark's corner are just that - normal guys who, for the moment, were sticking by their friend until they have reason to believe they should not. For all we know, they have reached that point by now and have dropped him as a friend; it is hard to say. Read More

September 20, 2009

Ray Clark, Phillip Garrido, and men friends

Ray Clark, the man accused in the Yale murder, has men friends; Phillip Gerrido, charge with the kidnapping of an 11-year-old, does not Read More

September 8, 2009

Jaycee Dugard in Perpsective

My op-ed piece, below, was published in yesterday's Baltimore Sun. Read More

August 21, 2009

Men in couples and their friendships

Are men different with their friends when they get into couples? Read More

July 27, 2009

Can buds Crowley and Gates have a beer together?

Friends have beers together. Can Officer Crowley and Professor Gates pretend to be buds? I wonder how the conversation at the White House will go down.

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President Obama - Welcome, Officer. Welcome Professor. I am glad you both could make it to DC though I understand why you took different flights here.

Professor Gates - Thank you for having us, Mr. Read More

June 25, 2009

Big Boys Acting Badly

Mark Sanford, John Ensign, John Edwards...the list goes on. And these are just the recent guys who screw up, act out, and then are forced to own up. Obviously, men (and women) have been unfaithful ever since commitment became a requirement in a relatonship. But this just goes on and on. Read More

June 22, 2009

Fathers as Models of friendships?

President Obama was never friends with his father. Last week at the White House, he addressed the importance of fathers in children's lives and described his own mixed relationship with his dad, also recounted in his autobiography. Read More

May 26, 2009

men's friendships after divorce

Thanks for the comment. It can be difficult for someone (men) to make friends after a divorce, especially if you did not maintain individual friends during the marriage. Recently divorced people also may believe that if their marriage failed, they may have trouble making friends - they connect difficulties in one relationship with future relationships.

Men (and women) l Read More

May 25, 2009

Men's friendships and Father's Day

With Father's Day coming up in June, it is helpful to consider how men view their father's friendships. In Buddy System: Understanding Male Friendships, I report that 60% of the men felt their father had a lot of friends but that 40% believed he had either a few or no friends. Some times these friendships were constrained by fathers' dedication to work and family, leaving n Read More