A friend in need
Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an association. Friendship has been studied in academic fields such as communication , sociology , social psychology , anthropology , and philosophy . Various academic theories of friendship have been proposed, including social exchange theory , equity theory , relational dialectics , and attachment styles . Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are present in many types of such bonds. Such characteristics include affection; kindness , love , virtue , sympathy , empathy , honesty , altruism , loyalty , mutual understanding and compassion , enjoyment of each other's company, trust , and the ability to be oneself, express one's feelings, ...