This may occur in the workforce, in the classroom between teacher and pupil, and even in cross-generational friendships. This mentoring relationship may have some overlap with friends who are also family members. One of the proudest things any parent can boast is that his or her child is a friend as well as a dependant. This means that the parent and child share fun times, hobbies, and confidences together, as well as merely relate to one another as authority figure and subordinate. This can occur as well, to a lesser degree, with other relatives who fulfill friendship as well as familial roles, both across generations, or within similar age groups in a...

These friendships occur at work, perhaps, or occur because one's spouse has a group of friends one is forced to endure, or maybe in grade school out of fear of retribution from one of the 'popular' kids. You may 'hang out' with these people but as soon as the person who is the glue to your relationship leaves, there is an uncomfortable silence. Forced friendships reveal themselves because they cause stress, as they are due to social obligations, and do not contain the critical element of the other 'true' friendships above -- that of mutual respect.