This thesis discusses the perceptions of intimacy in emerging adults and seeks potential differences between the sexes. Ninety-three participants (52 women, 41 men) aged 18 to 30 years old participated in the research. Semi-structured interviews about individual’s understanding of intimacy were conducted with 47 psychology students. Based on data collected, I carried out two separate analyses; namely, the Voyant Tools analysis and the grounded theory method (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). I used Voyant Tools to determine which words were most frequently used by men and which words by women. Next, I tried to sort the 1593 answers gathered into a structured set in line with the grounded theory research method. I created 26 subcategories and merged them into 3 parent categories: intimacy dimensions, person-related intimacy and interpretations of perception based intimacy. Based on the aspects deemed as characteristic or important by the participants, the intimacy dimensions category allows us an insight into a possible structure of intimacy. Person-related intimacy helps us understand person’s intimate relationships with other people, while taking into the account the differences between relationships. Interpretations of perception-based intimacy are comprised of elaborate and thorough interpretations of intimacy and intimacy-related constructs developed by the participants, thus enabling us to understand their perceptions and intimacy from individual’s point of view. The ?2 test and the analysis of the words used established that the answers in individual categories did not vary between the sexes and showed that men and women use the same words to describe intimacy. The interview analysis and the developed structure of the perceptions of intimacy is; therefore, an original contribution to knowledge of understanding the intimacy in emerging adults which also shows that the differences in perception of intimacy between sexes can be regarded as insignificant.
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