According to cross-sectional research conducted by Blyth, Hill, and Theil (1982) on over 2,800 early to mid-adolescents, girls tend to have somewhat larger numbers of familial adult relationships than do boys and have higher frequencies of contact with non-parent familial adults such as grandparents and aunts and uncles. Cross-sectional research by Coates (1987), which consisted of a sample of 390 African American adolescents, found similar results to those of Blyth et al. (1982). Beyond a higher quantity of familial adult relationships, girls also report higher levels of intimacy with familial adults. Cross-sectional research conducted by Benson (1993) found, among the 46,000 adolescents sampled, that females reported higher levels of intimacy with non-parent familial adults than did males.