How Swearing Works

1. relieve stress and blow off steam
2. establish a group identity
3. establish membership in a group and maintain the group's boundaries
4. express solidarity with other people
5. express trust and intimacy (mostly when women swear in the presence of other women)
6. add humor, emphasis or "shock value"
7. attempt to camouflage a person's fear or insecurity
8. feel they are expected to
9. a habit