Gender Differences in Social Networks

Abstract

Researchers of peer relations in late middle childhood and early adolescence have often neglected to examine the context in which social relations occur. The present study was designed to examine one aspect of the context of peer relations-the social networks of males and females. Fourth- and fifth-grade children were asked to rate their peers using friendship and play rating scales and to describe their same-sex peers in open-ended interviews. Although males and females did not differ in the number of best friends they reported, males were found to have larger social networks than females. Further, for males, position in a social network was more highly linked with acceptance by the peer group. Finally, males were concerned with attributes that could be construed as important for status in the peer group, and females were concerned with attributes that appeared essential to relationships with a few friends.