Homophily, Gender-Typed Behavior, and Cultural Contexts in Adolescent Friendship Segregation

• Main Author: Hong, Chen-Shuo
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst 2021
• Subjects: gender; gendered culture; homophily; social networks; context; adolescence; Gender and Sexuality; Inequality and Stratification; Sociology of Culture
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/1054; https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2135&context=masters_theses_2

It is well-documented that adolescents tend to befriend those who share demographic characteristics like gender. Less clear is how culture connects to these homogeneous relationships. This study examines the effects of gender-typed behavior on adolescent friendships at dyadic and school levels. The friendship network data are drawn from the well-known wave 1 ‘saturation school’ component of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. I show that adolescents tend to befriend those who share similar gender-typed behavior, above and beyond simple demographic affiliation. Also, when students in particular schools exhibit more heterogeneous gender-typed behavior, the expression of gender-typed behavior homophily within schools becomes stronger, whereas gender homophily declines. The results support previous research showing cultural dispositions shape network patterns, but also provides evidence of contextual network formation processes.