Sex differences in social networks
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time with friends outside of the group. The large social networks of boys consisting of friends and
non-friends are not contexts which will encourage self disclosure of thoughts and feelings, though
these may be evident in interactions outside school; however the small networks of boys observed in
this study may be more likely to experience close social relations.
Findings also have implications for interactions and behaviour when social networks
fragment and when individual children become ostracised from their group and thus implications
for day to day interactions aimed at avoiding these states. The presence of friends outside of the
social network provides girls with alternative relationships that can be called upon in times of
conflict or further developed to facilitate entry to a new group when required. However, this safety
net may also function to undermine the stability of networks and make conflict more likely. By
contrast, for boys, ostracism from the group may have a much larger impact. With few friends
outside of the group that they can link up with, boys are less likely to want to fall out with other
members of their social network. This threat may ensure the stability of boys’ social networks and
will also ensure less conflict but more compliance within the network.
Results also indicated that the cores of both male and female networks consisted of children
who were best friends or friends. This suggests that social networks are often centred on friendships
and it may be the case that the stability of these networks is dependent on the stability of these
friendships, particularly among girls. However it is unclear how important these core relationships
are, since other children that were more weakly associated with the network also had best friends
and friends in the group.
It was also notable that some cores did not consist of friends. The most obvious explanation
for this might be that a friendship nomination was simply not reciprocated. Another explanation
might be that some children use friends as a secure base from which to explore the rest of the social
world and thus spend little time with their friends. It is also possible that there is a dynamic between
social networks and friendships in school such that those children a child enjoys spending time with
on a day-to-day basis may not be friends at that immediate point in time but may become friends at