Sex differences in social networks 3
& Leung, 1998; Maccoby, 1986; Martin & Fabes, 2001). Maccoby (1998) argues that sex
differences in terms of behaviour and interaction style may result from involvement in these
separate social network contexts (Leaper, 1994; Maccoby, 1998). Male groups are characterised as
involving higher levels of aggression and rough and tumble play, dominance, independence and
status acquisition (Belle, 1989; Maccoby, 1998; Thorne & Luria, 1986; Zarbatany, Mcdougall &
Hymel, 2000). Female groups engage in more co-operative play with shared outcomes and
interactions involving greater intimacy and exclusivity (Eder & Hallinan, 1978; Lever, 1976;
Zarbatany et al., 2000). Similarity in play styles and interests are considered to be a central force in
drawing children together to form single sex groups (Maccoby, 1998; Serbin, Moller, Gulko,
Powlishta & Colbourne, 1994). Diverse play styles may explain sex differences in the size and
structure of social networks and, in turn, these dissimilar network contexts may have implications
for other gender differences (Leaper, 1994; Maccoby, 1998). However, studies have rarely
examined this relationship, often preferring to focus on sex differences in the content rather than the
structural nature of experienced peer networks (Rubin, Bukowski & Parker, 1998). In addition
Benenson, Apostoleris and Parnass (1998) suggest that differences in the structure of networks may
be a cause of sex differences in the content of peer relationships. While we know quite a bit about
the size of male and female networks, examination of single aspects of structure may provide
limited insights and there is a need for research on multiple dimensions of social network structure.
Little is known about the internal structure, friendship composition and stability of male and female
networks and yet these features together have overlapping implications for particular aspects of
social functioning and development. Taking these points as its departure, this study examines the
nature of boys’ and girls’ social networks in terms of their: size, internal structure, overlap with
friendship relations, and their stability over time.
The first main area addressed concerns the finding that during middle childhood boys tend to
form large social networks with many inter-connections while girls form a number of smaller
mutually exclusive networks, usually pairs or triads (Belle, 1989; Benenson et al., 1998; Waldrop &