Social Network Size
Different people have different needs from their social networks, and many researchers have attempted to find gender-based patterns in these needs. Joyce Benenson (1990) found that boys had larger social networks than girls in 4th and 5th grades. Yeung et al (2007) found that women, but not men, who adhered less to traditional relationship roles, were happier with fewer close friends.
Cross and Madson (1997) suggest that men's need for independence (versus women's interdependence) leads them to have less social interaction. Responding to this article, Baumeister and Sommer (1997) suggest that the drive for independence leads men to associate in a larger, but no less important, social sphere.
Last time we looked at social networks ( "Social networks and depression", 4/17/07), I remarked that I'd noticed the closest bonds between men during my childhood. This caused me to think about my friends in this context. I see nearly equal division between men and women in the "organizers" -- the people who make get-togethers happen. One thing I don't see addressed in any of the articles cited today is the isolation that can accompany child-rearing. I tried to find what percentages of men and women worked outside the home. I haven't found an answer, but the search itself is enlightening. The phrase "work outside the home" refers specifically to women in the first 10 hits on Google.
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Cross and Madson (1997) suggest that men's need for independence (versus women's interdependence) leads them to have less social interaction. Responding to this article, Baumeister and Sommer (1997) suggest that the drive for independence leads men to associate in a larger, but no less important, social sphere.
Last time we looked at social networks ( "Social networks and depression", 4/17/07), I remarked that I'd noticed the closest bonds between men during my childhood. This caused me to think about my friends in this context. I see nearly equal division between men and women in the "organizers" -- the people who make get-togethers happen. One thing I don't see addressed in any of the articles cited today is the isolation that can accompany child-rearing. I tried to find what percentages of men and women worked outside the home. I haven't found an answer, but the search itself is enlightening. The phrase "work outside the home" refers specifically to women in the first 10 hits on Google.
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