ERIC Number: EJ1047477
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Jan
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0016-9862
EISSN: N/A
A Comparison of Adolescents' Friendship Networks by Advanced Coursework Participation Status
Barber, Carolyn; Wasson, Jillian Woodford
Gifted Child Quarterly, v59 n1 p23-37 Jan 2015
Friendships serve as a source of support and as a context for developing social competence. Although advanced coursework may provide a unique context for the development of friendships, more research is needed to explore exactly what differences exist. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study, we compared the friendship networks of students taking advanced mathematics and English coursework to those of similar nonparticipants. Groups were compared on the number of sent or received nominations based on students' listings of friends, the presence and reciprocation of best friendships, and friends' academic engagement and diversity. Controlling for background, advanced coursework participants had larger networks and more engaged friends than did nonparticipants. Small differences in age heterogeneity and in the likelihood of reciprocal best friendships with female friends were found in English course-taking. Participants' networks were also somewhat less racially diverse.
Descriptors: Friendship, Academically Gifted, Adolescents, Advanced Placement, Interpersonal Competence, Mathematics Instruction, English Instruction, Comparative Analysis, Peer Influence, Student Characteristics, High School Students, Social Development, Emotional Adjustment, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Statistical Analysis, Social Networks, Racial Factors, Age Differences, Longitudinal Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
Grant or Contract Numbers: DRL-0941014