Exploring the Friendship Networks of Highly Diverse Middle School Students With Disabilities

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Friendship and Support Networks

Abstract

Research has shown that students with disabilities are more likely to maintain a lower social participation status than their peers. One aspect of social participation is the friendships between these students and their peers. This study applied a social network perspective to examine the friendship networks of students with and without disabilities (N=189) in a diverse middle school in Southern California. Results of t-tests indicated that on average students with disabilities are significantly less nominated as friends. Further regression analyses examined the in-degree and out-degree of the students’ friendships. Especially for students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), the results were confirmed: even when controlling for relevant context variables, students with SLD have significantly lower social participation compared to their peers.

Authors

• Christoforos Mamas, University of California - San Diego

• Janka Goldan, Bergische Universität Wuppertal

• Alan J. Daly, University of California - San Diego