Poster #234 - Beyond the Dyad: An Investigation of Children’s Social Networks

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Classic developmental psychology has underscored the importance of parents’ or primary caregivers’ influence on children’s normal development. Although most previous research of children’s social relations has been limited to investigations of specific social ties, we know that children are embedded within larger social networks. Social relations are multidimensional and can be described by network structure (e.g., size) or function (e.g., support). Furthermore, there is robust evidence suggesting that social relations are experienced and impact developmental outcomes differently depending on personal characteristics (e.g., gender, race). Guided by the convoy model of social relations (Antonucci et al., 2001; Kahn & Antonucci, 1980), the present study capitalizes on a longitudinal study of social relations spanning 23 years to examine variation in children’s social networks and their association with well-being in childhood and beyond. Specifically, this study aims to (1) identify social network profiles among children, and (2) determine whether membership in these profiles varies by sociodemographic characteristics.
These aims were addressed using three waves of longitudinal data from the Social Relations and Health Study. Wave 1 (n = 203) was collected when respondents were children aged 7 to 13 (mean age = 10.3), with most respondents between 8 and 12 years of age. Subsequent waves were collected when respondents were in their 20s (Wave 2, n = 149, mean age = 23.4) and 30s (Wave 3, n = 114, mean age=32.9). Detailed information on respondents’ social networks was collected by having child respondents enumerate and describe those whom they considered close and important, including network size, composition, proximity, and contact frequency.
Three profiles of social network structure were identified in Wave 1 using latent profile analysis in Mplus: Close Family (22.5%), Varied Family (55%), and Friend and Family (22.5%) (Table 1). Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine whether the identified profiles were distinguishable by child gender, race, age, mothers’ educational attainment, or marital status. White children were more like to be in the Friend and Family profile compared to Black children (OR = 1.89, p < .05), but membership did not vary by any other child or mother characteristics that were examined (e.g., child gender, mother’s marital status). Results from this study highlight the importance of family in children’s social relations. These findings are discussed with consideration of the utility of a pattern-centered approach for revealing heterogeneity in the social networks of children.

Authors

• Jasmine Manalel, National Institutes of Health
  Presenting Author

• Toni Claudette Antonucci, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Author