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Centrality in children's best friend networks: The role of social behaviour
Author(s) -
Betts Lucy R.,
Stiller James
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/bjdp.12020
Subject(s) - centrality , friendship , psychology , loneliness , developmental psychology , sociometry , social psychology , mathematics , combinatorics
Centrality is an indicator of an individual's relative importance within a social group. Predictors of centrality in best friendship networks were examined in 146 children (70 boys and 76 girls, M age = 9.95). Children completed measures of social confidence, social desirability, friendship quality, school liking, and loneliness and nominated their best friends from within their class at two time points, 3 months apart. Multigroup path analysis revealed gender differences in the antecedents of centrality. Social confidence, social desirability, and friendship quality predicted changes in the indicators of centrality in best friend networks over time. Boys' social behaviour positively predicted changes in centrality, whereas girls' social behaviour negatively predicted changes in centrality. Together, these findings suggest that some aspects of social behaviour are influential for centrality in best friend groups.