| Literature DB >> 18443653 |
Abstract
Social scientists have long suspected that friendship dyads are not always reciprocated and those that are reciprocated are likely to be more intimate. Close friendships may provide youth with an environment conducive to healthy development and educational outcomes. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative data set of youth, we examine how attributes of respondents and their friends affect the odds of reciprocity between adolescents. Asian Americans and females are the most likely to have reciprocated friendships. Interracial friendships are less likely to be reciprocated than intraracial friendships. Further, adolescents with reciprocated friendships report higher levels of school belonging. Finally, reciprocity and school belonging both exert independent effects on academic performance. Friendship reciprocity is an important indicator of social support above and beyond the numbers of friends reported by youth.Year: 2008 PMID： 18443653 PMCID： PMC2352147 DOI： 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2006.11.002
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Soc Sci Res ISSN： 0049-089X