Adolescent friendship networks are characterized by low interaction across both socioeconomic and racial lines. Using data from the National Study of Adolescent Health and a new exponential random graph modeling approach, this study examines the degree, pattern, and determinants of socioeconomic segregation and its relationship to racial segregation in friendship networks in high school. The results show that friendship networks are overall less socioeconomically segregated than they are racially segregated. However, the exclusion of low-SES students from high-SES cliques is pronounced and, unlike racial segregation, unilateral rather than mutual: many friendship ties from low-SES students to high-SES peers are unreciprocated. The decomposition of determinants indicates that about half of the socioeconomic segregation in friendship networks can be attributed to differences in socioeconomic composition between schools. The other half is attributable to students’ friendship choices within schools and driven by stratified courses (about 13 percent) as well as racial and socioeconomic preferences (about 37 percent). In contrast, relational mechanisms like triadic closure – long assumed to amplify network segregation – have only minor effects on socioeconomic segregation. These results highlight that SES-integrated friendship networks in educational settings are difficult to achieve without also addressing racial segregation. Implications for policymakers and educators are discussed.
- R&R at the American Sociological Review.
- Best paper award from the ASA Section Mathematical Sociology, ASA Section Decision-making, Social Networks, and Society, and the Department of Sociology at Cornell University (Robin M. Williams Jr. Award)