The Inclusion of Other-Sex Peers in Peer Networks and Sense of Peer Integration in Early Adolescence: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

Paweł Grygiel (), Sławomir Rębisz, Anna Gaweł, Barbara Ostafińska-Molik, Małgorzata Michel, Julia Łosiak-Pilch and Roman Dolata
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Paweł Grygiel: Institute of Education, Jagiellonian University, 31-135 Cracow, Poland
Sławomir Rębisz: Institute of Education, Rzeszów University; 35-010 Rzeszow, Poland
Anna Gaweł: Institute of Education, Jagiellonian University, 31-135 Cracow, Poland
Barbara Ostafińska-Molik: Institute of Education, Jagiellonian University, 31-135 Cracow, Poland
Małgorzata Michel: Institute of Education, Jagiellonian University, 31-135 Cracow, Poland
Julia Łosiak-Pilch: Institute of Education, Jagiellonian University, 31-135 Cracow, Poland
Roman Dolata: Faculty of Education, University of Warsaw, 00-561 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-24

Abstract: The main goal of the analysis presented in this paper is to examine the dynamics of including other-sex peers in the peer networks of early adolescents, aged 11 (at T1) and 13 (at T2), and the relationship between sex heterophily and changes in the sense of peer integration. The analysis was conducted using the Latent Difference Score (LDS) model with data from a representative nationwide longitudinal study in Poland (n = 5748). With reference to the dynamics related to the heterophilic process, the research confirmed that at the beginning of grade 5 of primary school, heterophily is still relatively rare, yet towards the end of early adolescence, there is a gradual shift, more strongly in girls, towards breaking through the strictly same-sex segregation and embarking on heterophilic relationships. Importantly, the LDS model—even when controlling for different measures of peer network—showed significant and positive (among both girls and boys) relations between establishing cross-sex relationships and the sense of peer integration. The results indicate that the appearance of the opposite sex in the peer network between grades 5 and 6 will improve the sense of peer integration. The findings are discussed in relation to results from other studies in the field.

Keywords: peer relations; sex heterophily; sex homophily; sociometric popularity; early adolescents; well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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