Investigating the Social Capital Variability of Highschool Students in Taiwan, Focusing on Gender Differences

Abstract

This research investigated the variation in Social Capital (SC) among high school students in Taiwan, focusing on gender disparities. The study involved 853 students from seven randomly selected high schools in central Taiwan, with 509 girls and 344 boys participating. The researcher utilized a 24-item questionnaire developed by Khodadady and Zabihi (2011) after making some adjustments. The survey covered five overarching factors of SC: 1) “Parental & Family Consultation/Support”, 2) “Family-School Interaction”, 3) “School & Social Activities”, 4) “Peer Interaction”, and 5) “Family Bonds”. Using a Pearson Chi-square test (α ≤ 0.05), each of the 24 survey items was analyzed. The findings indicated that the viewpoints of Taiwanese high school boys and girls regarding their social capital status were highly similar, with some items being identical. The only statistically significant difference observed were items 1, 3, 10, 16, and 23. These results implied that, except for Item 1, boys tended to perceive slightly higher SC benefits compared to girls. Additionally, and based on the descriptive rubrics devised by the author, girls displayed slightly higher values than boys in Factor 2, whereas boys exhibited slightly higher values in Factor 1 and Factor 3. Both genders provided nearly equal responses for Factors 4 and 5.