Once a friend, always a friend? Effects of homophily on women's support networks across a decade

Abstract

Abstract This study uses data collected on 42 women and 432 members of their social networks across a 10-year period beginning with the women's return to school in midlife. The paper addresses three questions: (1) To what extent did the same individuals continue to be active members of the women's social support networks across the decade; (2) to what extent did educational similarity explain which individuals continued to be active members of the women's networks; and (3) did educational similarity explain patterns of both support and socializing? The analyses revealed that between one-quarter and one-third of the associates named as sources of school/work support, general emotional support or socializing continued to be named 10 years after the first interview. The analyses also demonstrated that associates' educational attainment was important in explaining which individuals continued to serve as sources of support for school/work; however, educational attainment was not important in explaining which associates continued to serve as sources of either general emotional support or socializing.