Social networks and gender differences in the life space of opportunity: Introduction

Abstract

Two basic concepts underlie the articles in this special issue- gender and the social network. The social network construct has been discussed extensively and several definitions of social networks exist (Bott, 1971; Cochran & Brassard, 1979; Leinhart, 1977; Lewis & Feiring, 1978). One aspect common to all definitions is the reference to the linkages between social units, both persons and groups, with which an individual has contact. The social network framework conceptualizes social relations, social opportunities, and social constraints by providing a schematic representation of how significant others and less central social contacts can be characterized, are organized, and can be interrelated. At any given point of an individual's life, a description of the person's network may be viewed as an index of the person's social world or life space. This includes descriptions of people in the network and the types of activities in which they are engaged. The infant is born into a social network, the most immediate and important of which is the family. Initially, through its parents and later on its own initiative as well, the child's network will in