Sex and Social Participation

To compare the extent and quality of participation by men and women in friendship dyads, voluntary associations and kin relations, we drew on interview data from a sample of adults in two urban communities. While males had more friends than females, we found female friendship relations to be effectively richer. Men exceeded women in the number of voluntary association memberships, but not in commitment of time to group activities. Extensive kinship resources were found to effect men's and women's affiliations differently. We found no evidence to support recent claims that male bonds are stronger than women's.