Table III.
Friendship Characteristics for Youth With SB and Chosen Peers
| Social outcome | Child with SB M(SD) or % | Peer M(SD) or % | Mean child-peer differencea [95% CI] or χ2 | Effect size r or Cramer’s V |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| This specific friendship: | ||||
| Social adjustment— peer acceptance | ||||
| Closenessb | 8.55 (1.91) | 8.06 (2.02) | 0.09 [0.02, 0.16]* | .23 |
| Reciprocity of friendship (%) | ||||
| Does not reciprocate best friend endorsement (interview) | 12.7 | 17.9 | χ2 (1) = 6.00* | .24 |
| Does not reciprocate spontaneous best friend nomination (questionnaire)c | 17.9 | 40.7 | χ2 (1) = 4.07* | .23 |
| Social performance | ||||
| How often get together? | 0.22 [−0.15, 0.58] | .12 | ||
| <Once per month | 11.3 | 13.2 | ||
| Once per month | 8.5 | 8.5 | ||
| A couple of times per month | 21.7 | 24.5 | ||
| Once per week | 15.1 | 17.9 | ||
| A few times per week | 21.7 | 26.4 | ||
| Everyday | 18.9 | 6.6 | ||
| Social skill | ||||
| Who suggests getting together?d,e | χ2 (4) = 11.88* | .27 | ||
| Me | 17.0 | 19.8 | ||
| My friend | 28.3 | 11.3 | ||
| We take turns | 44.3 | 53.8 | ||
| Someone else (e.g., parent) | 7.5 | 13.2 | ||
| General friendships: | ||||
| Social adjustment—peer acceptance | ||||
| How many friends?b | 12.72 (10.72) | 14.02 (9.11) | −0.08 [−0.18, 0.03] | .16 |
| Percent of friends who are “online”b | 7.78 (20.47) | 9.08 (21.25) | −0.001 [−0.02, 0.02] | .01 |
| Percent of friends who know about SB?f | 66.86 (39.50) | N/A | – | |
| How often are others mean to you? | χ2 (1) = 0.00 | .01 | ||
| All of the time or some of the time | 29.2 | 25.5 | ||
| Once in a while or never | 69.8 | 72.6 | ||
| Social adjustment—quality of friendships | ||||
| Friendship qualities: | ||||
| Companionship | 3.34 (0.85) | 3.61 (0.83) | −0.26 [−0.48,−0.05]* | .24 |
| Conflict | 2.28 (1.04) | 2.27 (0.88) | 0.01 [−0.25, 0.27] | .01 |
| Help | 3.84 (0.80) | 3.92 (0.76) | −0.08 [−0.29, 0.13] | .08 |
| Security | 4.07 (0.71) | 4.28 (0.59) | −0.21 [−0.39,−0.03]* | .23 |
| Closeness | 3.93 (0.76) | 4.15 (0.73) | −0.22 [−0.41,−0.02]* | .22 |
| Social support | ||||
| Family | 2.98 (0.44) | 3.11 (0.49) | −0.13 [−0.26,−0.01]* | .22 |
| Non-related adults | 2.76 (0.50) | 2.74 (0.49) | 0.02 [−0.14, 0.19] | .03 |
| Peers | 3.13 (0.54) | 3.34 (0.45) | −0.22 [−0.37,−0.07]** | .29 |
| If you are sad, who do you go to for help?d | χ2 (4) = 2.55 | .12 | ||
| Family | 37.7 | 39.6 | ||
| Friends | 19.8 | 30.2 | ||
| Family and friends equally | 28.3 | 22.6 | ||
| Other (e.g., teacher, counselor) | 9.4 | 5.7 | ||
| Social adjustment—perceived competence | ||||
| How easy do you find it to make friends? | χ2 (1) = 0.01 | .01 | ||
| Very easy or somewhat easy | 74.5 | 72.6 | ||
| Very difficult or somewhat difficult | 23.6 | 26.4 | ||
| Social performance | ||||
| Days spent with friends | 2.70 (2.31) | 3.47 (2.44) | −0.09 [−0.16,−0.01]* | .23 |
| Social skill | ||||
| Do you ask your friends to do things? | χ2 (1) = 0.72 | .08 | ||
| All of the time or some of the time | 68.9 | 77.4 | ||
| Once in a while or never | 30.2 | 20.8 | ||
| Who usually chooses what activity to do? | χ2 (1) = 0.13 | .04 | ||
| I usually choose | 31.1 | 34.0 | ||
| My friends usually choose | 43.4 | 51.9 | ||
| Social self-efficacy | 2.81 (0.46) | 2.96 (0.44) | −0.15 [−0.27,−0.03]* | .23 |
| How often are you mean to others? | χ2 (1) = 6.94** | .26 | ||
| All of the time or some of the time | 17.9 | 9.4 | ||
| Once in a while or never | 79.2 | 87.7 |
Note. aFor interval level data, dependent t-tests examined differences between children with SB and peers; the mean difference with 95% CI is reported, and significance of t-test indicated; For categorical data, Chi-square tests were run and reported; bMeans are reported in original scaling but analyses used transformed data; cFriendship Qualities Scale, n = 75 due to missing data; dDue to wide variety of individuals captured by category 4, “Someone Else” or “Other,” it was dropped and the Chi-square analysis was run with categories 1 through 3 only; eInterpretations must be made cautiously, as 44% of the cells had expected counts below 5, violating assumptions of chi-square test; fSB only.
*p < .05 **p < .01.