Sex differences in social participation

Asked 20 female and 38 male 1st-yr college students to maintain a daily record of their social interactions for 2 wks early in the fall semester and for 2 wks late in the spring semester. Across all interactions, females decreased time per day in interaction more than males did, primarily by reducing the length of interactions, and reported decreased satisfaction with these interactions. In interactions with 3 best same-sex friends, females also decreased length more than males did but maintained a higher level of satisfaction. Number of interactions with same-sex best friend decreased markedly for females but not for males. Results show that females socialize more intensely in a new environment than males and make use of the same-sex best friend to deal with the social stimulation. Differences between the sexes on interaction measures in the spring were minimal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).