The Contributions of Self-Monitoring and Gender to Preadolescents' Friendship Expectations

The contributions of self-monitoring and gender to preadolescent friendship expectations were explored in a sample of 200 fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. Chum pairs were identified on the basis of mutuality and stability in order to examine relationships between dyads in friendship expectations. Goals of the study were essentially exploratory because of the limited data base on self-monitoring in children. Girls had higher levels of self-monitoring and were more likely to be part of a chum pair. Younger students were more likely to expect overt expressions of friendship. The relationship predicted between dyads in their level of self-monitoring, as found in adult friendships, was not present in preadolescents. Certain trends in the friendship expectations of high and low self-monitors were suggestive of the conceptual understanding of the self-monitoring construct.