North-Holland HOMOGENEITY IN CONFID ING RELAT IONS *

Patterns of inbreeding (or homophily) and social distance in data from the 1985 General Social Survey on dyads discussing important matters are examined. Stratifying variables include age, education, race/ethnicity, religion, and sex. Discussion relations are most constrained by race/ ethnicity, and least by sex and education. Inbreeding effects are present for all five stratifying variables, and account for virtually all structure in dyads classified by race/ethnicity and religion. Appreciable social distance biases in the formation of these strong ties are found for age and education, but not for other stratifying variables. The analysis illustrates the use of loglinear and log-multiplicative association models in the analysis of cross-classifications f attributes of alters and respondents. 1