An observational study of race and gender homophily in nursery children

Homophily (the preference for similar others) is a commonplace feature of social life. In this observational study, we recorded association patterns (based on spatial proximity or verbal or physical interaction) among children aged 3-4 years old during unstructured playtime in a university nursery. A basic social network analysis and a quadratic assignment procedure revealed gender and race to be significant predictive factors of social interaction, with girls seemingly displaying more racial homophily than boys. Age, parent occupation and number of siblings did not predict interaction patterns