More friends of the opposite gender, higher school grades

More friends of the opposite gender, higher school grades - or maybe not

Boys with many girl friends in their friendship circle performed better at school than boys who only had male friends (The Economist, August 8, 2015). The same 1995 study revealed no link between the number of male friends girls at high school had and their school grades.

However, a University of South Carolina study published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (July 2015) called ‘The girl next door: The effect of opposite gender friends on high school achievement’ reveals a different result.

Andrew Hill of USC wanted to eliminate any possible bias in the study (e.g. parents choosing friends for their children), so instead of looking at the number of opposite-gender friends, he looked at the proportion of shoolmates of either sex living near each student being surveyed. The rationale was that parents do not choose where to live based on the gender of their neighbour’s children. The neighbourhood method was likely to take out the bias, but still be relevant because children are more likely to be friends with other children who live close to them.

Hill selected 20 closest neighbours for each of the 450 high school students in the research survey. He then isolated the effects of having more friends of the opposite gender on school performance, taking each student’s grades.

He found that for every 10% more children of the opposite sex among a student’s friendship circle, the student’s grade-point average (GPA) declined by 0.1 (GPAs range from 0 to 4). Therefore if a student (male or female) had 10 friends of the opposite gender, they would score 1 GPA less than students who had less friends of the opposite gender.

Below the age of 16 years, the effects of having more opposite-gender friends are restricted to science and mathematics grades only. Beyond 16 years, the effects of declining grades were seen in English and history grades too. So more friends of the opposite gender, the lower the school grades.

But there were advantages of having several opposite-gender friends during high school. Hill’s original group of 14 years ago were re-interviewed. And Hill found that the more opposite-gender friends, the more likely that the student was or had been married.

Comments

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog