How many friends do youth nominate? A meta-analysis of gender, age, and geographic differences in average outdegree centrality

This pre-registered meta-analysis uses multi-level random effects models to give precise estimates of average outbound best friend and friend nominations – average outdegree centrality – in youth friendship networks and examines whether average outdegree centrality varies by age, gender, and geographic region. Pooling 196 estimates reported in 51 articles reflecting 37 datasets from whole network studies, youth nominated 4.80 best friends on average ($SE=.37$). Additionally, pooling 64 estimates reported in 20 articles reflecting 18 datasets from whole network studies, youth nominated 6.05 friends on average ($SE=.60$). Early adolescents (10–14 years) nominated significantly more best friends than adolescents (15–18 years). However, there were no significant differences in average outdegree centrality by the gender or geographic region of the sample. Findings provide future research directions for understanding youth socializing environments and implications for peer interventions.