Measuring Diversity in Daily Social Contact: The Contribution of Social Context,Work and Leisure on the Opportunity for Engagement

Role diversity is an important feature of individuals’ social networks that is reflected in the amount of time spent in the company of different role relationships. Time-use data is used to derive an index of dispersion measuring the diversity of one’s social contact among different role relationships. Patterns of social engagement are specialized when large investments of time are allocated to a small number of role relationships, while patterns are diverse when relatively equal amounts of time are spent among all possible role relationships. Tobit estimation of models indicates significant social context, time-use, and attitudinal effects on the diversity of role relationships. Findings indicate that role diversity is a complex phenomenon shaped by one’s existing social context, individual preferences, and present constraints on the use of time.