Interpersonal touch in high school relative to sex and race.
Previous studies have indicated that interpersonal touch decreases from kindergarten through junior high. In the present study 1154 pairs of high school students were observed in school cafeteria queues. Instances of touch were recorded along with body parts used to touch and touched. High school students were observed to segregate themselves by race and sex as did the primary and junior high students in the earlier studies. Touch was not less probable than that observed in younger students. Cross-sex touch was not more frequent as had been predicted. Touch was highest among black students. An increase in aggressive touch seen in female junior high students was not observed in the present study.
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students; D014110:Touch