159,949 research outputs found

    Friendship networks and social status

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    In empirical studies of friendship networks participants are typically asked, in interviews or questionnaires, to identify some or all of their close friends, resulting in a directed network in which friendships can, and often do, run in only one direction between a pair of individuals. Here we analyze a large collection of such networks representing friendships among students at US high and junior-high schools and show that the pattern of unreciprocated friendships is far from random. In every network, without exception, we find that there exists a ranking of participants, from low to high, such that almost all unreciprocated friendships consist of a lower-ranked individual claiming friendship with a higher-ranked one. We present a maximum-likelihood method for deducing such rankings from observed network data and conjecture that the rankings produced reflect a measure of social status. We note in particular that reciprocated and unreciprocated friendships obey different statistics, suggesting different formation processes, and that rankings are correlated with other characteristics of the participants that are traditionally associated with status, such as age and overall popularity as measured by total number of friends.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

    Types of Personal Social Networks of Older Adults in Portugal

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    This study presents and discusses a three-dimensional typology for personal social networks of Portuguese older adults. We used a K-means cluster analysis of structural, functional and relational-contextual variables of the networks of 612 participants aged 65 + (M = 76 ± 7.6), mostly women (63%). Four types of networks emerged: family networks, friendship networks, neighbourhood networks and institutional networks. The most frequent are family networks (61.8%), constituted by 94.6% of family ties, on average, attesting the familistic nature of the older persons’ networks in Portugal, followed by friendship networks (23.5%) and neighbourhood networks (11.9%). The less frequent type is the institutional network (2.8%), dominated by formal ties (M = 59.3%). Sociographic profiles reveal that family networks are more likely to be held by middle-old focal subjects, married or widowed, and with children. Friendship and neighbourhood networks are held by young-old subjects with different marital status, many of them living alone, with a higher proportion of men with friendship networks. Institutional networks are held by old–old, widowed or single with no children. The presented typology contributes to understand social support needs and social isolation. The conclusions allow to anticipate social services’ demand trajectories and to propose intervention plans and social policy measures to promote the well-being of the older population

    Factors Underlying the Structure of Older Adult Friendship Networks.

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    This paper examines the structure of older adult friendship networks and how the immediate social environment in which they are embedded shapes them. Data were a probability sample (N = 65) of the residents of Greensboro, North Carolina, aged 55 years or older, living in noninstitutional settings. Four of six bivariate hypotheses regarding the relationships between measures of homogeneity, internal hierarchy, and solidarity derived from the friendship literature were confirmed, but none of the 10 hypotheses based on findings from the organizational literature was. We used factor analyses to examine the dimensions underlying these network characteristics and cluster analysis to identify patterns of relationships among these dimensions. The three factors underlying networks structure—egalitarianism, sociability, and religiosity—shaped the friendships of the respondents and reflected the culture and social structure of the context in which this study took place. Although all elderly in this study were generally subject to the same cultural and social structural forces, slightly different components affected the outsiders, low status insiders, and high status insiders and thus they had different patterns of friendship networks factors

    Personal and community issues networks in small town Iowa: the importance of gender, marital status and the presence of children

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    This study examined the effects of gender, marital status and the presence of children on the size and composition of social networks. Two types of social networks, personal (friendship) and community issues networks, were examined. Inclusion of the rarely investigated community issues network expanded the literature by exploring another important aspect of an individual\u27s total network. Using computer-assisted telephone interviewing, 973 interviews were completed from a random sample of residents in 30 Iowa communities. Guided by the literature regarding the implications of doing gender in both family and community life, relationships were predicted between the social network characteristics and gender. T-tests found statistically significant differences in network size by the presence of children and differences in network composition (percent kin and sex homogeneity) by gender, marital status and household composition. Gender was negatively correlated with the proportion of sex homogeneity in the community issues network. Men\u27s community issues networks were more sex segregated than women\u27s networks in these rural communities. Ramifications of highly sex homogeneous networks are discussed

    Friends' Networks and Job Finding Rates

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    We investigate the effect of social interactions on labor market outcomes using a direct measure of social contacts based on information about individuals’ three best friends and their characteristics. We examine the effect of the number of employed friends on the transition from non-employment to employment, and we find the existence of significant network effects at the individual level. An additional employed friend increases the probability of finding a job by 3.7 percentage points. This finding is robust to specifications that address the endogeneity of friends’ employment status, which may be induced by correlation with unobserved individual attributes and feedback effects. Considering labor market outcomes, we find evidence of higher wages and employment stability for those with more employed friends, which is consistent with networks acting as an information transmission mechanism.networks, unemployment, friendship ties

    Friends’ Networks and Job Finding Rates

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    We investigate the effect of social interactions on labor market outcomes using a direct measure of social contacts based on information about individuals’ three best friends and their characteristics. We examine the effect of the number of employed friends on the transition from non-employment to employment, and we find the existence of significant network effects at the individual level. An additional employed friend increases the probability of finding a job by 3.7 percentage points. This finding is robust to specifications that address the endogeneity of friends’ employment status, which may be induced by correlation with unobserved individual attributes and feedback effects. Considering labor market outcomes, we find evidence of higher wages and employment stability for those with more employed friends, which is consistent with networks acting as an information transmission mechanism.Networks, Unemployment, Friendship ties.

    Social Networks as Mediators of Proximal Recovery Outcomes for Veterans Living in Recovery Homes

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    Although the prevalence of alcohol and substance abuse among veterans has been long documented (Kulka et al., 1988; Tanielian et al., 2008), insufficient work has been done on veterans living within recovery homes such as Oxford House (OH). Approximately 18% of OH residents in the United States are veterans (Oxford House, 2015); however, only one study has looked at veteran status within OH (Majer, Jason, Ferrari, Venable, & Olson, 2002). In addition, no study has examined the social networks of veterans within recovery homes. Furthermore, although the relationship between length of stay (LOS) in an OH and various positive outcomes such as lower recidivism and higher abstinence self-efficacy have been demonstrated in previous studies (Jason, Davis, & Ferrari, 2007), the relationship between LOS and quality of life has not been examined among veterans. The current study aimed to: (a) determine if veterans living with other veterans have more cohesive social networks compared to veterans living with non-veterans; (b) assess whether there is a direct relationship between veteran status and quality of life; and (c) determine if social network cohesion mediates the relationship between veteran status and quality of life. Findings indicated that veterans living with other veterans had greater close friendship ties compared to veterans living with only non-veterans. However, veterans in either house type did not differ in regard to friendship density and reciprocity. No relationship was found between veteran status and quality of life. The study’s limitations and implications for future research are also discussed

    Socio-economic inequalities in smoking and drinking in adolescence:Assessment of social network dynamics

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    AIMS: We investigated whether (1) adolescents selected friends with a similar socio-economic status (SES), (2) smoking and alcohol consumption spread in networks and (3) the exclusion of non-smokers or non-drinkers differed between SES groups.DESIGN: This was a longitudinal study using stochastic actor-oriented models to analyze complete social network data over three waves.SETTING: Eight Hungarian secondary schools with socio-economically diverse classes took part.PARTICIPANTS: This study comprised 232 adolescents aged between 14 and 15 years in the first wave.MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported smoking behavior, alcohol consumption behavior and friendship ties were measured. SES was measured based upon entitlement to an income-tested regular child protection benefit.FINDINGS: Non-low-SES adolescents were most likely to form friendships with peers from their own SES group [odds ratio (OR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02-1.11]. Adolescents adjusted their smoking behavior (OR = 24.05, 95% CI = 1.27-454.86) but not their alcohol consumption (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.62-4.39) to follow the behavior of their friends. Smokers did not differ from non-smokers in the likelihood of receiving a friendship nomination (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.87-1.10), regardless of their SES. Alcohol consumers received significantly more friendship nominations than non-consumers (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.01-1.33), but this association was not significantly different according to SES.CONCLUSIONS: Hungarian adolescents appear to prefer friendships within their own socio-economic status group, and smoking and alcohol consumption spread within those friendship networks. Socio-economic groups do not differ in the extent to which they encourage smoking or alcohol consumption.</p

    Friendship Selection Patterns Among Low Income Minority Girls/Adolescents: Links to Obesity Risk

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    Research suggests interventions for pediatric obesity fail because they do not consider the broader social context in which adolescents spend their time: the adolescent friendship network. A critical step to address friendship network barriers to reducing child obesity is understanding contexts that promote friendship network patterns that promote healthy weight (i.e., social inclusion of overweight youth, friendship clusters that are diverse in weight status). This study sought to understand whether community-based summertime programming could facilitate healthier selection patterns for a demographic disproportionately at risk for obesity: low-income girls of color. Participants were 42 African American and Latina adolescent females (M =11.96 years, SD=1.12) enrolled in a community-based summer program for girls focused on healthy lifestyles. At two time points (before and at the end of programming), body mass index, dietary intake, and physical activity were assessed. At the end of the program, the friendship network that emerged during the program was measured. Social network analyses and traditional analyses were used to examine (1) selection patterns that emerged related to obesity and obesogenic behaviors, and (2) whether these selection patterns related to change in obesogenic behaviors over the course of the program. Results suggested that the program may foster social inclusion of overweight youth, but girls still tended to befriend others with similar weight statuses and dietary habits. No evidence was found for the relevance of selection patterns to girls\u27 improvement in obesity risk during the program. That overweight youth were socially included in the context of organized PA suggests promising potential for similar community-based summer programming to provide positive social experiences associated with PA for overweight youth. Future studies should examine complete social networks for longer duration to investigate the potential for community-based summer programming to capitalize on social factors that promote healthy weight among youth
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