As popular destinations of immigration, European societies have become ethnically and culturally more and more diverse, leading to a substantial group of dual identifiers, who self-identify with both the national majority group and the ethnic minority group of their (grand)parents. As individuals with ties to multiple groups, dual identifiers may play pivotal roles in bridging divides in increasingly diverse communities, thus fostering ethnic integration. However, this advantage hinges on dual identifiers’ ability to correctly assess their surrounding social structure. On the one hand, dual identifiers may be better at perceiving the structure of interethnic social networks because they are more likely to have ties to multiple groups. On the other hand, low-status minority members may have more accurate perceptions of social networks than dual identifiers because their lower social status makes them more dependent on correctly identifying key players in the network.

We test these competing hypotheses with cross-sectional network data, collected among more than 1,400 adolescents in Dutch schools. Participants were asked to name their direct friends and report their perception of the network structure in their school class (cognitive social structure). Statistical analyses of agreement between self-reports and perceptions were used to test if ethnic identity predicts accuracy.

Global efforts to establish more inclusive education systems for students with special educational needs (SEN) have been steadily escalating. In such education systems, students with and without SEN learn together while being provided with the necessary support within their learning environments. Drawing on social contact theory, social exchange theory and the principles of homophily, this presentation aimed to explore and understand the social processes associated with the friendship and antipathy networks of adolescents with and without SEN in inclusive setting. The study involved 429 students attending two schools with high percentage of students with SEN. We applied exponential random graph models (ERGMs) to examine tie formation between students with and without SEN. The results indicate that students with SEN were as likely as students without SEN to send and receive friendship nominations. There were also indications of the stronger homophilic tendencies of students with SEN than their typically developing peers. However, the results also indicate that, relative to students without SEN, students with SEN tend to receive more antipathy nominations from students without SEN. Moreover, the analysis revealed significant sex and race homophily effects across schools. The students were significantly more likely to form friendship ties with others of the same sex than with those of a different sex, but SES did not have significant effect on friendship formation. Concerning the students’ antipathy network, significant sex homophily was found but SES and race did not have a significant effect on the formation of antipathy ties. Additional analyses also indicate that friendship and antipathy ties differ in their influence on students’ sense of belonging, particularly for students with SEN. These findings underscore the need to focus on the different facets of students’ peer networks and enhance students’ positive attitudes toward diversity and inclusion to help students with SEN to feel integrated but also included in schools.

It is a puzzle whether and how social exclusion mechanisms hinder the academic performance of disadvantaged minority groups. Using unique social network panel data from elementary school students in Hungary, we test different predictions of the cultural-ecological theory among the Roma, one of the largest ethnic minority groups in Europe. First, we investigate whether high-achieving Roma students are excluded from the minority peer group (acting white hypothesis). Second, we examine whether high-achieving Roma students aim at passing for white by disidentifying with their ethnic minority group (disidentification hypothesis). Third, we test whether peers and teachers perceive high-achieving Roma students as belonging to the non-Roma group (labeling hypothesis). The findings contradict the acting white and the disidentification hypotheses. On the one hand, high-achieving Roma students are not excluded in terms of friendship relations. On the other hand, changes in academic achievement are not associated with changes in ethnic self-identification, suggesting that high-achieving Roma students do not aim to disidentify with their ethnic group. In line with the labeling hypothesis, however, higher academic achievement is associated with a lower likelihood of being perceived as Roma. This indicates that with high achievement, Roma students lose their ethnic membership as perceived by others.

As adolescents grow, peer relationships become increasingly central to their social development. Understanding how friendships develop throughout adolescence is crucial, as these relationships can have long-term implications for intergroup attitudes and social cohesion in adulthood. A key factor in this process is homophily, the tendency to form relationships with similar people. However, it remains unclear whether adolescents become more or less open to friendships across different social boundaries as they grow older.

This study examines how homophily evolves throughout adolescence. I first analyze whether adolescents’ preferences for similarity in sociodemographic characteristics—such as gender, ethnic background, and religion—change over time and whether trends differ between these attributes. Beyond demographic traits, I also investigate homophily in shared leisure activities and musical preferences to determine whether adolescents’ openness to diversity varies by trait type. This provides a broader understanding of whether homophily follows a general developmental pattern or is specific to certain traits. Additionally, I explore the relationship between stated preferences for similarity and actual friendship-making, identifying conditions under which they align or diverge. Lastly, I differentiate between different positive and negative relationships to assess how homophily operates across the various types of ties adolescents have.

To address these questions, I apply random-effects growth curve models and stochastic actor-oriented models for network evolution to six waves of social network data for N = 2,701 students aged 11-17 from the German Friendship and Identity in School study.

In superdiverse societies, many legal citizens with a migration background or ethnic minority status are often othered, leading to feelings of being ‘citizen outsiders’ (Beaman, 2017). This affects their sense of belonging and well-being, making it crucial to understand the process better. While we know that it takes place in both intimate and superficial relationships, it is typically explored at an individual level. Taking a relational approach, I study this othering process in dyadic ties using a qualitative perspective to examine how people with diverse ethnic backgrounds negotiate categorical boundaries and respond to being excluded.

The paper presents findings from a social network analysis study (PATCHWORK project) that collected data from a heterogeneous sample of 48 individuals in Barcelona (Spain) in 2023. Participants were interviewed twice. The first interview used a questionnaire to collect personal networ k data. The quantitative data informed the specific questions asked during the second, qualitative interview, which included two interactive exercises with visual tools designed to explore processes of categorisation and boundary-making within the participants' networks.

Without using pre-fixed ethnic categories, the inductive analysis uncovered the emergence of the category ‘citizen outsider’ , which in the context of Barcelona includes members of ethnic minorities long established in Spain (e.g., Roma), children of migrants, and (descendants of) Spaniards from other Spanish regions. The category is co-created through the narratives of ‘insiders’ interacting with ‘citizen outsiders’ and ‘citizen outsiders’ experiencing marginalisation. The findings also reveal the range of ethnic boundary-making strategies used in response to othering in everyday interactions.

This theoretical paper investigates how fields influence network advantage and proposes a field-network lens that can help better understand network effects. While network theorists conceptualise network advantage as originating in network structure, the paper calls attention to the issue of field forces acting on network nodes. As defined by Fligstein and McAdam (2012), fields have stakes requiring certain kinds of resources and information. Stakes induce forces that act on those who belong to the field. The paper’s main claim is that network advantage is influenced by how fields align with each other. Bridging ties might connect to fields irrelevant to the stake of the broker’s main field, in which case no brokerage advantage can be realised from the tie that bridges the two fields. Likewise, ties within a tight cluster might go across structurally invisible field boundaries, rendering cohesion benefits ineffectual. In other words, the paper calls attention to the fact that not all structural holes are created equal, that boundaries can be present between two nodes even when a tie exists between them, and that not all bridging and closure ties will be advantageous to the same degree. The paper proposes a field-network framework that helps define where brokerage and closure ties are effectual, ineffectual, or detrimental to network advantage.

The representation of citizens of immigrant origin has become increasingly relevant in both societal and academic discussions across European democracies. However, only a limited number of studies focus on the attitudes and support for immigrant representation within the native majority population. This study examines how interpersonal communication with individuals of immigrant origin influences the majority population's views on immigrant representation. It proposes that such interactions help natives recognize the social marginalization experienced by immigrant-origin groups, which leads to three key outcomes: (1) an increasing support for immigrant representation, (2) a decreasing perception that immigrant representation is currently adequate, and (3) a widening gap between expectations and perceptions of immigrant representation. To investigate these dynamics, a factorial vignette experiment is used to simulate interpersonal communication. It manipulates key factors such as the frequency of discussion, the intimacy of relationships, and the politically relevant content conveyed by others. Survey experimental evidence from Germany provides insights into how interpersonal communication influences natives’ views on immigrant representation and explores the potential consequences of growing mismatches between expectations and perceptions of the political system for trust in representative institutions.

Social inequality, a focal point in sociological inquiry, extends beyond material considerations. Academic focus on understanding how individuals perceive, explain, and respond to disparities has been extensive. Despite the prevailing research on individual and national determinants, recent developments in distributive justice literature emphasize the crucial role of individuals' social relationships in shaping attitudes toward inequality. These approaches illuminate nuanced processes through which individuals extrapolate societal distributive conditions from their particular social contexts, utilizing mechanisms such as social sampling and social inference. Extending these theoretical principles, the prestige and socioeconomic diversity of acquaintances introduce the potential to shape diverse perceptions and beliefs about the same social inequality, being able to modify the action of structural determinants such as the social class of individuals, among others.

This research takes advantage of a rich dataset on classroom friendship networks and students’ attitudes to address the following research question: how does socioeconomic segregation of friendship relationships influence students’ perceptions and explanations of social inequality? To answer this question, we use data from the MAYBE Project, from more than 400 senior high school students, belonging to 26 classes and 16 schools in the province of Milan, Italy. The analysis of the impact of social networks with this population becomes particularly relevant, considering that it has been seen that attitudes tend to crystallize during late adolescence and early adulthood and that school is one of the most important socializing institutions in shaping them. Despite the richness of these ideas, empirical validation remains remarkably scarce, with limited attempts using insufficient surveys to model individuals’ social networks or research focused solely on students’ attitudes toward inequality considering only individual determinants.

Applying network analysis techniques, sociocentric friendship networks are modelled in each class, with nodes representing the total number of students and links depicting unidirectional friendship relationships. Additionally, individual characteristics are assigned to nodes to estimate multilevel regression models and test the following hypotheses: Firstly, that students in classes with greater socioeconomic diversity and less prestige among peers perceive greater inequality in the country (Hypothesis 1a) and explain it more by structuralist factors (Hypothesis 1b). Moreover, that students in friendship groups with greater socioeconomic diversity and less prestige perceive greater inequality in the country (Hypothesis 2a) and provide more structuralist explanations (Hypothesis 2b).

Preliminary results construct a compelling narrative: irrespective of students’ social class or other sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic segregation in classes and friendships shapes students’ conceptions of inequality. Specifically, the models indicate that socioeconomic prestige decreases perception and structuralist explanations of inequality, while socioeconomic diversity increases them. These findings underscore the fundamental role of individuals’ diverse social environments and schools, not only in shaping conceptions of inequality but also in unravelling the intricate network of determining factors. In light of the results, the paper discusses the influence of social sampling and social inference mechanisms in the formation of distributive attitudes.

Informal social status is crucial in adolescence. Given general status differences in European societies, we could expect that immigrant students (or those with immigrant parents) may be considered less popular by their school peers. Yes, this has never been directly investigated using informal status measures and proper tools of social network analysis, despite the growing number of network studies on intergroup friendships, dislike, and bullying. In our study, we explore differences in patterns of informal status between students from different immigrant backgrounds in four European countries: England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. We find mixed evidence for status differences and differential patterns in the four countries.

Scholars frequently report the presence of homophily – that network ties are more likely between nodes with one or more shared characteristics – in interpersonal networks. In inferential network modeling, theses homophily findings are generated through an ubiquitous strategy of estimating independent homophily effects for each sociodemographic characteristic under study. More recently, several scholars have proposed strategies for accounting for multiple dimensions of characteristics and their roles in homophily, but theoretical and empirical work on this issue remains limited. In this paper, we develop a theory of intersectional homophily as an alternative to social distance, by-product, and consolidation arguments and estimate exponential random graph models (ERGM) with homophily interactions to examine expectations related to intersectional homophily arguments. We utilize Wave I of the Student Experiences in Law School Study, which surveyed first-year JD students in the fall of 2019 at three law schools. We analyze these data using ERGMs, which include main effects for homophily based on race, gender, status, sexual identity, and political orientation as well as two-way interactions. Results show that distinct patterns of significant main and interaction effects and cannot be fully explained by the consolidation between attributes. The findings support the notion that homophily research should examine how two forms of homophily intersect, above and beyond the main effects of homophily.

The transition to university provides first-year students the opportunity to forge new friendships from what is oftentimes a diverse pool of peers. Nonetheless, the friendships that develop are disproportionately within-group, versus cross-group, across a variety of dimensions. Explanations for such homophily include ingroup preferences, though within the constraints provided by the composition of the population, including consolidation, biased opportunities for meeting (e.g., foci), and amplification through network mechanisms. Prior efforts to understand the relative strength of homophily-inducing mechanisms often consider the combined effect of preferences and opportunities. We offer greater clarity to the origins of within and cross-group ties by isolating the opportunities for each type of tie available through various network selection micro-mechanisms. Our method allows us to compare how much foci, consolidation, and network mechanisms funnel students into within-group opportunities or, in limited cases, increase exposure to outgroup peers. We illustrate our method using longitudinal network data from 1,800 students in two consecutive first-year cohorts of a STEM major. We discuss the implications of our results for efforts to understand and promote intergroup relations on campus and the generalization of our method to investigate differential opportunities for any definition of tie types via network micro-mechanisms.

We examined to which extent adolescents perceive gender and ethnic homophily in peers’ friendships in their classroom. While social network research consistently finds that friendships form more often between similar individuals, leading to gender and ethnic network segregation, it remains unclear to what extent people also perceive homophily when they infer the friendships around them. However, as perceptions shape various behaviours and attitudes, overestimating others’ homophily could limit adolescents’ willingness to form intergroup friendships. In this paper, we first examined to what extent perceived segregation aligned with actual network segregation. Then, we explored factors that could explain perceptions of peers’ friendships. Since segregation results from homophily and relational mechanisms, we investigated to what extent perceptions can be explained by relational mechanisms (e.g., balance) and attributes (e.g., gender, ethnicity) of the actors and the targets. We expected that friends and similar actors (e.g., males) would have more similar perceptions of the friendships in their class. Additionally, we examined perceived homophily by testing whether similar dyads (e.g., ethnic minority members) were more often perceived as friends. We applied a novel statistical method, which was introduced by Koskinen and colleagues (2023), using multilevel exponential random graph models in MPNet to model the two-layer network: self-reported friendships and the perceived friendship network (i.e., cognitive social structure). Our study advances the field by examining perceived homophily in adolescents’ perceptions of peers’ friendship relations, while accounting for relational mechanisms and attributes that could explain these perceptions.

Input, output, and interaction have been considered central to the process of second language (L2) acquisition. This contribution analyses the longitudinal development of the social interaction network and its influence on L2 gains of a complete cohort of 41 U.S. sojourners enrolled in a 3-month intensive study-abroad Arabic program. Unlike extant research, the current study i) focuses on students’ in-the-wild interactions with their alma mater classmates as well as other agents, ii) reconstructing a complete network of the former, iii) traces the impact of each individual student’s position in the social graph using established centrality metrics, and iv) includes a dynamic developmental perspective with three measurement points at 4-week intervals each, gauging the extent to which changes in the network configuration translate to changes in both self-perceived and objectively measured progress along a range of dimensions.

Objective proficiency gains were negatively influenced by predeparture proficiency (negatively), multilingualism, perceived integration of the peer learner group (negatively), and the number of fellow learners speaking to the student. Analyses reveal relative stable same-gender cliques, but with changes in the patterns and strength of interaction. We also discuss interesting divergent trajectories of centrality metrics, L2 use, and progress, predictors of self-perceived progress across skills, and the interplay of context and gender.

In a growing diverse society, young people are confronted with concerns for critically understanding dehumanizing social conditions of marginalized groups in society. The term critical consciousness (CC)—grounded in critical pedagogy (Freire, 2000)—deals with awareness, motivation, and agency of oppressive systemic forces in society against marginalized groups. In the foreground is the way young people come to learn about and read the social world. Limited work suggest peer socialization (Heberle et al. 2020), through discussion of social issues and support of critical perspectives on issues of injustice. Yet, measures of socialization and CC are fragmented and inconsistent, rendering mixed findings. Moreover, the source of CC socialization remains unclear: Are young people influenced by all peers equally?

Recent data was used from 742 freshman residing in four learning communities at a large, public university in the American Midwest (two cohorts; two waves yearly). Students reported on three dimensions of CC (validated ShoCCS; Diemer et al. 2022), three items each (reflection, motivation, action; αs = 0.77). Students also reported about their networks listing the names of up to ten peers with whom they “hang out” in their community.

The preliminary findings from a SAOM (RSiena; Snijders et al. 2010), in which the average similarity effect (capturing socialization) was split into two (intra-ethnic relationships and inter-ethnic relationships), reveals that CC reflection and action are influenced in inter-ethnic relationships rather than intra-ethnic relationships. This study illustrates that diverse (inter-ethnic) peer networks function as socialization agents for the development of CC in young people.

Linguistic behavior is a key marker of identity, enabling individuals to position themselves within social spaces. One primary way people use language to signal social belonging or exclusion is through convergence or divergence. Aligning one’s linguistic behavior with that of an interlocutor signals social proximity and affiliation, whereas linguistic divergence indicates that the other is perceived as a member of an out-group. Despite the inherently relational nature of this process, empirical evidence utilizing social network analysis (SNA) remains limited. This study seeks to uncover how social structures influence accommodative behaviors, employing SNA for the first time in this context.

We examine the adverbial practices of twenty-five young adult speakers across seventy-five interactions with members of their personal networks. Using Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models, our findings reveal that accommodation is influenced by two structural levels: the overall social network structure and the integration of alters within it. At the network level, higher clustering and increased homophily are linked to greater linguistic convergence. At the dyadic level, when an alter is central within the emotional support network, ego exhibits a stronger tendency to converge linguistically. Additionally, our results suggest that the structural effects interact with the composition of the personal network.

These results underscore the combined impact of network structure and composition in shaping linguistic behaviors, offering new insights into how social connections reinforce norms and drive linguistic variation.

With economic inequality rising in most countries, studying the mechanisms of its reproduction is a pressing matter. Research shows that friendships among children of different socio-economic backgrounds affect their future education achievement and income, inter-SES (socio-economic status) friendships especially improving the outcomes of children from lower-SES families.

Few studies explored the mechanisms of friendship preferences and choices of school children so far; the results of the studies that did are conflicting. The main mechanism assumed to guide friendship choices is homophily, and it is not found consistently in the data. I will test it once again with one of the cutting-edge tools of network analysis, Stochastic Actor-Oriented Modeling (SAOM). I will also test a different mechanism of friendship choice that has never been tested before - friendship hypergamy: children of higher SES are more desirable as friends. This mechanism might account for the cases in existing research where homophily wasn’t found.

Existing research suggests that homophily, or assortativity, is not the only mechanism behind friendship selection: research shows that higher-SES students overall have more friends, while lower-SES children have less friends and are more likely to be isolated. Moreover, since SES is clearly hierarchical, homophily does not make sense as the only mechanism of friendship selection with regards to SES. Thus, exploring homophily and potential alternative mechanisms of friendship selection will broaden our understanding of friendship choice by SES as a mechanism of inequality reproduction, potentially outlining a need for more rigorous theory building on the topic.

China has experienced unprecedented rural-to-urban migration over the past three decades, bringing a large number of rural children into urban environments. Peer networks are crucial for adolescent development, yet little is known about the extent of segregation between local and migrant children in friendship networks or its psychological impact. Existing theories offer conflicting predictions regarding how this segregation might influence migrant children’s well-being.

Using nationally representative data from junior high school students nested within classes and schools, this study adapts a racial segregation measure to assess the degree of separation between local and migrant students in peer networks. The findings reveal substantial segregation, particularly among boys. Migrant boys were more likely to befriend other non-local students, whereas migrant girls were similarly likely to make friends with local and non-local students, given the contextual distributions of local and non-local students. Furthermore, segregation from local peers was negatively associated with the psychological well-being of migrant boys.

This study is the first to systematically examine friendship network segregation among migrant children in China. The pronounced exclusion of migrant boys from local peer networks aligns with prior research on gendered barriers in social relationships. By highlighting the persistence of network segregation, this study contributes to a broader understanding of structural constraints in migrant children’s peer interactions. It highlights the need for targeted policies to mitigate the negative effects of segregation and promote greater social integration for migrant children.

Parental influence plays a crucial role in shaping children's ethnic self-identification, particularly in families with mixed ethnic backgrounds or migration histories.

Drawing on social identity theory and ethnic boundary-making perspectives, this study examines the patterns and dynamics of ethnic identity transmission from parents to children in Germany.

Using descriptive analysis, I investigate differences in ethnic self-identification of parents and children across ethnic groups and generational status in first- and second-generation immigrant families, considering the interplay of generational status and ethnic group membership.

Using a longitudinal approach on parent-child dyads, I examine how parental ethnic self-identification shapes children's identity formation over time and how parents transmit their ethnic identity to their child.

The analysis draws on longitudinal data from the Friendship and Identity in Schools (FIS) study and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU-DE) to examine ethnic self-identification patterns over multiple waves of data. The analysis offers new insights into the intergenerational transmission of ethnic identity, highlighting the complex dynamics between parental influence, ethnic background, generational status, and children's identity development.