Leadership naturally emerges in group settings, with certain individuals driving goals, decision-making, and coordination. While research has advanced our understanding of leadership traits and interpersonal contexts, most studies focus on adults, and childhood leadership is primarily examined through self-reports in contemporary, industrialised societies. To expand current knowledge, we analyse leadership behaviours in children in a rural, historical setting. Using 1,677 written records of naturalistic observations from an ethnic Han village in Taiwan collected by Arthur P. Wolf between 1958–1960, we conducted behavioural analyses and extracted quantitative behavioural codings. We focus on the network structure of leadership behaviours and other theoretically-relevant `positive' (e.g., prosocial) and `negative' (e.g., aggressive) behaviours. For each of these behaviours, we construct 14 socio-centric networks that contain observed behaviours (N_behaviours=6,711) between all children (ages 0-12) in the village (N_individuals=214). We apply a multiplex generalisation of the social relations model, designed to estimate network structure, and the associations between networks, for unevenly sampled data. Our findings show that leadership behaviours are typically followed by group members, and that leaders decide who can join groups during play. Leaders exhibit a distinct behavioural profile: they are dominant, engage in teasing, scolding, and verbal aggression---challenging assumptions that leadership is solely rooted in prosocial behaviour. These rich analyses of rare, naturalistic observations of children's social life in a rural, non-Western, historical setting provide unique insights into the developmental nature of leadership, highlighting its complex interplay with social behaviours in early life.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are pervasive in resource-limited settings and exert consequences on mental health across the lifespan. Studies from rural Uganda have shown robust associations between ACEs and adult depression symptom severity, major depressive disorder, and suicidality. The ACEs “sum score”, however, obscures our understanding of the pathways linking ACEs and depression. The network approach to psychopathology provides a framework to disentangle the mechanisms driving associations between external risk factors and mental health symptoms.

Methods: We conducted a population-based social network survey of all adults in a rural parish in southwestern Uganda (91% response rate; N=1,566). ACEs were elicited with an adapted version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences-International Questionnaire. Current depressive symptoms were measured with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist for Depression. We used a culturally adapted name generator to identify network ties in five life domains. Using the Ising model, we estimated the co-symptomatology network of depressive symptoms and ACEs and identified the most salient nodes in the network.

Results: Of the nine ACEs, “sexual abuse” had the highest bridge strength, defined as the sum of the absolute value of all edges between a node and nodes outside its community (depressive symptoms). Exposure to family violence and neglect also had direct connections to current depressive symptoms.

Discussion: Findings highlight specific ACEs as key pathways to adult depressive symptoms, informing intervention targets in this resource-limited setting. Our next steps involve re-estimating the ACEs-depression co-symptomatology network stratifying by social network characteristics (e.g., isolates vs. non-isolates; high vs. low reciprocity).

Building positive peer relationships in adolescence is associated with many positive outcomes (e.g., academic achievement, physical activity). Physical education (PE) is considered to have a unique potential to promote peer relationships, although negative peer relationships and conflicts are often described, particularly between athletic and non-athletic students. Recent studies have confirmed the connection between high physical ability and peer relationships in PE using social network analysis, but no longitudinal studies have been conducted. To examine this, 292 students from 11 grade 5 classes were surveyed at three points during the school year. Students were asked to identify best friends, preferred team partners in PE, and high and low ability peers. The ability nominations were combined into a peer score for each student. Stochastic actor-oriented models were used to model the co-evolution of friendship, team partners and peer-perceived physical ability.

Initial results show that friendships are formed based on similarity, while team partners are chosen primarily on high performance. Also, boys are more likely to be chosen as team partners than girls. Additionally, the results show that team partners develop into friends and vice versa.

The results illustrate the differences in social integration in PE between athletic and non-athletic students and between boys and girls. Meanwhile, the positive development of team partners into friends shows the potential of PE to promote friendships in the classroom through PE. To improve the social inclusion of non-athletic students and girls, PE lessons could emphasize cooperation instead of competition to highlight other aspects of sport.

In a study of 72 introductory statistics students at a college in California, we measured the effect of several social factors on performance in the class. We hypothesized that students who are more afraid of math and statistics will do worse in the class, but also that the fear factor can be mitigated by becoming more integrated into the class. We also hypothesize that students who are more integrated in the class will perform better than those less integrated. Furthermore, we hypothesized that feelings of belonging will predict performance. Finally, we hypothesize that belongingness will be highly correlated with network characteristics, specifically in- and out-degree.

We administered pre- and post-semester surveys to two statistics classes at a western US college. Some 72 students completed validated measures of extroversion, belongingness, and fear of statistics. Sociometric network questions were included and allowed students to name up to 12 other students in class they knew by name with rosters pre-loaded and an autocomplete capacity.

We test whether becoming integrated into the class moderates the relationship between fear of statistics and course performance.

School classrooms are one of the primary contexts in which friendships between adolescents are shaped by homophily. However, whether adolescents rely on similarities in others’ characteristics when forming their perception of social networks remains unknown. This question might be especially relevant in ethnically diverse settings as these perceptions contribute to students' social isolation or exclusion. For instance, native Dutch adolescents might assume that their female classmates with an immigration background who wear hijabs primarily befriend each other and do not want to engage with non-Muslims. Such perceptions might reduce the prospects of future interactions. To understand how network perceptions are formed in school classes, we investigated the role of homophily in visible identity cues. In a multilevel framework, we examined how perceivers’ characteristics (e.g., majority or minority group membership) and four visual identity cues of classmates—religious symbols, national symbols, high-status clothing, and skin tone—shape perceptions of who is friends with whom. We collected unique friendship network and cognitive social structure (friendship perception) data from more than 1,500 adolescents (aged 16+) attending low-diversity high schools or highly-diversity vocational schools in the Netherlands. As a methodological advancement, our study is the first to employ two-layer multilevel Exponential Random Graph Models (MERGM) (cognitive social structures nested in friendship networks) to assess perceived homophily based on visual identity cues and perceivers' characteristics within classrooms. By introducing this innovative approach, our research contributes to the growing literature on networks of networks, offering new insights into the perception of individuals and social networks.

This presentation provides a theoretical and empirical perspective on how metacognitive approaches can be tapped to boost students’ functioning in peer contexts. The presentation draws on existing literature on metacognition linked to social cognition and socio-emotional learning to distill key insights that can guide the formulation of approaches that tap on metacognitive strategies to facilitate the development of students’ pro-social skills such as empathy, emotional regulation, perspective-taking and conflict resolution. The second part of the presentation elucidates the results of a socio-metacognitive intervention that aimed to enhance students’ ability to form and maintain friendship relations. The intervention included metacognitive strategies such as reflection and prompts, along with other socio-cognitive strategies (i.e., modeling and collaboration), to enhance students’ awareness of the thoughts and emotions of oneself and others, awareness of the nature of friendship and friendship formation, awareness of one’s strategies to manage conflict, managing negative thoughts or mind traps. The study followed the equivalent group pretest-posttest experimental research design. Surveys on students personal peer networks and socio-emotional competencies were administered before and after the intervention. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on 29 students after they participated in the intervention. Thematic analysis was carried on students’ interview transcripts indicate the following key themes: (1) awareness of overthinking and mind traps; (2) self-regulation to manage and reduce mind traps; (3) awareness of beliefs and attitude towards relationships; (4) awareness of other’s thoughts and intentions within social settings. The students also self-reported an increase in their personal friendship networks and closeness with friends. The results of the study underscore the potential role of metacognition as a component of socio-cognitive interventions in enhancing the students’ socio-emotional competencies and social participation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of student sociability and young adult isolation in public discourse. However, these phenomena remain understudied in France, particularly from a quantitative, national-level perspective. While sociology has extensively examined selection mechanisms, segregation, and social disparities in higher education, limited research has investigated how these inequalities affect social relationships during a pivotal period often described as a relational peak in biographical trajectories.

This research aims to provide an initial measure of student sociability in France while examining its variations within a heterogeneous educational system. Drawing on personal network sociology and taking a “supply-side perspective” of social relationships influenced by Peter Blau and Scott Feld, we strive to analyze how higher education segmentation impacts students' sociability opportunities and forms. Our central hypothesis posits that diverse study environments and modalities (institutions, disciplines, material and organizational conditions) follow differentiated levels of sociability and relational configurations, challenging the assumption of uniform student sociability.

To test this hypothesis, a mixed methodology was chosen. The latter is based on a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews, supplemented by a detailed mapping of the personal network using specialized software, allowing a precise visualization of personal networks. In parallel, an online questionnaire uses a new approach to self-assessment of personal networks, adapted to the constraints of collecting relational data over the Internet. Data collection will begin in February 2025, this presentation will thus provide an opportunity to share and discuss both the initial empirical results and the ad hoc methodology developed.

Adolescence is a critical period for lifelong mental health, when peers’ influence is particularly important for individual mental health outcomes. But, both – peers and mental health may vary across situations. However, most studies rely on unsituated (not situation specific) school friendship data and mental health measures, overlooking how stability of social ties across different situations relates to mental health outcomes. This study, part of the SOCial sITuational Systems (SOCITS) project, explores this gap through methodological advancements in understanding influences on adolescent mental well-being.

Conducted in two Scottish secondary schools (N = 338, three school years), students reported on their friends, negative ties, but also on “who is usually around them” in four school situations: school’s courtyard, library, canteen and having lunch elsewhere in the school. They also reported on both general (unsituated) and situation-specific (situated) mental health (depression, loneliness, anxiety, and stress) in those four situations.

To understand the effect of network stability on measures of mental health, we will classify students into groups based on their ego-network stability across situations, using various metrics of differences between friendships and situated networks. These groups will be compared on general mental health measures and their situational variation to examine how changes in social networks across school contexts relate to individual mental health.

We will employ multiple analytical strategies, including various ego-network difference metrics, classification methods, and group comparisons. Finally, we will discuss how these findings could inform school-level interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ mental health.

Despite similar academic performance, girls exhibit significantly lower interest in STEM subjects than boys. Beyond early socialization processes, the school environment plays a key role in shaping students’ STEM interests: On the one hand, friends’ and classmates’ adherence to gender-normative beliefs can affect adolescents’ STEM interests, as gender-atypical interests may be socially sanctioned. On the other hand, organizational and structural factors at the school-level can influence the development of gendered STEM interests. In this study, we conceptualize the gender gap in STEM interests as a relational phenomenon that varies across different educational environments. By bridging two previously separate research strands—one examining peer dynamics as a universal amplifier of gender disparities and the other exploring school-level variations in STEM interest gaps—we provide a more nuanced understanding of how locally specific, gendered STEM peer cultures emerge.

Our empirical analyses are based on the German Trends in Achievement 2018 study, which contains data on the friendship networks of over 44,000 ninth-graders across 1,462 schools in Germany. First, we quantify and model gendered STEM peer cultures using exponential random graph models. Second, we apply variance decomposition methods to determine the contextual levels at which gendered STEM peer cultures emerge. Finally, we inductively identify the institutional and compositional school features that predict the development of these cultures. By taking a relational and contextualized approach, our study provides both theoretical and practical insights into the key conditions shaping the emergence of gender disparities in STEM interest.

Children are raised in a community. Nonetheless, the vast majority of existing studies have explained childcare primarily through socio-economic characteristics. While a growing body of research acknowledges the role of interpersonal relationships, empirical evidence on childcare relationships at the community level remains limited. We explore the role of community-level social networks in shaping childcare experiences, focusing on two South Korean cities with contrasting fertility rates: Sejong and Seoul. We employ a mixed-methods approach, including semi-structured interviews (N=18) for qualitative approach and social network analysis using a name generator survey for quantitative approach. The interview findings reveal that Sejong City, with higher fertility rates, fosters a strongly bonded childcare community, leading to more satisfying childcare experiences compared to Seoul, which has lower fertility rates. Social network analysis further indicates that networks among children and parents are larger in Sejong than in Seoul. Additionally, while casual networks for children’s playdates are present in both cities, these relationships associate with deep networks of parents primarily in Sejong. By shifting from individual- to community-level analysis, we highlight the significance of cohesive social networks for childcare satisfaction, offering valuable insights into addressing fertility and childcare challenges in low-fertility contexts.

How are enmities among school children formed? This question has been asked by at least two strands of research: studies of school bullying, aiming to understand and prevent violence among students in general; and studies of social mixing at school, trying to understand under what conditions students from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds can bond.

A first hypothesis is that enmities are shaped by social and relational distance, following a mechanism of discrimination and group identity: Students primarily dislike or harass others dissimilar to them, particularly in socioeconomic and ethnic terms, as well as others belonging to different groups of peers. Conversely, another hypothesis is that proximity generates enmities, following a mechanism of competition: Students primarily confront others that resemble them, as well as potential rivals within their own peer group. In network terms, this translates into two related questions: what is the effect of attribute dissimilarity on the formation and maintenance of negative ties? And what is the effect of structural equivalence – i.e., having similar positions within the friendship networks?

To answer these questions, I use Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models (SAOM) applied to the coevolution of friendship, dislike and bullying networks in four French middle schools. 861 students were surveyed over 30 months, allowing to reconstitute grade-level complete networks. I also provide qualitative evidence from these schools to help interpret statistical results.

Results suggest that structural equivalence in the friendship networks increases the odds of conflicts, both for disliking and bullying ties. On the contrary, attribute dissimilarity has little to no impact, with the exception of academic performance. Theoretical as well as policy implications are discussed.

Support and connectedness are primary elements of students’ sense of belonging. Comprehensive college transition programs (CCTPs) provide multi-pronged support for college students. Research demonstrates these programs often improve students’ sense of belonging by providing an intentional community for students (Cole et al., 2019). CCTPs are associated with desired outcomes such as student well-being, retention, and persistence (Melguizo et al., 2021). Social network analysis allows for a deeper understanding of community formation within CCTPs. Sense of belonging is conceptualized at multiple levels such as broadly to the university or within specific groups such as a class. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether belonging impacts friendship networks among students involved in a CCTP throughout one semester. At a large university in the USA, three freshmen CCTP classes were surveyed at weeks 4 and 14 of the semester. Employing separable temporal exponential random graph modeling, networks were analyzed for friendship tie formation and dissolution. Classmates were significantly likely to form ties based on their university-level sense of community across all three classes (parameter estimate range=0.56-1.63, ps .001-.008). University-level sense of community was significant in ties persisting throughout the semester in two out of three classes. Results indicate class-level sense of community was not impactful for student friendships. This study argues promoting a university-level sense of community is important for undergraduate students’ friendships throughout CCTPs. Therefore, CCTPs prioritizing fostering a sense of belonging to the university rather than to the smaller cohort may see greater friendships.

Relationships with peers, and friends in particular, are a crucial element of adolescent development and well-being. These friendships, like other interpersonal networks, are embedded and influenced by the larger community, and a rich history of social-ecological research links community characteristics to problem- and health-related behaviors. Most studies of peer dynamics, however, have been limited in their ability to investigate how adolescents’ broader community shapes the interplay between friendships and these behaviors. In this presentation, we outline an approach for connecting these literatures through a research project that combines longitudinal assessments of adolescents’ health behaviors, their friendship choices, and their specific communities. Our project builds on existing survey data from a trial of the PROSPER prevention model across 28 communities. In addition to measures of health and well-being, these data contain social network friendship data covering all students who are enrolled in the same school and grade. We show that geocoding the students’ home addresses allows for the creation of measures that capture the specific community context of each individual. By combining these community data with the students’ existing friendship and survey data, this project will provide new opportunities to examine the joint contribution of communities and friendships to adolescent health and well-being.

Most studies, including our research on Russian schools, have found that ethnic homophily is usually asymmetric with ethnic majority students being “ethnically blind” (i.e., not giving a clear preference to friendships with other majority students) and ethnic minority students tending to form ties with peers of similar background. At the same time, in some studies interethnic relationships were found to be dependent on ethnic composition of schools. Our previous research on adolescent networks was based on schools with relatively low presence of ethnic minority students (mostly 15-20 percent). To discern the effects of ethnic composition of schools on homophily in adolescent networks we recently sampled schools in Russian cities with varying presence of minorities, including ones with 70-85% of minority students. Fitting exponential random graph models for 97 classroom networks, the study explores the friendship preferences of ethnic majority and minority students. Preliminary findings reveal that both ethnic minority and majority students exhibit a preference for forming connections with peers of the same ethnicity, and while the share of ethnic minority students relates to ethnic minority homophily in a non-linear manner, no significant effect of class composition was observed for ethnic majority homophily. These results and their discussion will be presented at the conference.

Recent research shows that positive leaders in elementary schools excel at building relationships, while negative leaders use aggression to achieve personal goals (Dong et al., 2023). Another study found that negative leaders are detrimental to classroom well-being, while positive leaders also pose challenges - especially for girls, who experience lower self-esteem and increased depressive symptoms, illustrating the healthy context paradox (Dong et al., 2024).

This presentation builds on these studies by using multiplex longitudinal social network analysis to examine the role of positive ann negative leaders in the co-evolution of friendship and defending behaviors. We examine whether positive leaders are more likely than negative leaders to defend non-friends or to cross gender boundaries. Using two waves of KiVa NL data from one school year (fall and spring), we analyze 59 classrooms with only positive leaders, 29 with only negative leaders, and 25 with both.

Despite similar friendship network structures in these settings, cross-gender defending by positive leaders leads to cross-gender friendships more often than when negative leaders do the same. However, when negative leaders defend a peer, friendships tend to form or persist, whereas for positive leaders, defending does not predict friendships. Regarding the development of defending relationships, the stochastic actor-oriented models show that same-gender friendships are a much stronger predictor of a defending relationship for negative leaders than for positive leaders.

Mental health and peer relationships are closely associated in adolescence and there is increasing interest in using social network models as an approach to understanding this association. For instance, social network analysis has been used to examine associations between peer relationships and disruptive behaviour disorders as well as depression. Using Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM), we will examine the relationship between symptoms of mental health problems and social network structures using basline data from the ReSET trial (pupils aged 12-14, N=3625). Mental health was assessed using self-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Me and My Feelings. Peer nomination questions included best-friendship, likability, friendship circle, and advice-seeking nominations. For each question, participants were allowed unlimited number of nominations of peers in their year group in their school. The analysis will focus on similarity in mental health status within friendship groups (i.e. mental health homophily) and the relationship between mental health and interpersonal relationships. We will present the main findings and consider implications for future research.

Motivational beliefs, such as students' mindsets, are crucial in shaping their learning behaviors within educational settings. Students with a fixed mindset often perceive effort as futile once they reach their perceived intellectual limits. In contrast, those with a growth mindset view challenges as opportunities for skill development, maintaining motivation and optimism—qualities associated with greater academic success.

While much of the existing research has focused on individual performance outcomes, very little attention has been paid to how these beliefs impact social dynamics. In a recent study, Zander et al. (2023) found that university students with a growth mindset were more likely to be chosen as helpers and collaborators in learning environments, as they are perceived as approachable and view seeking help as a strategy for growth rather than a sign of weakness.

Building on this, we investigate whether students' growth and fixed mindset orientations affect friendship formation, team selection, and group collaboration in physical education classes. Using a cross-sectional design with 364 students (aged 10 to 16) across 16 classrooms, we apply multilevel-ERGMs to analyze how mindset orientations shape peer network structures while controlling for class specific norms.

We anticipate that students with a growth mindset are favored in both friendship and group work contexts, as their emphasis on effort and development aligns with cooperative and inclusive behaviors. However, preferences may differ in competitive game scenarios. Furthermore, the role of a growth or fixed mindset in social embeddedness may depend on the prevailing mindset norms within each class.

Recent evidence utilizing both human social networks and fMRI data suggests that people are more likely to be closer to those with similar neural representations. However, it remains unclear whether this closeness is driven by neural similarity (homophily hypothesis) or if individuals become similar as a result of their social connections (social influence hypothesis). To elucidate the causal direction, we tested whether brain functional connectivity predicts future social distance. Data from the Korean Study of Adolescent Health (KSAH) were analyzed. At Time 1 (T1), 141 first-year high school girls in South Korea participated in a social network survey, nominating up to seven individuals with whom they discussed important matters. School-level social networks were constructed based on nominations restricted to within-school ties. Among these participants, 58 were enrolled in a brain MRI study. Eight months later (T2), participants completed the same network survey. The final analytical sample included 55 participants with both T1 brain fMRI and T2 social network data, yielding 1,485 dyads for analysis. Partial least squares regression, validated through 10-fold cross-validation, was used to predict social distance from neural similarity. The predicted social distance from both resting-state and movie-watching fMRI was strongly correlated with observed social distance (r = .60). While we cannot conclusively rule out reverse causation, it was confirmed that, at least among middle adolescents, worldview (cultural view) influences the formation of friendships.

Previous research across multiple disciplines has documented the positive nexus between good peer relationships in the classroom and learning. Robust social networks create inclusive learning environments, enhance academic performance of more fragile students, build children’s confidence, and foster resilience in young learners. In this study, we examine how structural position in classroom’ networks influence mathematics performance among 3rd grade primary students. We hyphotize that “peer” interactions facilitate mutual support, thereby affecting academic outcomes. Moreover, we consider the relevance of student “pairing” based on different aspects of homophily/heterophily patterns.

Data were collected as part of the MATES project (https://www.progetto-mates.it/), funded by the Italian Ministry of University in 2022. A total of 3,316 students from 180 classes across 78 schools in Milano and Napoli participated in our study. At the beginning of the school year 2024/2025, students completed a questionnaire that gathered personal background information (e.g., gender, preschool attendance, family background), attitudes toward mathematics (using a psychological scale), cultural habits (e.g., sports, playing musical instruments, television viewing), and responses to ego-alter questions used to define the classroom’s overall social network.

Using standardized mathematics test scores as our outcome measure, and collected from national INVALSI procedure, we assess the influence of students’ positions within the classroom network while controlling for several individual factors. Our findings show both expected and unexpected correlations, offering insights about the not linear influence of pupils' networks on their educational outcomes.

Network, norms, and trust constitute three important dimensions of social capital. The strength of social network in Indian society has tremendous value for the individual and groups. Be it a village, a small town or a large city, Indian children grow up playing together with other children in the common areas of colony/apartment. They then go on to have multiple groups of friends in school and colleges. Apart from spending time with family and relatives, they spend a considerable amount of time with their friends. However, every child doesn’t have a similar amount of social network (positive or negative). In addition, with the emergence of digital media and high penetration of mobile network/internet connection, Gen Z is spending more time online. There is an increasing perception that Gen Z isn’t spending as much time with offline social networks as their predecessors, which may be affecting their wellbeing. This study aims to explore the relationship between positive and negative offline social networks of Gen Z college students and their physical, mental, academic and social wellbeing. The study assumes that higher positive social network and lower negative social network leads to higher personal, mental, and social wellbeing of the Gen Z college students. The study adopts a mixed-method approach. The quantitative data has been collected through a structured questionnaire (based on established scales) from Indian UG students. The qualitative data is collected using a semi-structured interview schedule through a personal/telephonic interview. Quantitative data has been analyzed using structural equation modeling and qualitative data has been analyzed using thematic analysis involving certain techniques from grounded theory approach such as initial coding, focused coding and generating categories. The result shows a complex relationship between social networks and different aspects of wellbeing. The width and intensity of positive relationships is directly and positively related to physical, mental and social wellbeing but not necessarily to academic performance. The qualitative study suggests that Gen Z prefers lesser but closer offline relationships. The results are extremely useful to the counselling services of colleges and universities.

The study of peer perception is important in the context of social network analysis because the subjectively perceived place of individuals in a group influences their behavior within the group (Krackhardt, 1987).

In many cases, research exploring social networks takes for granted the ability of the research subjects to accurately assess social relations within a group. How incorrect this assumption is demonstrated by the fact that research that analyses the accuracy of social perception highlights the biases that impair this accuracy. Marineau et al. (2018) have shown that the mere fact of how many possible diads could potentially arise in a relatively small network, is itself a serious cognitive challenge for individuals.

The causal relationship between accuracy of peer perception and position in the formal hierarchy also varies across the literature: some authors, e.g. Krackhardt (1990), argue that position in the group does not affect peer perception accuracy, while others, e.g. Simpson et al. (2011), argue that it does influencing this ability.

In the current research I applied the Locally Aggregated Structure (LAS) reduction of the Cognitive Social Structure (CCS) – in the Krackhardt sense of the notions – as data were collected nominally with the classical sociometric methods developed by Moreno (1960). The study examines the impact of accurate social status perceptions on the status of individuals within groups lacking formal hierarchy. This investigation was conducted in six high school classes.

Labeling theory suggests that when a stigmatizing event occurs, an individual may be labeled by others or self-label as undesirable, potentially leading to social rejection or withdrawal in the aftermath. Recent studies have found that both tie withdrawal and rejection can partially explain decreased academic performance following suspension. Simultaneously, connections to friends within schools have a protective effect against both suspension and dropout. In the current study, we use panel data on friendship networks of adolescents to examine: How much of the effect of suspension on school dropout is mediated through friend tie withdrawal versus tie rejection? We measure tie withdrawal as the number of friends a respondent fails to nominate from wave 1 to wave 2. Tie rejection is measured by the number of re-nominations a respondent does not receive from wave 1 to wave 2. We analyze data from the Context of Adolescent Substance Use longitudinal survey, which collected 7 waves of in-school surveys from 2002 to 2004, following three cohorts in grades 6-8 from 19 schools across three rural and semi-rural, racially diverse North Carolina counties. We combine this survey data with administrative school discipline records from the North Carolina Education Research Center, providing official suspension and dropout documentation for each student from 2002 through 2011. The sample includes 4,975 adolescents. Preliminary findings indicate that suspended students are more likely to withdraw from friendships than experience friendship rejection, and this withdrawal partially mediates the relationship between suspension and subsequent school dropout.

In the United States, startling increases in adolescent depression, anxiety, and suicide have catapulted adolescent mental health onto the public agenda. Although adolescence is generally viewed as a time of emotional precarity, research shows that some adolescents are more susceptible to mental health issues based on factors like psychosocial stress, minoritized social identities, social media use, and substance use. All of these factors reflect traits of the focal adolescent. Less explored is how adolescent mental health is associated with their peers and peer networks. The objective of this study is to determine how an adolescent’s peer environment (network size, peer mental health, peer substance use, and peer bullying) contributes to four mental health outcomes (borderline/clinical: depression, anxiety, panic disorder, social phobia) above and beyond the effects of identity, psychosocial, and behavioral factors. Drawing on data collected from a large cohort of adolescents (n = 2,302) from 14 high schools in Southern California, I perform hierarchical regressions on each binary outcome, introducing identity, psychosocial and behavioral, and peer-related variables in subsequent blocks. Unsurprisingly, gender identity (being a cis-female and being trans/non-binary), psychosocial stressors, and social media activity are consistent predictors of poor mental health. Peer factors also contributed to poor mental health but more idiosyncratically across outcomes. Network size increased the likelihood of anxiety, peer marijuana use increased the likelihoods of anxiety and depression, having friends with social phobia increased the likelihood of personal social phobia, and peer-based bullying increased the likelihoods of anxiety, panic disorder, and social phobia.

Cooperative exchange networks are important to the livelihood strategies of small-scale food producers worldwide. Such networks are considered to support food security and climate change resilience, particularly because they may buffer households from variation in harvests. However, the processes that impact how and why cooperative exchange networks change over time are not well-understood, because this is a complex issue that invokes a panoply of empirical, statistical, and theoretical challenges. It has been suggested, for instance, that static interaction networks stabilize cooperation (in experimental settings), but in real-world settings turnover in nodes is inevitable as individuals or households progress through the life-cycle.

Here, we investigate how the formation of new households impacts the structure of cooperation networks, using data on food sharing networks collected in Kangiqsujuaq, an Inuit community in Nunavik, Canada, in 2013 and 2023. In this context, interhousehold exchange of traditional foods like caribou and fish are critical for food security and nutrition, but the increasing cost of living in Arctic settlements, cultural loss, and climate change are considered to be potential threats to these networks.

Preliminary analyses indicate that households reported slightly more sharing partners in 2013 than in 2023, a surprising initial finding given prevalent concerns about network erosion. However, there was a considerable increase in housing stock in the settlement between the two study periods. This means that there are many "splinter" households, mostly formed by (now adult) children who lived with their parents during the 2013 study. Our richly-detailed survey dataset, combined with our long-term participant observation in the community, allows us to identify these households and their "origin" households in 2013.

We explore the hypothesis that the observed increase in sharing ties from 2013 to 2023 is driven by this change in housing availability. Specifically, we examine whether the "splintering" of households lead to previously invisible intra-household sharing now being documented as inter-household ties. This analysis provides important theoretical insight into how the common life-cycle phenomenon of household nucleation impacts the structure of exchange networks in a real-world setting. It also provides useful information for our community partners, who are concerned that the current housing situation has weakened family sharing ties and are motivated to develop community programs to support the access of younger generations to traditional foods.

Despite the well-established link between social networks and knowledge in the literature, empirical evidence on the association between power within classrooms and network knowledge is limited. Prior studies have relied on theoretical assumptions about cognitive social networks or used cross-sectional designs, limiting our understanding of these associations over time. To address these gaps, this study used panel data to examine whether and how accuracy in network knowledge is associated with a student's structural position within classroom social networks, as measured by degree and closeness centralities. Network knowledge was measured as the objective accuracy of students' perceptions regarding who is considered popular within their peer networks. Using five waves of the Korean Study of Adolescent Health (KSAH, 2022–2025), we conducted random-effects analyses. Results showed that students higher in power—indicated by higher degree and closeness centralities—were significantly less likely to have accurate network knowledge, after adjusting for individual characteristics (degree centrality, p<0.05; closeness centrality, p=0.001). Interestingly, students with higher outdegree centrality (i.e., those frequently nominating others as close friends) were likely to have lower accuracy in network knowledge, whereas indegree centrality was not statistically associated with accuracy. These findings indicate that structural positions within adolescent networks may act as a critical relational resource to the accuracy of network knowledge, underscoring the importance of the relationship between individual power and understanding of social networks.