Changes In Social Networks Research Articles

Loneliness during COVID-19: Development and influencing factors.

In early pandemic waves, when vaccination against COVID-19 was not yet an option, distancing and reduced social contact were the most effective measures to slow down the pandemic. Changes in frequency and forms of social contact have reduced the spread of the COVID-19 virus and thus saved lives, yet there is increasing evidence for negative side effects such as mental health issues. In the present study, we investigate the development of loneliness and its predictors to examine the role of changes in social networks due to social distancing and other COVID-19-related life changes. A total of 737 participants (age range = 18–81 years) completed an online survey in three waves during the last quarter of 2020 at one-month intervals. Latent growth and multilevel modeling revealed that emotional loneliness increased over time, while social loneliness remained stable. Moreover, socially lonely individuals were likely to also develop emotional loneliness over time. Increased social distancing and sanitary measures were accompanied by decreased social interactions and loss of individuals considered SOS contacts and confidants. Changes in specific social network indicators were differentially associated with changes in emotional vs social loneliness: Loss of friends considered confidants was associated with increasing emotional loneliness, whereas loss of friends considered SOS contacts and reduced overall social interactions were related to increasing social loneliness. Lastly, individuals with more family-and-friend SOS contacts, more friends as confidants and an overall higher number of social interactions were more protected from feeling socially or emotionally lonely. Study findings enhance the understanding of underlying mechanisms differentially contributing to social and emotional loneliness and offer practical suggestions to reduce mental-health side effects of social distancing.

Change in social networks: Some dynamic extensions of Social Epistemic Logic

Abstract We propose dynamic extensions to the framework of Social Epistemic Logic introduced in Logic in the Community (Seligman et al., pp. 178–188, 2011). One of them introduces a notion of a semi-public announcement made by an aware agent and only transmitted to this agent’s social connections. Another extension along the epistemic dimension of the framework contains separate ‘sending’ and ‘reading’ modalities that allow for a more realistic asynchronous spreading of messages in a social network. Finally, we briefly discuss an extension along the ‘social’ dimension of the framework, which introduces an operator to break links within an epistemic social network based on information at the agent’s disposal. Completeness and decidability results are provided.

A one-year follow-up study of changes in social media addiction and career networking among college students with disabilities

Objective This one-year follow-up study examined the changes of impact of using social media among college students with disabilities from the initial survey. Participants 193 students completed the follow-up survey of the 341 who agreed to participate. Methods Paired t-test compared the changes in social media usage between the two surveys. Multiple linear regressions examined the relationship of social media use variables and social media addiction, career networking, disability subtypes between the two surveys. Results The daily average time spent on social media remained similar over one year. However, the level of social media addiction increased, especially among male students. One positive change was that students spent more time using social media for career networking purposes. Conclusion Public awareness and education of social media addiction should be raised. Additionally, students could benefit from being guided and encouraged to use social media for positive activities such as career networking.

Active Play Social Network Change for Mexican-Heritage Children Participating in a Father-Focused Health Program

ABSTRACT Background Physical activity (PA) is beneficial for physical, mental, and emotional health; however, Latinx children report lower PA levels. Scholars have called for a renewed focus on fathers to promote child health. Purpose This study examines changes in Mexican-heritage child active play networks through participation in a father-focused family-centered health program. Methods Families (child aged 9–11, mother, and father) from colonias participated in a six-week healthy eating and active living program. Children reported up to five people they actively played with most before and after the program, their relationship, frequency with which they played with the person, and what they did most often with that person. Results Children (n = 42, M age = 9.79, SD = 1.01; 54.8% girls) reported a mean of 3.79 people in their network before and 4.24 people after the program. Children reported significantly more frequent active play with others after the program. Girls reported significantly more frequent active play with others when compared to boys; however, boys were significantly more likely to increase their frequency of active play with others. Discussion Results indicate family-centered father-focused programs could increase active play with networks. Translation to Health Education Practice Incorporating elements of co-participation in active play may increase frequency of active play.

Monitoring Network Changes in Social Media

Econometricians are increasingly working with high-dimensional networks and their dynamics. Econometricians, however, are often confronted with unforeseen changes in network dynamics. In this article, we develop a method and the corresponding algorithm for monitoring changes in dynamic networks. We characterize two types of changes, edge-initiated and node-initiated, to feature the complexity of networks. The proposed approach accounts for three potential challenges in the analysis of networks. First, networks are high-dimensional objects causing the standard statistical tools to suffer from the curse of dimensionality. Second, any potential changes in social networks are likely driven by a few nodes or edges in the network. Third, in many dynamic network applications such as monitoring network connectedness or its centrality, it will be more practically applicable to detect the change in an online fashion than the offline version. The proposed detection method at each time point projects the entire network onto a low-dimensional vector by taking the sparsity into account, then sequentially detects the change by comparing consecutive estimates of the optimal projection direction. As long as the change is sizeable and persistent, the projected vectors will converge to the optimal one, leading to a jump in the sine angle distance between them. A change is therefore declared. Strong theoretical guarantees on both the false alarm rate and detection delays are derived in a sub-Gaussian setting, even under spatial and temporal dependence in the data stream. Numerical studies and an application to the social media messages network support the effectiveness of our method.

How the COVID-19 pandemic affects job sentiments of rural teachers

This study investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected teachers' job-specific stresses and their enthusiasm for the teaching occupation. We use unique data from China that cover the periods before and after the start of the pandemic and apply various estimation methods. We find that, among rural young teachers, the pandemic has caused higher teaching stress and career development stress and has reduced passion toward the teaching occupation. We investigate the working channels of the pandemic, including changes in job-related activities and social network. After controlling for possible working channels, the COVID-19 pandemic still shows a strong direct impact on job sentiments.

Restructuring personal networks with a Motivational Interviewing social network intervention to assist the transition out of homelessness: A randomized control pilot study.

Social relationships play a key role in both substance use and homelessness. Transitioning out of homelessness often requires reduction in substance use as well as changes in social networks. A social network-based behavior change intervention that targets changes personal social networks may assist the transition out of homelessness. Most behavior change interventions that incorporate social networks assume a static network. However, people experiencing homelessness who transition into housing programs that use a harm reduction approach experience many changes in their social networks during this transition. Changes may include disconnecting from street-based network contacts, re-connecting with former network contacts, and exposure to new network members who actively engage in substance use. An intervention that helps people transitioning out of homelessness make positive alterations to their social networks may compliment traditional harm reduction housing program services. We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an innovative Social Network Intervention (MI-SNI), which combines network visualization and Motivational Interviewing to assist adults transitioning out of homelessness. The MI-SNI provides feedback to new residents about their social environments and is designed to motivate residents to make positive changes in both their individual behavior and their personal network. In a sample of 41 adult housing program residents with past year risky substance use, we examined whether participants randomized to receive a MI-SNI showed greater changes in their personal networks over 3 months compared to those receiving usual care. There were significant differences in the networks of the MI-SNI group compared to the group receiving usual care at follow-up, controlling for baseline network characteristics. The MI-SNI group had greater reductions in the proportion of their network members who influenced alcohol or other drug use (AOD) use, such as drinking partners, and more frequently changed their relationships in the direction of lower AOD risk with network members who were retained in their networks across waves. This study is the first pilot test of a MI-SNI customized for assisting the transition out of homelessness to test for personal network changes. Results indicate that MI-SNIs can have a positive impact on short-term network changes and thus may serve as a useful adjunct to behavioral change interventions. These findings suggest that a MI-SNI approach may help individuals experiencing homelessness and risky AOD use positively restructure their social networks while transitioning into supportive housing. These promising results suggest the need for a larger RCT test of this innovative intervention approach. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02140359.

Stability and change in gartersnake social networks across ontogeny

AbstractDevelopmental studies of sociality in non‐human animals can offer important insights into the evolution, function, and plasticity of social behavior, especially in understudied species. We examined the development of social behavior in gartersnakes. We hypothesized that social interactions change as snakes age, but are relatively stable in the short term. To assess developmental changes in social patterns, we examined the social tendencies of a group of 6 eastern gartersnakes over the first year and a half of their lives. We placed the snakes in an arena for 8 days and recorded the time that they spent in physical proximity to each other. We repeated this 8‐day process 7 times across the snakes’ development. We looked at changes in association patterns and individual differences in sociality (i.e., network position), and examined the effect of group size reduction on social behavior. We found that individuals tended to show repeatable network position across time, but there was a behavioral divide between younger snakes and mature snakes. When male snakes reached sexual maturity, they began initiating most social interactions. Additionally, group member attrition caused the networks to tighten, and the population reduction in combination with sexual maturity created stable social networks. This research shows that social context can have important effects on sociability, and that even a species without permanent social groups will be influenced by its social environment.

Паттерны межрегиональной мобильности российских ученых и готовность к переездам в будущем

Mobility of highly skilled personnel is closely related to the issue of human capital distribution, determining innovative development prospects of various regions and countries. The present study focuses on intra-Russian interregional mobility, in particular, the movement of scientists between different cities and constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Based on the questionnaire survey of 1880 Russian researchers, we examined the actual movements of scientists (to receive education and gain work experience in other regions and countries) and their attitude to mobility (willingness to move in the future to participate in interesting projects and/ or work expecting satisfying remuneration). Analysis of mobility patterns of these scientists revealed the characteristics of Russian researchers willing to move to small towns. Interregional migration occurs mostly at the time of receiving education or immediately afterwards. At later career stages, the majority of researchers prefer to work in one place for long periods of time. Scientists who already had an interregional mobility experience are more likely to consider moving in the future since they have an attitude to mobility. A certain category of researchers is willing to relocate abroad as well as to major and small Russian cities. Scientists unwilling to move to small towns are concerned about their professional growth, difficulties for the family, a different lifestyle, and a change in professional and personal social networks. Thus, in order to develop regional research and education centres and stimulate intra-Russian academic mobility, relevant programmes and measures should take these aspects into account.

The impact of social network dynamics on engagement in drug use reduction programs among men and women who use drugs

BackgroundCross-sectional studies have shown strong relationships between social network characteristics and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment engagement. The current study examined associations between longitudinal changes in egocentric social networks of male and female people who use drugs (PWUD) and engagement in drug use reduction programs, broadly defined as either formal SUD treatment or self-help groups. MethodUsing data from an HIV prevention and care study in Baltimore, MD, this study categorized PWUD into those who engaged and did not engage in any drug use reduction programs over two follow-ups during a one-year observation window. The study used multivariate logistic generalized estimating equations (GEE) to examine associations between network composition and stability measures and drug use reduction program engagement, stratified by gender. ResultsOf the 176 subjects participating in drug use reduction programs at baseline, 56.3% remained engaged at one year. Among both male and female respondents, higher turnover into non-kin networks was associated with increased odds of engagement in drug use reduction programs (AOR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1–1.9, AOR 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0–1.8, respectively). For males, retention of intimate partner networks was associated with increased odds of program engagement (AOR 2.9; 95% CI: 1.1–7.6); for females, higher turnover into kin networks was associated with decreased odds of engagement (AOR 0.8; 95% CI: 0.5–1.0). ConclusionEvaluation of associations between social network characteristics and drug use reduction program engagement appears to benefit from longitudinal analyses that are stratified by gender. Efforts to improve retention in formal SUD treatment or self-help groups might consider intervening through social networks, perhaps by increasing overall levels of social support.

Personal Social Networks of Community-Dwelling Oldest Old During the Covid-19 Pandemic-A Qualitative Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions have affected the everyday life of older people. Advanced age is a significant predisposing factor for a more severe COVID-19 infection, increasing the risk for hospitalization and mortality. Even though restrictions have been, thus, well-grounded, they may also have had detrimental effects on the social well-being of older people. Personal networks and social activity are known protective factors against the premature decline in health and functioning, and it is widely acknowledged that social isolation increases feelings of loneliness, poor quality of life, and even the risk for diseases and disabilities among older adults. This qualitative study investigated changes in personal networks among community-dwelling oldest-old individuals (persons aged 80 and over) during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. The data is part of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia (CAIDE85+) study, which is an ongoing large longitudinal population-based study in Finland. In this qualitative sub-study, we analyzed fifteen in-depth telephone interviews using directed content analyses and identified five types of changes in personal social networks during the pandemic. In type 1, all social contacts were significantly reduced due to official recommendations and fear of the virus. Type 2 included modified ways of being socially active i.e., by deploying new technology, and in type 3, social contacts increased during the lockdown. In type 4, personal social networks were changed unexpectedly or dramatically due to a death of a spouse, for example. In type 5, we observed stable social networks, which had not been affected by the pandemic. At an individual level, one person could have had different types of changes during the pandemic. These results highlight the heterogeneity of the oldest olds' personal social networks and changes related to them during the exceptional times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social activity and personal networks play an important role in the well-being of the oldest old, but individual situations, needs, and preferences toward personal social networks should be taken into account when planning social activities, policies, and interventions.

Stress-Related Inflammation and Social Withdrawal in Mothers of a Child With Cancer: A 1-Year Follow-Up Study.

Acute inflammation-induced sickness behavior involves changes in social behavior that are believed to promote recovery. Whether chronic inflammation can influence social behaviors in ways that promote recovery is unknown. In a sample of mothers of a child with cancer, this report explores the relationship between inflammation that accompanies the stress of diagnosis and changes in social network, cancer-related stress, and inflammation across 1 year. Three hypotheses tested whether a) initial levels of stress associate with initial levels of inflammation, b) initial levels of inflammation predict social network changes over time, and c) social network changes over time buffer changes in stress and inflammation over time. Cancer-related stress (Impact of Events Scale), social network (social roles and contacts from the Social Network Inventory), and systemic inflammation (circulating interleukin [IL]-6) were assessed in 120 mothers three times after their child's cancer diagnosis: after diagnosis (T1), 6-month follow-up (T2), and 12-month follow-up (T3). Consistent with predictions, greater cancer-related stress after diagnosis (T1) was associated with higher IL-6 after diagnosis (T1; b = 0.014, standard error [SE] = 0.01, p = .008). In turn, higher IL-6 after diagnosis (T1) was associated with a decrease in social roles over time (T1 ➔ T3; B = -0.030, SE = 0.01, p = .041). Finally, dropping social roles over time (T1 ➔ T3) was associated with decreases in cancer-related stress (B = 25.44, SE = 12.31, p = .039) and slower increases in IL-6 (B = 1.06, SE = 0.52, p = .040) over time. This study provides a first indication that chronic stress-related systemic inflammation may predict changes in social behavior that associate with stress recovery and slower increases in inflammation in the year after a major life stressor.

Associations between social networks and cognitive declines in later life in longitudinal aging studies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

AbstractBackgroundIt remains unclear whether and how various aspects of social networks and cognitive declines are associated bidirectionally.MethodWe systematically searched the databases of PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO for longitudinal cohort studies that examined associations between social networks and cognitive declines in the general population up through February 2019. Characteristics of study designs, conclusions, and research trends were summarized. For meta‐analyses, estimates extracted from included studies were recalculated into odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). They were stratified by different classification criteria and pooled into random‐effect inverse‐variance weighted aggregations. Heterogeneity was tested by Q‐tests and I2 indexes. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plots and Egger’s tests.ResultWe identified 37 studies for systematic review and 24 for meta‐analysis. When researching effects of social network on subsequent cognitive decline, poor social networks were significant risk factors for cognitive declines (OR: 0.824, 95% CI: 0.769, 0.883; p<0.001; k=23) in longitudinal research. Stratified by social network characteristics, social network size (OR: 0.814, 95% CI: 0.663, 0.999; p=0.049; k=7), structure and function (OR: 0.879, 95%CI: 0.826, 0.936; p<0.001; k=17), and emotional feedback from network members (OR: 0.860, 95% CI: 0.652, 1.134; p=0.285; k=3) were all significant risk factors. When researching effects of cognitive declines on subsequent changes of social network, only a few studies (n=5) were included, which consistently supported that worse cognitive declines were associated with smaller size and less complex structure of social networks, however, their heterogeneous methods and study designs were not fit for meta‐analysis.ConclusionThere are both significant effects of social networks on subsequent cognitive declines and significant effects of cognitive declines on changes of size and complexity of social networks in subsequent years. Most studies focused on effects of social networks on changes of social networks, only a few explored the opposite direction. The association between dynamic changes of social networks and cognitive declines is an under‐studied topic.

6. Supraregional Changes Are Uncorrelated

Research Article| December 01 2021 6. Supraregional Changes Are Uncorrelated: A Community Comparison Robin Dodsworth; Robin Dodsworth robin dodsworth is professor of English in the linguistics program at North Carolina State University. Her research investigates sociolinguistic variation, especially as it relates to socioeconomic and social network characteristics. Her 2020 book, coauthored with Richard Benton, is entitled Language Variation and Change in Social Networks: A Bipartite Approach. Email: robin_dodsworth@ncsu.edu. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Mary Kohn Mary Kohn mary kohn is an associate professor in English and director of the Chapman Center for Rural Studies at Kansas State University. Her work examines regional and social variation in language with a focus on the Great Plains. She also examines language change across the lifespan through the Frank Porter Graham Project, resulting in books published by Cambridge University Press and Duke University Press. Email: kohn@ksu.edu. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Publication of the American Dialect Society (2021) 106 (1): 125–146. https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-9551306 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Robin Dodsworth, Mary Kohn; 6. Supraregional Changes Are Uncorrelated: A Community Comparison. Publication of the American Dialect Society 1 December 2021; 106 (1): 125–146. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-9551306 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsAmerican Dialect SocietyThe Publication of the American Dialect Society Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright © 2021 American Dialect Society2021 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Turnover during a corporate merger: How workplace network change influences staying.

The upheaval created by a merger can precipitate voluntary employee turnover, causing merging organizations to lose valuable knowledge-based resources and competencies precisely when they are needed most to achieve the merger's integration goals. While prior research has shown that employees' connections to coworkers reduce their likelihood of leaving, we know little about how personal social networks should change to increase the likelihood of staying through the disruptive post-merger integration period. In a pre-post study of social network change, we investigate over 15 million email communications between employees within two large merging consumer goods firms over 2 years. We use insights from network activation theory to posit and find that employees with high formal power (rank) and high informal status (indegree centrality) react to the merger's general uncertainty and threat by developing new social connections in a manner indicative of a network widening response: reaching out and connecting with those in the counterpart legacy organization. We also investigate whether increased personally felt threat in the form of merger-related job insecurity strengthens these relationships, finding it does in the case of high formal power. We also find that employees increasing their cross-legacy social connections is key in reducing those employees' turnover after a merger. Our study suggests that network activation theory can be extended to explain network changes and not simply network cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Transitions between social network profiles and their relation with all-cause mortality among older adults

BackgroundThe importance of social network in mortality among older adults has been acknowledged. However, existing studies typically overlook the interplay among social network indicators, and seldom consider the change in social network over time. We take a person-centered approach to identify transitions between social network profiles, and examine the linkage of such transitions with subsequent mortality risk. MethodsData came from 2738 older Singaporeans enrolled in a longitudinal study. Latent transition analysis examined nine social network indicators assessed at two time points, two years apart to reveal the corresponding transitions between social network profiles. Adjusted Cox regression then associated the identified transitions with all-cause mortality risk in the subsequent four years. ResultsWe observed three diverse social network profiles (that featured diversified social interaction and involved both household and non-household members) and three relatively restricted social network profiles (that focused on household or non-household members). Compared to sustained diverse profiles over time, sustained restricted profiles or a transition from diverse to restricted profiles entailed increased mortality risk. The mortality risk following a restricted-to-diverse profile transition could be as low as that associated with sustained diverse profiles. ConclusionsDynamics of social network profiles have implications for mortality risk in later life. To promote longevity, initiatives are needed to help older people to maintain or shift to diverse social network profiles.

The implications of digital visual media for human–nature relationships

The implications of digital visual media for human–nature relationships

Desistance from crime following substance use treatment: the role of treatment retention, social network and self-control

BackgroundReductions in crime are often reported following substance use treatment. We explore the relationship between desistance from crime, treatment type, treatment retention and positive changes in known risk factors for crime.MethodsWe used data from the NorComt-study; a longitudinal study of substance users (n = 341) enrolled in comprehensive treatment in Norway (2012–2015). At treatment initiation (T0) and 1 year later (T1), we collected self-reported data on criminal involvement, treatment, substance use, social network and self-control. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) with multinomial logistic regression analysis.ResultsOverall, 1 year following treatment initiation 69% reported desistance from crime, 18% reported continued crime and 12% reported no crime at all in the study period. Desistance was high for OMT patients in ongoing treatment (79% desisted) and for inpatients regardless of treatment status (79–93% desisted), while not as high among OMT patients with interrupted treatment (47% desisted). For participants that continued crime during follow-up, the average number of criminal acts per month was reduced (p < 0.001). Desistance at follow-up was associated with being older (aOR: 1.05, CI: 1.00–1.10), inpatient treatment (aOR: 3.71, CI: 1.12–12.29), being in ongoing treatment (inpatient or OMT) (aOR: 2.90, CI: 1.01–8.36), having no stimulant use in the study period (aOR: 4.86, CI: 1.72–13.70), leaving a substance using social network (aOR 2.87, CI: 1.15–7.18) and improvement in self-control score (aOR: 1.08, CI: 1.04–1.13).ConclusionsRetention in treatment is particularly important for crime outcomes among OMT patients. Positive changes in social network and self-control are potential contributors to desistance from crime. Targeted interventions towards crime reduction are recommended for patients with stimulant use, which appears to be a persistent risk factor for crime over time.

Older People's Lived Perspectives of Social Isolation during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy.

The aim of the present study is to understand the experiences of isolation and strategies used to cope with it among older people living at home during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, the roles of media and online technologies were also explored. Semistructured interviews were conducted via telephone between March and April 2020 with 30 people aged 72–94 years old living in Northern Italy. The thematic analysis identified six thematic areas: changes in daily life, emotions, social networks, exploited resources and strategies, use of media, and view of the future. Older people faced the emergency in heterogeneous ways; some were able to take advantage of their own residual resources and of social support, whereas in other cases, isolation exacerbated existing weaknesses. Technology and media were useful for reducing loneliness and fostering social contacts, but people with age-related impairments or low digital literacy presented many difficulties in approaching new technologies. Moreover, the overabundance of information could also increase anxiety and feelings of threat. Given the impact of social isolation on older people’s well-being, it is critical to identify and strengthen personal resources and social support strategies that may help older people cope with the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Biological costs and benefits of social relationships for men and women in adulthood: The role of partner, family and friends.

Despite numerous studies on social relationships and health, the empirical focus has often been on middle-aged or older adults, even though young adulthood is a period of considerable change in social networks. We investigated whether the associations between social relationships and allostatic load, a multisystem physiological dysregulation index that reflects chronic stress responses, vary by type of relationship and stages of the lifecourse. Relationships with spouse/partner, immediate family and friends were assessed in terms of emotional support and social strain. Poisson regression models on multiple imputed data sets from waves 2-3 (2010-2012) of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (N=10,380) were estimated. Social strain, particularly from partners and immediate family, appeared to elicit greater stress related dysregulation during early adulthood (age 21-34years), corresponding to a predicted difference in the allostatic load index (range 0-12) between high and low strained relationships of 1.1 (95% CI: 0.5-1.6) among young women and 0.6 (95% CI: -0.04 to 1.2) among young men. There was little evidence of an association between allostatic load and any of the social relationships among older men and women. Models of social relationships over the lifecourse need to take account of how stressful social relationships become biologically embedded in early adulthood.