Longitudinal Social Network Analysis Research Articles

Seeing the teacher through my peers' eyes? A social network study on adolescents' teaching quality perceptions

Background: Prior research has documented the pervasive influence that peers can exert on adolescents’ lives. However, knowledge on whether adolescents’ perceptions of the quality of the teacher's instruction are also prone to peer influences is lacking. Method: This study (N = 248 German adolescents) used longitudinal social network analysis to investigate whether (a) friends become more similar in their teaching quality perceptions (influence effects) and/or whether (b) students with initially more similar perceptions of teaching quality were more likely to become friends (selection effects). We also explored whether (c) students with more positive teaching quality perceptions were better integrated socially. Results: We did not find support for influence or selection effects. However, students who rated their teacher's instruction more positively were better integrated socially. Conclusions: Our work adds to research on the role of peers in adolescence and enhances our understanding of peer influences on students’ perceptions of instruction.

Think tanks and climate obstruction: Atlas affiliates in Canada.

This paper provides a longitudinal social network and content analysis of Canadian think tanks affiliated with the Atlas network, analyzing their efforts to obstruct climate action over the last two decades. Network analysis reveals extensive and deepening board interlocks and joint memberships between these think tanks and the fossil fuel industry, other policy-planning organizations within and beyond Canada, and academic institutions. Consistent with and rooted in network ties, Atlas members produce a large and growing volume of climate-related content, including content that denies the reality and impacts of climate change, promotes and defends the fossil fuel sector, and opposes climate policy and action. Atlas affiliates are argued to be at the core of a reactionary segment of Canada's elite policy-planning network opposed to virtually all forms of climate action, while the frames and campaigns they deploy are seen as a force obstructing progress on climate change.

The role of academic performance, prosocial behaviour and friendships on adolescents' preferred studying partners: A longitudinal social network analysis.

Peers constitute an important developmental context for adolescent academic behaviour providing support and resources to either promote or discourage attitudes and behaviours that contribute to school success. When looking for academic help, students may prefer specific partners based on their social goals regarding academic performance. Based on the social goals for wanting to achieve academically (e.g., studying to be with friends, increasing/maintaining their own social status), we examine the extent to which adolescents' selection of preferred academic partners (with whom they would like to study) is driven by peers' academic performance, prosocial behaviour and friendships. Moreover, as high-achieving students play an important role in academic settings, whether they are more likely to prefer to study with similar high-achieving peers and friends was examined. A total of 537 seventh-grade students from 13 classes over three waves. Longitudinal social network analyses (RSiena). Adolescents were more likely to select high achievers, friends and prosocial peers as preferred academic partners. Furthermore, high achievers were more likely to choose other high achievers and friends as preferred academic partners. Adolescents are likely to prefer as study partners someone they can learn from and who is more approachable, cooperative and friendly. Regarding high achievers, they would choose not only academic partners with similar academic interests and motivations to help them boost their academic achievement but also classmates with whom they like to spend time and share personal issues.

Longitudinal analysis of interorganizational collaborative networks of cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction

Purpose Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is an innovative construction material that provides a balanced mix of structural stiffness, fabrication flexibility and sustainability. CLT development and innovation diffusion require close collaborations between its supply chain architectural, engineering, construction and manufacturing (AECM) stakeholders. As such, the purpose of this study is to provide a preliminary understanding of the knowledge diffusion and innovation process of CLT construction. Design/methodology/approach The study implemented a longitudinal social network analysis of the AECM companies involved in 100 CLT projects in the UK. The project data were acquired from an industry publication and decoded in the form of a multimode project-company network, which was projected into a single-mode company collaborative network. This complete network was filtered into a four-phase network to allow the longitudinal analysis of the CLT collaborations over time. A set of network and node social network analysis metrics was used to characterize the topology patters of the network and the centrality of the companies. Findings The study highlighted the scale-free structure of the CLT collaborative network that depends on the influential hubs of timber manufacturers, engineers and contractors to accelerate the innovation diffusion. However, such CLT supply collaborative network structure is more vulnerable to disruptions due to its dependence on these few prominent hubs. Also, the industry collaborative network’s decreased modularity confirms the maturity of the CLT technology and the formation of cohesive clusters of innovation partners. The macro analysis approach of the study highlighted the critical role of supply chain upstream stakeholders due to their higher centralities in the collaborative network. Stronger collaborations were found between the supply chain upstream stakeholders (timber manufacturers) and downstream stakeholders (architects and main contractors). Originality/value The study contributes to the field of industrialized and CLT construction by characterizing the collaborative networks between CLT supply chain stakeholders that are critical to propose governmental policies and industry initiatives to advance this sustainable construction material.

클래스넷을 활용한 또래생태 및 학급규범 개선: 학생의 학업 열의와 사회적 행동

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of teacher-led interventions in the classroom on students’ academic and social behavior. The intervention focused on improving positive peer relationships and classroom norms. To fulfill this purpose, 115 classes (N = 2,858 students) across elementary, middle, and high school levels were divided into an experimental group (n = 66 classes) and a control group (n = 49 classes). Students’ academic engagement (behavior, emotion), social behavior (overt and relational aggression, prosocial behavior), teacher―student relationships (support, conflict), teacher alignment, and peer network attributes were collected at the beginning and end of the semester through student and teacher reports as well as peer nominations. Multilevel analyses and longitudinal social network analyses were utilized to evaluate the impact of the teacher-led intervention. The results of the multilevel analysis revealed that teacher alignment, teacher―student conflict, and an initial level of academic engagement were significant factors to improve academic engagement. In terms of overt and relational aggression, teacher support played a crucial role in the experimental effect, with varying impacts observed in elementary and middle school groups. Longitudinal social network analysis revealed significant classroom intervention effects on prosocial behavior. Both peer choice and socialization (influence) effects were significant in the experimental group, while only the peer influence effect was observed in the control group. This suggests that the class-based intervention contributed to the development of prosocial behaviors as class norms. This study has educational significance in that it highlights the importance of creating positive class norms and peer ecology to enhance students’ academic engagement and social behavior.

Changes in patterns of peer relationships in primary education classroom networks through cooperative learning.

We studied the impact of cooperative learning on positive peer relationships, that is, liking to work together, in classroom networks. Cooperative learning was implemented as part of the "Success for All" program. Longitudinal social network analysis was used to investigate the development of structures and patterns of relationships in 16 intervention and 16 control classrooms, including a total of 791 students. Results showed significantly less reciprocation and transitivity in the dynamics of the intervention networks, while the number of nominations in the intervention classes was at least not smaller than in the control classes, indicating less tendency toward the formation of small clusters or cliques. We did not find that peer relationships became more diverse with regard to gender, socioeconomic status, or academic performance through the implementation of cooperative learning. In intervention classrooms, children tended to nominate their teammates with whom they work together in cooperative learning activities; however, also in control classrooms, children tended to nominate children with whom they are seated in the classroom. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Down and out? the role of household income in students’ friendship formation in school-classes

Research suggests that coming from a lower economic background compromises social integration at school, yet the precise mechanisms underlying this link remain unknown. Therefore, this study examined the effect of household income on friendship network dynamics among classmates in a large sample of Swedish youths (n = 4787 from 235 classes, m age = 14.65, 51% girls, and 33% immigrant background), using multilevel longitudinal social network analysis. Over time, students from poorer households were less often selected as a friend by classmates and they less often initiated or maintained friendship ties than students from higher income households. Furthermore, different conceptualizations of income relative to classmates did not impact friendship formation tendencies. The findings indicate that theories of relative income do not extend understanding of students’ friendship formation beyond processes related to absolute income. In addition, this study suggests that the social integration of students from low-income households could be boosted by both promoting their agency in forming friendships and preventing exclusion by classmates.

Networked framing of GMO risks and discussion fragmentation on Chinese social media: a dynamic perspective

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been highly controversial in China and beyond. The burgeoning of social media has created an online activist field where participants utilize networked framing practices to engage in connective actions related to GMO risks. However, a dynamic perspective on the co-production of GMO risk discourses has yet to be fully explored, and it is still under debate whether such a collective interpretation is fragmented. To address this gap, this study investigates the risk-invoked GMO controversy by longitudinally exploring the structural characteristics and discursive power structures in the networked framing of GMO risks on social media. This study examines 356,227 GMO risk posts from 2010 to 2020 on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. A longitudinal social network analysis and computational text-mining approach are used to construct representation networks among participants based on their joint sponsorship framing practices of GMO risks. The findings suggest that there is a multipolar discussion fragmentation in the networked framing of GMO risks. However, the temporal evidence shows that the risk discussion has become increasingly interconnected and less structurally fragmented over time. In addition, this study highlights the unequal distribution of discursive power among participants; nevertheless, the analysis reveals that this inequality has shown signs of easing over the study period. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the GMO controversy from a risk perspective and sheds light on the dynamics of networked framing practices and discursive power structures on social media.

The coevolution of bullying and friendship networks.

The coevolution of bullying and friendship networks and the moderating effects of classroom bullying popularity norms were examined in a sample of 965 students (52.1% boys) in 22 fourth- and fifth-grade classes. Longitudinal social network analysis showed that children were more likely to bully their friends' victims (bully influence effect) and to be bullied by their friends' bullies (victim influence effect); two children bullying the same child were likely to be friends (bully selection effect), and two victims bullied by the same child were likely to be friends (victim selection effect). Bullying popularity norms served as moderators, and the bully selection effect was significant weaker in the context of low bullying popularity norms. This study adds understanding of bullying as a group process and provides implications for preventing school bullying.

Friendship networks in inclusive elementary classrooms: Changes and stability related to students’ gender and self-perceived social inclusion

Friendships with classmates play a significant role in student’s development. However, only some friendships are maintained for longer than a school year and their formation depend on many factors. One important factor is gender because gender homophily is consistently found in friendship networks. In addition, there is evidence that same-gender friendships are more stable. In the context of inclusive education, friendship can be considered as one of four key dimensions of social inclusion. While three of these dimensions are assessed from others’ perspective, self-perception of social inclusion focuses solely on the individual students’ view. However, hardly any studies investigated how students’ self-perception of social inclusion is related to friendships, and more specifically, whether and how self-perceived social inclusion is related to changes in friendship networks in the classroom. To contribute to this research gap, friendship networks of 280 students aged 9–11 years (49% girls) in 15 classes of Grade 4 were examined at the beginning and at the end of one school year. Network changes were analyzed with longitudinal social network analyses. Students’ gender and self-perception of inclusion were added as predictors of changes in the friendship networks. The results confirmed gender homophily for formation and stability. The analyses also showed that students who perceived themselves as socially included nominated more best friends at the end of the school year but were not necessarily perceived as best friends by their peers. This highlights the importance of considering different perspectives to better understand social inclusion in classrooms.

Does having vulnerable friends help vulnerable youth? The co-evolution of friendships, victimization, and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents' social networks.

This study examined whether having vulnerable friends helps or hurts victimized and depressed (i.e., vulnerable) adolescents and whether this depends on classroom supportive norms. Students (n = 1461, 46.7% girls, 93.4% Han nationality) were surveyed four times from seventh and eighth grade (Mage  = 13 years) in 2015 and 2016 in Central China. Longitudinal social network analyses indicated that having vulnerable friends can both hurt and help vulnerable adolescents. Depressed adolescents with depressed friends increased in victimization over time. Victimized adolescents with victimized friends increased in victimization but decreased in depressive symptoms. These processes were most likely in classrooms with high supportive norms. Having friends and a supportive classroom may hurt vulnerable adolescents' social position but help victims' emotional development.

Racial Discrimination Experiences and Friendship Network Dynamics Among Black and Latinx Youth

Despite a robust volume of evidence documenting adverse effects of racial discrimination experiences on adolescent adjustment outcomes, relatively little is known about the relational consequences of racial discrimination experiences for adolescent friendship networks. To address this gap, this study examines how racial discrimination experiences shape and are shaped by friendship network dynamics in early and middle adolescence. The current study's goals were to explicate whether relational consequences of racial discrimination experiences for friendship network selection differed between interracial and intraracial friendships among Black and Latinx youth, and how these adolescents were influenced by their friends' racial discrimination experiences. Longitudinal social network analysis was used among a sample of predominantly Latinx and Black middle school students from the southwestern U.S. (n = 1034; 50.1% boys, Mage = 12.1, 13.8% White, 18.6% Black, 53.1% Latinx, 14.4% Other race and multiracial). The results showed that Black and Latinx youth preferred intraracial friends. Above and beyond that, Black youth were more likely to have intraracial friendships when the focal individual reported lower levels of general racial discrimination experiences and higher levels of adult-perpetrated racial discrimination experiences. Black and Latinx adolescents reported increases in general racial discrimination experiences over time, as a function of their friends reporting higher levels of racial discrimination (e.g., peer influence). These findings advance developmental research by showing that racial discrimination experiences are consequential for friendship network dynamics by increasing the likelihood of intraracial friend selection among Black youth and through peer influence processes.

Peers influence the tobacco and alcohol use of Chinese adolescents.

This two-wave longitudinal study examined peer selection and influence pertaining to tobacco and alcohol use by adolescents and their friends in a sample of 854 Chinese adolescents (384 girls: mean age=13.33 years). Participants nominated friends and self-reported their tobacco and alcohol use at seventh and again at eighth grade. Longitudinal social network analyses revealed evidence of friend influence but not selection over smoking and drinking. Boys increased their levels of smoking at rates greater than that of girls, but no sex moderation of either selection or influence was found. In interpreting these results, it is important to understand the gender norms for Chinese boys and girls and the cultural context of tobacco and alcohol use.

Does mental well-being predict being perceived as a happy peer? A longitudinal social network study

Social processes depend on individual features that make possible the development of social relationships and strong ties. Mental well-being (i.e., emotional, social, and psychological) in particular plays a key role in these processes influencing the formation of social ties. However, little is known about the potential of perceiving individuals as happy because of their levels of mental well-being. The aim of the study is to perform a longitudinal social network analysis to explore how mental well-being predicts being perceived as a happy individual. The study sample comprised 240 first-year university students and data were gathered through self-reported measures and peer reports, asking the students to select happy peers according to their perceptions. Results confirmed that mental well-being influenced the judgments of individuals regarding being perceived as a happy peer at zero-acquaintance level. These findings support mental well-being as an important resource to facilitate the development of social relationships.

Making, keeping, and influencing friends: The role of fear of negative evaluation and gender in adolescent networks.

Drawing on a developmental psychopathology perspective and research documenting gender differences in social tasks and structures of friendships, this study uses longitudinal social network analysis (SNA) methods to (a) examine how fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and gender interact to shape friendship dynamics and (b) characterize their distinct roles in how adolescents make new friends, keep existing friends, and become similar to one another over time. Participants were 1,034 sixth through eighth grade students from an ethnically diverse middle school who were assessed in the Fall and Spring of the same academic year. Results showed that girls were more likely to make new friends and maintain existing friendships when they had lower levels of FNE. Conversely, boys were more likely to make new friends and keep existing friends when they had higher levels of FNE. Additionally, girls with low levels of FNE were more likely to maintain friendships with others who also had low FNE levels, whereas boys with high levels of FNE were more likely to maintain friendships with friends who had low levels of FNE. Results also showed significant peer influence effects on FNE such that over time friends became similar to one another on their FNE levels, with no significant gender differences in these processes. The study underscored that FNE appeared to amplify gender differences in how adolescents tend to make and maintain their friendship networks, yet peer influence on FNE levels remained of the same strength for boys and girls. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Social comparison effects on academic self-concepts-Which peers matter most?

Social comparisons with peers are important sources of self-development during adolescence. Many previous studies showed that students’ academic self-concepts (ASC) form by contrasting one’s own achievement with the average of one’s class or school (the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect [BFLPE]). Based on social comparison theory, however, we would expect some peers to be more likely social comparison targets than other peers, for example, because they are more visible or students perceive them as similar to themselves. In this study, we used sociometric data to analyze which peers play the most important role for social comparison effects on ASC. We examined how the average achievement of friends, study partners, peers perceived as popular by the student, as well as same-gender and same-ethnic peers affect the general ASC and how these effects compare to the effect of the classroom’s average achievement. The study was based on a German longitudinal sample of 2,438 students (44% no recent immigrant background, 19% Turkish immigrant background, 10% Eastern European immigrant background, 27% other immigrant background) from 117 school classes that were followed from grade 9 to 10. Results from longitudinal social network analysis do not confirm substantial incremental effects of specific types of peers, while class average achievement showed a stable negative effect (confirming the BFLPE). In addition, we could provide evidence for social selection effects based on ASC. We conclude that classrooms provide a specific setting that imposes social comparisons with the “generalized peer” rather than with specific subgroups of peers.

The ‘Global South’ in the transnational student mobility network. Effects of institutional instability, reputation of the higher education systems, post-colonial ties, and culture

ABSTRACT In this article, we take a global perspective and analyse how state institutions constitute a countries’ place in the global network of transnational student mobility. We use longitudinal social network analysis to investigate transnational student mobility patterns and find that fragile institutions act as a push factor by increasing outbound student mobility. In addition, reputation of a higher education system impacts on the countries’ role as a favoured study destination. And, particularly for countries in the Global South, cultural similarity is important for the intensity and direction of exchange within the global network of transnational student mobility.

The co‐evolution of friendship, defending behaviors, and peer victimization: A short‐term longitudinal social network analysis

AbstractPeers are critical influencers of adolescent behavior, including defending against peer victimization. The current research explored peer influence processes associated with four different types of peer‐defending behaviors (comforting, reporting, solution‐focused, and aggressive defending behaviors) within early adolescent friendship networks. Links with peer victimization, friendship ties, and gender were also explored. Data were collected from 334 early adolescents ages 11–14 in Canada. Participants self‐reported on defending behaviors, victimization, and friendships over two time‐points, 8–10 weeks apart. Data were analyzed using Stochastic Actor‐Oriented Models (SAOMs). After controlling for friendship network structure and peer selection for defending behaviors, results indicated significant peer socialization effects for comforting, reporting, and solution‐focused defending. For solution‐focused defending only, the peer socialization effect was significantly stronger for girls than for boys. There were no significant selection effects across defending behaviors. In terms of social outcomes, youth with higher levels of reporting tended to have higher levels of peer victimization (and vice versa). Peer victimization was also positively associated with aggressive defending. Defending behaviors were generally unrelated to changes in friendship ties. Overall, these results highlight how friendships contribute to the development of peer‐defending behaviors and emphasize the need to examine defending as a multidimensional behavior.

Friends' Influence on Academic Performance Among Early Adolescents: The Role of Social Status

Educational research has shown that academic achievement and peer relationships are associated from early school years, where friends play a significant role in influencing students' school adjustment, attitudes, and behaviors. The present study examines how individual academic performance is associated with friendships among 240 5th and 6th graders. The information on students' friendships, academic performance, gender, popularity, and social preference was collected in a convenience sample from 8 classrooms of 2 private-subsidized schools in Santiago, Chile. Longitudinal social network analysis (RSiena) was used to study the co-evolution of academic performance and friendship dynamics, by assessing simultaneously selection and influence processes, and by incorporating social status covariates (popularity and social preference) as moderators of friendship selection and influence. Results showed that friendships were more likely to occur between same-sex peers and between students with similar social status. Regarding social influence, friends influenced individual's academic performance. Moreover, socially preferred students were more likely to be influenced by friends' academic performance, but the same did not occur for popular students. These results might suggest that socially preferred students' attributes (cooperation, reciprocity, and high-quality friendships) would facilitate the influence of academic performance. In contrast, popular students would be less sensitive to their friends' academic performance focusing instead on salient behaviors (e.g., aggression). The findings underline the importance of understanding social network dynamics in educational settings.

The covariant relationship between adolescent friendship networks and bullying: A longitudinal social network analysis

The covariant relationship between adolescent friendship networks and bullying: A longitudinal social network analysis