The development of adolescents’ friendships and antipathies: A longitudinal multivariate network test of balance theory

We examined the interplay between friendship (best friend) and antipathy (dislike) relationships among adolescents (N = 480; 11–14 years) in two US middle schools over three years (grades 6, 7, and 8). Using longitudinal multivariate network analysis (RSiena), the effects of friendships on antipathies and vice versa were tested, while structural network effects (e.g., density, reciprocity, and transitivity) and individual (age, gender, and ethnicity) and behavioral (prosocial and antisocial behavior) dispositions were controlled for. Based on (structural) balance theory, it was expected that friendships would be formed or maintained when two adolescents disliked the same person (shared enemy hypothesis), that friends would tend to agree on whom they disliked (friends’ agreement hypothesis), that adolescents would tend to dislike the friends of those they disliked (reinforced animosity hypothesis), and, finally, that they would become or stay friends with dislikes of dislikes (enemy's enemy hypothesis). Support was found for the first three hypotheses, and partially for the fourth hypothesis. Results are discussed in light of adolescents’ peer relationships.     

Role of Facebook use in predicting bridging and bonding social capital of Pakistani university students

ABSTRACT

The explanatory study aimed to examine the role of Facebook use (intensity of Facebook use, Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors, duration of use, and number of ties), motives of using Facebook (making new social ties, maintaining existing social ties, seeking and sharing information, self-expression, self-documentation, and recreation), and sociodemographic characteristics (age, education, gender, and monthly family income) in predicting the formation of bridging and bonding social capital among youth. Opting Putnam’s theory of social capital, a survey was conducted from eight randomly selected universities of Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 1,245 students, had an average age of 21, were participated in this study. Stepwise multiple linear regression technique was used to explain bridging and bonding social capital. The study found that motives of using Facebook had a major role in predicting bridging and bonding social capital of the students. The intensity of Facebook use and Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors were also positively correlated with bridging and bonding social capital. Except for the age for bonding social capital, no other sociodemographic variables had an influence on bridging and bonding social capital.     

Inter-ethnic friendship and negative ties in secondary school

This paper investigates several different aspects of inter-ethnic relationships. It focuses on friendships and negative ties between secondary school students from different ethnic backgrounds, introducing and measuring two different aspects of ethnicity: self-declared ethnicity, and ethnicity based on peer perception. These are first applied separately and then together on a sample of secondary school students in Hungary consisting of two ethnic groups: Roma and non-Roma Hungarian (N = 420). Friendships and negative ties are modelled using cross-sectional exponential random graph models for sixteen classrooms separately, and then individual models are summarized using meta-analysis. Based on the social identity approach, we predict that inter-ethnic friendships are less likely, and negative ties are more likely, than those within ethnic groups; and that majority students reject their minority peers more than the other way around. Moreover, minority students are expected to exclude those whom they perceive as minorities, but who, at the same time, identify with the majority group, since these classmates might seem to them as “traitors” of their “original” ethnic group. Results mostly confirm our hypotheses, emphasizing the role of perceived ethnicity: majority students tend to dislike peers whom they perceive as minorities, regardless of these peers’ self-declared ethnicity; on the other hand, minority students are likely to send friendship nominations towards their perceived minority classmates if these also declare themselves as minorities, but, as predicted, negative nominations if these declare themselves as majorities. This supports our general idea that different ethnicity aspects might influence friendships and negative ties in different ways, and inconsistencies in someone's ethnic categorization might play an important role in social rejection.     

Adolescents' Characteristics and Parents' Beliefs as Predictors of Parentsapos; Peer Management Behaviors

This study examined parents' reported use of peer management behaviors (i.e., communicating preferences, communicating disapproval, supporting friendships, and information seeking) and linked these behaviors to (a) adolescentsapos; self‐reported psychosocial adjustment and friendships and (b) parents' beliefs about adolescents' peer relationships (i.e., perceived efficacy in managing adolescents' friendships and concerns about adolescents' friendships). The participants were 269 parents (161 mothers, 108 fathers) and their predominantly White adolescents in Grades 6 and 9 (N=177). Results suggest that parents may be more apt to use some behaviors (e.g., communicating disapproval and information seeking) when there are indications that their adolescents are engaged in problem behaviors and have friends who are deviant. In addition, parents' concerns about their adolescents' friends mediate the relationship between adolescent problem behaviors and parents' communications of disapproval. Parents' peer management is promising as a route to understand further the nature of parent–peer linkages.     

Ethnic Peer Preferences Among Asian American Adolescents in Emerging Immigrant Communities

Growing diversity and evidence that diverse friendships enhance psychosocial success highlight the importance of understanding adolescents’ ethnic peer preferences. Using social identity and social contact frameworks, the ethnic preferences of 169 Asian American adolescents (60% female) were examined in relation to ethnic identity, perceived discrimination, and language proficiency. Adolescents with same‐ and mixed‐ethnic friends reported significantly greater ethnic centrality than those with mostly different‐ethnic friends. Adolescents with same‐ethnic friends reported significantly higher perceived discrimination and lower English proficiency than those with mixed‐ and different‐ethnic friends. Open‐ended responses were linked to quantitative data and provided further insight into specific influences on peer preferences (e.g., shared traditions, homophily). Results speak to the importance of cultural experiences in structuring the friendships and everyday lives of adolescents.     

Reconfiguring Friendships: Social relationships and the Internet

Debate on the social role of the Internet has centred on whether its use will tend to isolate or connect individuals, undermining or reinforcing social ties. This study moves away from this focus on more or less connectivity to explore the degree to which people use the Internet to make new friends and, thereby, reconfigure their social networks. The analysis identifies those who create new ties through the Internet and investigates under what conditions these online ties migrate to face to face settings. The analysis is based on data from the 2005 Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS), a national probability sample survey of individuals aged 14 and over in Britain. The findings indicate that about 20 per cent of Internet users have met new friends online, and about half of these individuals go on to meet one or more of these virtual friends in person. Sociodemographic characteristics, such as being single, shape patterns of Internet use, and are related to the greater propensity of some individuals to make online social relationships. However, experience with the Internet and the ways people choose to use the Internet, such as for chatting or communicating more generally, are most directly associated with who makes new connections over the Internet and who does not. These findings suggest that the Internet plays an important role in reconfiguring the social networks of many users. Also, multivariate analyses indicate that the dynamics of online friendships are driven more by the idiosyncratic digital choices made by users of the Internet than by any mechanistic social or technological determinism.     

Peer‐Perceived Admiration and Social Preference: Contextual Correlates of Positive Peer Regard Among Suburban and Urban Adolescents

The primary purpose of this study was to understand further the heterogeneity of popularity, by exploring contextual correlates of two dimensions of positive peer regard among seventh graders within two highly disparate sociodemographic groups: affluent suburban and low‐income urban (N=636). Three sets of attributes were examined, all consistently linked to social status in past research: rebellious behaviors (aggression, academic disengagement, delinquency, and substance use), academic application (effort at school and good grades), and physical attributes (attractiveness and athletic ability). The data provide empirical validation for the conceptual distinctions among peer‐perceived admiration and social preference with adolescents from diverse contexts. More specifically, results showed that within each socioeconomic context (a) some forms of rebellious behaviors are clearly admired, (b) prosocial attributes are linked with peer‐perceived admiration and social preference, (c) physical attractiveness and athletic skills are important for positive peer regard, the former particularly for suburban girls and the latter for suburban boys, and (d) aggression elicits admiration among early adolescents, but can also generate their disdain (i.e., lowered social preference). In the urban context, results provided evidence for the salience of distinct forms of rebellious and achievement oriented behaviors among different racial/ethnic groups as well.     

The complexities of friendship: exploring how gay men make sense of their workplace friendships with straight women

Despite the contemporary attention paid to the gay male–straight female friendship dyad within popular culture and a growing scholarly interest in male–female friendships, not enough is known about the friendship dynamics between gay men and straight women, particularly in the workplace. I draw upon qualitative findings from in‐depth interviews with 28 gay men employed in a range of work roles in the UK to document their existence and shed light on how gay men understand, value and give meaning to workplace friendships with women. Study findings reveal the paucity of textual cues and practices to direct the development and maintenance of these friendships. Overcoming this, study participants are shown to be inventive in their approach to doing friendship. As problematic as some friendship ties are for understanding differences along the lines of sexuality and gender, the opportunities for challenging heteronormative ways of relating in workplace friendship are regarded as more promising.     

Chain reactions in adolescents’ cigarette,alcohol and drug use: similarity through peer influence or the patterning of ties in peer networks?

Similarity in substance use among adolescents and their peers is usually attributed to peer influence or, occasionally, to either peer influence or selection. This paper suggests that similarity is due to both peer influence and selection. For some adolescents, peer influence outside the chain occurs first and selection follows; for others, selection occurs first and peer influence within the chain follows. Whichever occurs first, all adolescents are selected and nearly all are influenced. Peer networks contribute to similarity by providing a pattern of peer ties in which peer influence can flourish. Chain reactions result from the pattern and peer influence.     

Avoidance in negative ties: Inhibiting closure,reciprocity, and homophily

Theorising of negative ties has focused on simplex negative tie networks or multiplex signed tie networks. We examine the fundamental differences between positive and negative tie networks measured on the same set of actors. We test six mechanisms of tie formation on face-to-face positive (affect/esteem) and negative (dislike/disesteem) networks of 282 university students. While popularity, activity, and entrainment are present in both networks, closure, reciprocity, and homophily are largely absent from negative tie networks. We argue this arises because avoidance is inherent to negative sentiments. Avoidance reduces information transfer through negative ties and short-circuits cumulative causation.     

Race,ethnicity and the strength of Facebook ties

This study investigates the role of race and ethnicity in the self-reported strength of the social ties of young adolescents on Facebook. Based on the social diversification hypothesis, which argues that in multicultural societies, race and ethnicity are key factors that shape the nature of associations, we examine whether there are ethnic and racial differences in the size and strength of the ties of adolescent Facebook users and the role of the strength of these ties in several positive outcomes. Using data from the U.S. Teens’ Social Media and Privacy Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life project among 802 teens ages 12–17, we found no differences in the total number of ties that adolescents from different ethnic and racial groups reported. However, African Americans reported significantly higher number of weak ties, while White Americans had a significantly higher number of strong ties. The results are consistent with the social diversification hypothesis. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Social media and political discussion: when online presence silences offline conversation

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the relationship between the use of social media, attitudinal strength, perceived opinion agreement with social ties, and willingness to discuss a political issue in different online and offline contexts. Unlike the anonymous environment of some Internet forums, social media are closely tied to the relationships and activities of everyday life. Social media increasingly make ties from offline contexts persistent online, and, because of the ambient nature of these technologies, awareness of the opinions, interests, and activities of social ties has become pervasive. As such, the use of social media is likely to affect everyday conversation about political issues in on- and offline contexts, including the home, workplace, social gatherings with friends, community meetings, and on social network sites (SNSs). Based on a national probability survey, we find that the use of SNSs (i.e., Facebook and Twitter) has a direct, negative relationship to deliberation in many offline settings. Some uses of these platforms are associated with having a lower, perceived opinion agreement with social ties. As part of a spiral of silence, this further reduces the willingness of social media users to join political conversations in some offline settings. Only those with the strongest attitudes on an issue are immune.     

Bridging the Hemispheres through the Use of Technology: International Collaboration in Social Work Training

The social work programs of the University of Fort Hare, East London, South Africa, and Minnesota State University, Mankato, United States, began using various technologies in 2007 to facilitate interaction. This project included conducting practicum supervision and seminars via videoconferencing (using Breeze, Adobe Connect, and Skype) and developing peer e-mail and Facebook partnerships to link students from both continents. This paper explores the benefits to participating students who engaged the structured use of technology to expand their social work and cultural knowledge while also developing international friendships. As technology continues to advance, social work educators must be on the forefront of connecting students by bridging the hemispheres through the use of technology.     

Managing Relational Transgressions as Revealed on Facebook: The Influence of Dependence Power on Verbal Versus Nonverbal Responses

Dependence power is defined by the control a less dependent partner is perceived to have by the more dependent individual in a close relationship. Guided by assumptions about dependence power, we examined how individuals manage perceived relational transgressions by partners on Facebook, distinguishing between face-to-face responses versus those that are expressed nonverbally (through monitoring or maintenance behaviors) on the site. Participants included 290 females and 210 males in a dating relationship who completed measures of dependence power and Facebook use. Participants then viewed a screenshot reflecting a hypothetical Facebook partner transgression that varied by potential threat (high versus low). Finally, participants completed measures of perceived threat and a measure of responses to the transgression (monitoring and maintenance). Dependence power was associated with perceptions of the threat of a transgression, the likelihood of confronting a partner face-to-face about the perceived transgression, and engaging in Facebook monitoring behavior after a perceived transgression. Dependence power was not significantly associated with maintenance responses.     

Peer influence and drug use among adolescents in rural areas

A sample of 1,004 eighth and tenth grade students in twenty-three small Central/East Texas communities was assessed to determine 1) their perception of the number of their friends who use drugs, 2) the amount of information they received about drugs from their friends, and 3) the connection between those perceptions and drug use. A multiple regression model which included grade, gender, the degree to which friends are perceived to use drugs and the amount of information about drugs received from friends explained 39 percent of the variance in the degree to which rural adolescents were involved in drug use. An item specific analysis of the subcomponents of these composite variables explained 44 percent of the variance in the degree to which rural adolescents were involved in drug use. This same four-factor model accurately classified over 81 percent of non-drug-users and 67 percent of users using discriminant analysis. Students who perceived a higher degree of drug use among their friends and who received more information about drugs from their friends used drugs more frequently. Lower marijuana use in these rural areas as compared to the nation, both as a peer perception and as a fact, may protect these students to a degree from broader patterns of drug use. The findings of this study support the theory that peer pressure is related to drug abuse, even in rural areas.     

A comparative study on the relationship between social networking site use and social capital among Australian and Korean youth

Social network sites (SNS) have become increasingly pervasive in the daily lives of adolescents. This study explores the relationship between SNS use and perceived online social capital among adolescents using survey data from Australia and Korea. We conducted a face-to-face survey of adolescents (12–15-year-olds) in major cities in Australia (N?=?401) and Korea (N?=?644) in 2013. There was no significant difference in time spent on SNS between adolescents in the two countries; however, significant differences in the way adolescents use SNS were found. Australian adolescents tended to use SNS for group activities, whereas Koreans used it for social monitoring. There was a positive relationship between SNS use and online social capital in both countries. However, the types of social capital that were found to have a strong relationship to SNS use were different. Among Australian adolescents, SNS activities had a higher correlation with bonding social capital compared to bridging capital, whereas the result was contrasting among Korean adolescents. The impact of SNS use on online social capital differed between the two countries, showing that Australian adolescents reporting low SNS use gained online social capital if they used SNS more intensely. Finally, the impact of SNS use and culture on perceived online social capital was examined by conducting hierarchical multiple regressions. Interpersonal communication and group activities emerged as significant predictors of online social capital.     

Girls’ friendships as habitus in an elite,middle-class secondary school in Ireland

This study examines gendered and classed friendships in a predominantly middle-class, girls' secondary school in the southern region of the Republic of Ireland. Bourdieu's (1977) concept of habitus, interactively, with Gidden's (1984) concept of practical consciousness, and Gambetta's (1987) intentional rational choice informed the conceptual framework for the study. Narrative sources yielded data about girls' friendships and peer interactions inside and outside of school. The social class and habitus of each of the girls mediated their friendship formation and friendship choice. Data sources highlight that the middle-class girls' friendships were situated in fluid and multiple cliques; given their hegemonic positionality within the school. Contrastingly, working-class girls' friendships were situated in a contained and single clique, often evidenced by their resistance to the institutional habitus. The ways in which these peer friendships operated as powerful shapers of the girls' actions and identities is discussed. This paper provides examples of the nuanced ways that girls' friendships are developed and maintained based on conformity or resistance to the school norms and expectations of academic success. Importantly, findings evidence the differentiated and instrumental use of friendships among the middle-class and working-class girls in a competitive, elite school setting.     

The Role of Parent and Peer Support in Predicting Adolescent Depression: A Longitudinal Community Study

This study examines whether perceived parent support, peer support, and the interaction between them predict depression symptoms and depression diagnosis 2 years later in a community sample of 389 adolescents. Controlling for Time 1 depression, parent support and anticipated peer support were not independently related to Time 2 depression in either linear or logistic regression analyses. However, there was a significant interaction between the two support variables, suggesting that parent support moderates the relationship between anticipated peer support and depression symptoms and diagnosis. Anticipated peer support is protective among adolescents with high parental support, but may act as a risk factor for adolescents with low parental support. Regarding developmental differences, low anticipated peer support at Time 1 was a stronger predictor of Time 2 depression symptoms among older, compared with younger, adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of parent and peer support in predicting future depression among community adolescents.     

In‐School Versus Out‐of‐School Friendships and Academic Achievement Among an Ethnically Diverse Sample of Adolescents

Much of the research on adolescent friendships and school achievement has focused on in‐school friends, ignoring the potential effects of having out‐of‐school friendships. The goal of this study was to examine the relation between having relatively more in‐school friends and school achievement among a sample of over 600 12th grade students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. We found that adolescents with more in‐school friends, compared with out‐of‐school friends, had higher grade point averages (GPAs) and that adolescents with higher GPAs had more in‐school friends. These relations were mediated by academic experiences, including those shared with friends. However, as hypothesized, the social aspects of adolescents' friendships did not vary according to their percent of in‐school friends, attesting to the importance of considering both types of friendships in understanding adolescents' social experiences. None of the relations described varied according to gender or ethnicity.