Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INAD (Influential Adolescents)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-10-01 al 2024-09-30
Interventions targeting the most influential adolescents, leveraging spillover effects to influence their peers, have emerged as a promising and cost-efficient approach to fostering behavioral change in schools. However, previous research has yielded inconsistent findings on identifying these influential individuals, thereby limiting the effectiveness and replicability of such interventions.
The primary aim of this project was to enhance the identification of influential adolescents by integrating insights from social network science, psychology, and sociology. We sought to improve our understanding of how social networks, especially friendships, act as conduits for spreading attitudes and behaviors among adolescents. By identifying key mechanisms and characteristics that enable certain adolescents to exert significant influence, this project addressed gaps in both theory and methodology.
In schools, adolescents are linked to each other via relationships, representing a social network of adolescents. Relationships, especially friendships, function as channels along which adolescents can influence each other. Consequently, such relationships cause attitudes and behaviors to spread among adolescents. To understand who are especially influential adolescents, we must identify adolescents who are the most efficient in leveraging these networks to spread attitudes and behaviors. To this end, social network science plays a crucial role in understanding how these attitudes and behaviors spread. We combined social network methods with psychological and sociological theories to improve the identification of the most influential adolescents in schools.
Although the question of whether there are adolescents who have an especially big influence on classmates has been in the scope of researchers studying different outcomes, e.g. inter-ethnic attitudes and bullying, the systematic investigation of various social settings and outcomes has been missing. To achieve our objectives, we examined influential adolescents in diverse contexts—academic drive, interethnic attitudes, and religiosity—focusing on common characteristics that underpin their influence. This approach allowed us to establish indicators of social influence applicable across varying social settings. Our research extended beyond traditional methods by incorporating novel elements, such as normative pressure, to provide a more nuanced understanding of how attitudes and behaviors spread in schools.
To reach our goal, we outlined three original objectives. In the course of the project, we identified gaps in methods and theory that needed to be addressed to complete the objectives and reach the main goal. To this end, we identified two new objectives.
Original objectives:
Drawing on interdisciplinary literature, our first objective (O1) was to build a theoretical model. Our second objective (O2) is to calibrate a theoretical model developed in O1 and consequently test hypotheses derived from this model with empirical data on the change of networks and attitudes among adolescents in classrooms. Our third objective (O3) was to simulate a hypothetical cost-efficient network intervention that exploits spill-over effects from most influential adolescents to all classroom members.
New objectives:
Norms are an important form of peer influence when students are inclined to adopt attitudes and behaviors endorsed by their peers. The fourth objective (O4) was to methodologically and theoretically incorporate normative pressure as a form of peer influence into studying how attitudes and behaviors spread in schools alongside the influence of friends. The fifth objective (O5) was to capture mechanisms that enable some adolescents to spread attitudes and behaviors among peers more efficiently than others.
The primary aim of this project was to enhance the identification of influential adolescents by integrating insights from social network science, psychology, and sociology. We sought to improve our understanding of how social networks, especially friendships, act as conduits for spreading attitudes and behaviors among adolescents. By identifying key mechanisms and characteristics that enable certain adolescents to exert significant influence, this project addressed gaps in both theory and methodology.
In schools, adolescents are linked to each other via relationships, representing a social network of adolescents. Relationships, especially friendships, function as channels along which adolescents can influence each other. Consequently, such relationships cause attitudes and behaviors to spread among adolescents. To understand who are especially influential adolescents, we must identify adolescents who are the most efficient in leveraging these networks to spread attitudes and behaviors. To this end, social network science plays a crucial role in understanding how these attitudes and behaviors spread. We combined social network methods with psychological and sociological theories to improve the identification of the most influential adolescents in schools.
Although the question of whether there are adolescents who have an especially big influence on classmates has been in the scope of researchers studying different outcomes, e.g. inter-ethnic attitudes and bullying, the systematic investigation of various social settings and outcomes has been missing. To achieve our objectives, we examined influential adolescents in diverse contexts—academic drive, interethnic attitudes, and religiosity—focusing on common characteristics that underpin their influence. This approach allowed us to establish indicators of social influence applicable across varying social settings. Our research extended beyond traditional methods by incorporating novel elements, such as normative pressure, to provide a more nuanced understanding of how attitudes and behaviors spread in schools.
To reach our goal, we outlined three original objectives. In the course of the project, we identified gaps in methods and theory that needed to be addressed to complete the objectives and reach the main goal. To this end, we identified two new objectives.
Original objectives:
Drawing on interdisciplinary literature, our first objective (O1) was to build a theoretical model. Our second objective (O2) is to calibrate a theoretical model developed in O1 and consequently test hypotheses derived from this model with empirical data on the change of networks and attitudes among adolescents in classrooms. Our third objective (O3) was to simulate a hypothetical cost-efficient network intervention that exploits spill-over effects from most influential adolescents to all classroom members.
New objectives:
Norms are an important form of peer influence when students are inclined to adopt attitudes and behaviors endorsed by their peers. The fourth objective (O4) was to methodologically and theoretically incorporate normative pressure as a form of peer influence into studying how attitudes and behaviors spread in schools alongside the influence of friends. The fifth objective (O5) was to capture mechanisms that enable some adolescents to spread attitudes and behaviors among peers more efficiently than others.
My activities and main achievements can be structured along five major tasks. At the beginning of the project, we developed a theoretical model, building upon interdisciplinary social science research.
Next, we developed a theoretical and methodological innovation of incorporating normative pressure within the longitudinal social network analysis, specifically stochastic actor-oriented modeling. We tested this innovation using data that mapped the changes in friendships and various attitudes and behaviors among adolescents in Germany.
Afterward, we tested our theoretical model of who are especially influential adolescents using stochastic actor-oriented modeling. We defined new mechanisms that enable some adolescents to spread attitudes and behaviors among peers that should be considered if we aim to correctly identify influential adolescents. We successfully incorporated them into longitudinal social network analysis framework. This innovation has produced novel findings not previously seen in the literature. In this work, we improved the identification of especially influential adolescents in several fundamental ways that led to novel and more complex knowledge.
Then, we simulated school interventions, building on our previous work. We tested a range of contextual factors that could contribute to the effectiveness of school interventions, such as the proportion of selected adolescents targeted in an intervention. Currently, we are still searching for an effective intervention. We already know that some commonly applied intervention approaches might be ineffective. These findings can potentially explain inconsistencies in the efficacy of school interventions.
Finally, I applied for subsequent grants to secure the continuity of my research. This was a significant task in the second year when I submitted five grant applications, including the ERC starting grant. Four of these five applications were completely different projects.
Next, we developed a theoretical and methodological innovation of incorporating normative pressure within the longitudinal social network analysis, specifically stochastic actor-oriented modeling. We tested this innovation using data that mapped the changes in friendships and various attitudes and behaviors among adolescents in Germany.
Afterward, we tested our theoretical model of who are especially influential adolescents using stochastic actor-oriented modeling. We defined new mechanisms that enable some adolescents to spread attitudes and behaviors among peers that should be considered if we aim to correctly identify influential adolescents. We successfully incorporated them into longitudinal social network analysis framework. This innovation has produced novel findings not previously seen in the literature. In this work, we improved the identification of especially influential adolescents in several fundamental ways that led to novel and more complex knowledge.
Then, we simulated school interventions, building on our previous work. We tested a range of contextual factors that could contribute to the effectiveness of school interventions, such as the proportion of selected adolescents targeted in an intervention. Currently, we are still searching for an effective intervention. We already know that some commonly applied intervention approaches might be ineffective. These findings can potentially explain inconsistencies in the efficacy of school interventions.
Finally, I applied for subsequent grants to secure the continuity of my research. This was a significant task in the second year when I submitted five grant applications, including the ERC starting grant. Four of these five applications were completely different projects.
Previously, social network studies mostly focused on interpersonal relationships that channel social influence and hence cause attitudes and behaviors to spread in schools. We identified and demonstrated different types of peer influence, especially friendship influence (i.e. the influence of friends) and normative pressure (i.e. the influence of peers from the same group, such as gender group). We found that normative pressure was a significant force in shaping the development of adolescents’ attitudes and behaviors, and both normative pressure and the influence of friends should be considered in investigating how attitudes and behaviors spread in schools. This has a crucial impact on how attitudes and behaviors spread in schools. This beyond-state-of-the-art innovation is ready to be implemented by social network studies on a broader scale.
Theory indicates that normative pressure is crucial in considering who influences whom. In the next innovation, we identified two mechanisms of how students can influence their peers and implemented them within longitudinal social network analysis. While the first mechanism directly increases adolescents’ ability to influence peers, the second mechanism relies on hierarchy among adolescents. This goes beyond the current state-of-the-art investigation of peer influence using social network analysis.
We built upon these innovations to identify influential adolescents and have already obtained preliminary findings, contributing beyond state-of-the-art knowledge. For example, popularity is most frequently used to identify influential adolescents for school interventions. Using our innovations, adolescents' popularity was found not to contribute to their effectiveness in spreading attitudes and behaviors. Instead, adolescents reported as having high-quality friendships with their peers were found to be particularly influential in dyadic friendship relationships. Thus, friendships' quality, not quantity, seems to be linked to a particularly large influence over friends. This has the potential to redefine avenues to identify influential individuals in future research.
Finally, we are in the process of simulating school interventions. Based on previous, not previously applied innovations, we suspect our final goal of simulating school interventions will bring novel state-of-the-art findings.
Theory indicates that normative pressure is crucial in considering who influences whom. In the next innovation, we identified two mechanisms of how students can influence their peers and implemented them within longitudinal social network analysis. While the first mechanism directly increases adolescents’ ability to influence peers, the second mechanism relies on hierarchy among adolescents. This goes beyond the current state-of-the-art investigation of peer influence using social network analysis.
We built upon these innovations to identify influential adolescents and have already obtained preliminary findings, contributing beyond state-of-the-art knowledge. For example, popularity is most frequently used to identify influential adolescents for school interventions. Using our innovations, adolescents' popularity was found not to contribute to their effectiveness in spreading attitudes and behaviors. Instead, adolescents reported as having high-quality friendships with their peers were found to be particularly influential in dyadic friendship relationships. Thus, friendships' quality, not quantity, seems to be linked to a particularly large influence over friends. This has the potential to redefine avenues to identify influential individuals in future research.
Finally, we are in the process of simulating school interventions. Based on previous, not previously applied innovations, we suspect our final goal of simulating school interventions will bring novel state-of-the-art findings.