A multilevel network study of the effects of delinquent behavior on friendship evolution

A multilevel approach is proposed to the study of the evolution of multiple networks. In this approach, the basic evolution process is assumed to be the same, while parameter values may differ between different networks. For the network evolution process, stochastic actor-oriented models are used, o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of mathematical sociology 2003-04, Vol.27 (2-3), p.123-151
Main Authors: Snijders, T. A. B., Baerveldt, Chris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actor-oriented Model
Adolescents
Criminology
Longitudinal Data
Social Networks
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Summary:A multilevel approach is proposed to the study of the evolution of multiple networks. In this approach, the basic evolution process is assumed to be the same, while parameter values may differ between different networks. For the network evolution process, stochastic actor-oriented models are used, of which the parameters are estimated by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. This is applied to the study of effects of delinquent behavior on friendship formation, a question of long standing in criminology. The evolution of friendship is studied empirically in 19 school classes. It is concluded that there is evidence for an effect of similarity in delinquent behavior on friendship evolution. Similarity of the degree of delinquent behavior has a positive effect on tie formation but also on tie dissolution. The last result seems to contradict current criminological theories, and deserves further study.
ISSN:0022-250X
1545-5874
DOI:10.1080/00222500305892