Navigating Disconnected Social Circles: Experiences and Personal Networks of Latino/a Adolescents in the U.S. Rural South

Informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of development, this mixed-methods study’s aims are to: (1) describe rural Latino/a adolescents’ ( N = 62) narratives and lived social experiences in the context of rurality, and (2) examine their personal networks to better understand their social interactions (subset of 30 adolescents). Rural Latino/a adolescents move in limited social circles and experience geographic, cultural, and social isolation due to immigration status problems, socioeconomic issues, racial discrimination, and family dynamics. This limitation is reflected by personal networks that tend to be homogenous in terms of ethnicity, age, and sociodemographic characteristics. School, although characterized by weak social ties often disconnected from community and family contacts, emerged as the dominant context of sociability where adolescents build their social identity outside the circle of dense family ties. Findings suggest a critical need for interventions to reduce isolation and enhance social connectedness between family, school, and rural community in this population.

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.

“We Got In!”

Emerging adults rely on family, friends, and others in their personal networks to aid in making decisions. Parents are heavily involved in the lives of their children, ensuring that they have all of the supports or advantages in place to become successful. This chapter focuses on the continued importance and impact of the family, particularly parental figures, for emerging adults in higher education. An overview of seminal interdisciplinary theories is provided, along with a discussion of contrasting parental behaviors and their consequences. Special attention is given to first-generation students and those who lack parental support. A case study and reflection questions help readers apply the chapter’s content so that emerging adults can foster developmentally appropriate supportive relationships.

Ambivalent and Consistent Relationships: The Role of Personal Networks in Cases of Domestic Violence

Social networks are usually considered as positive sources of social support, a role which has been extensively studied in the context of domestic violence. To victims of abuse, social networks often provide initial emotional and practical help as well useful information ahead of formal institutions. Recently, however, attention has been paid to the negative responses of social networks. In this article, we advance the theoretical debate on social networks as a source of social support by moving beyond the distinction between positive and negative ties. We do so by proposing the concepts of relational ambivalence and consistency, which describe the interactive processes by which people, intentionally or inadvertently, disregard—or align with—each other’s role‐relational expectations, therefore undermining—or reinforcing—individual’s choices of action. We analyse the qualitative accounts of 19 female victims of domestic violence in Sweden, who described the responses of their personal networks during and after the abuse. We observe how the relationships embedded in these networks were described in ambivalent and consistent terms, and how they played a role in supporting or undermining women in reframing their loving relationships as abusive; in accounting or dismissing perpetrators’ responsibilities for the abuse; in relieving women from role‐expectations and obligations or in burdening them with further responsibilities; and in supporting or challenging their pathways out of domestic abuse. Our analysis suggests that social isolation cannot be considered a simple result of a lack of support but of the complex dynamics in which support is offered and accepted or withdrawn and refused.

In Good Company? Personal Relationships, Network Embeddedness, and Social Inclusion

How do individuals’ networks of personal relationships affect their social in‐ and exclusion? Researchers have shown that micro‐level, informal relationships can be highly consequential for social inclusion, but in complex, contradictory ways: Personal networks reflect the degree of relational exclusion and protect against (other forms of) exclusion, but they also erode in conditions of exclusion and reproduce exclusion. While network researchers have widely studied some of these mechanisms, they have yet to embrace others. Therefore, this thematic issue reconsiders the complex relationship between personal networks and social inclusion. It offers a unique vantage point by bringing together researchers who work with different marginalised social groups, typically studied separately: refugees, transnational migrants, indigenous people, older people, people experiencing poverty, LGBT people, and women who have experienced domestic violence. This combination allows us to detect commonalities and differences in network functioning across historically excluded groups. This editorial lays the theoretical groundwork for the thematic issue and discusses the key contributions of the seventeen articles that compose the issue. We call for more attention to relationship expectations, the reciprocity of support flows, and contextual embeddedness, and question universally adopted theoretical binaries such as that of bonding and bridging social capital.

Networks Amongst Syrians: Situated Migrant Positionalities and the Impact on Relational Embedding

This article employs Yuval‐Davis concept of situated intersectionality to explore processes of relational embedding amongst Syrian migrants in the UK. By drawing on in‐depth interview data from 31 men and women living in North East England, we explore how varying social categories—or positionalities—intersect and shape personal networks and feelings of attachment amongst Syrians. We show how wider structural contexts and systems of social relations shape migrants’ sense of belonging and attachment which can serve to enhance or weaken opportunities for social and economic inclusion. The findings reveal how, for Syrian migrants, wider macro level contexts determine immigration and asylum routes which in turn shape place‐specific opportunity structures that impact on micro individual level processes of relational embedding. We develop the term “migrant positionalities” as a social category to capture the multiple experiences of migration and asylum and the power dynamics that determine opportunity structures and processes of embedding. We contribute to the debates in this field by demonstrating how the wider structural context can lead to a multiplicity of immigration and asylum experiences for individuals, resulting in differences in support and rights that go on to shape processes of embedding and personal networks. By employing a situated intersectional lens, we also demonstrate how and why processes of relational embedding differ amongst migrants of the same nationality on the basis of social positionings such as ethnicity, class, and religion, that are situated in context, time, and space.

The role of grassroots administrators in building international partnerships

This article explores how grassroots administrators interact with various other actors in the process of forming international partnerships. A top-down and a bottom-up case of building international partnerships for masters and PhD programmes were selected from my fieldwork in a Danish university. The cases were elaborated and analysed using Tatiana Fumasoli’s organisational approach to multi-level governance in higher education. This article concludes that with their personal networks and knowledge about the normative frameworks of certain powerful actors, grassroots administrators could help academic staff who might not know the regulations involved in the internationalisation process, to balance their own interests with their intention of complying with the normative frameworks, and thus enhance their capacities of forming and participating in a successful international partnership.

Personal Support Networks of Young People with Mild Intellectual Disabilities during the Transition to Adult Life

Social support networks occupy a priority position requiring attention in the processes of social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, during their transition to adult life. The objective of the study was to analyze social support from a relational approach through Personal Network Analysis. A total of 41 young people with mild intellectual disabilities participated in the study, in two groups differentiated according to their educational stage, either compulsory secondary education or post-compulsory training. Descriptive and comparative results are presented based on the variables of structure, composition, and functional content in the social support of their personal networks. The results show that both groups have restricted personal networks, made up of members of the family and the educational environment who constitute the main providers of support. When moving towards adult life, the change in social contacts in other educational, geographical, and relational settings may mean a change in the provision of support received in previous life stages. Developing social and educational actions to support these people in the development and maintenance of social relationships is essential to their access to support resources that will affect their social inclusion.

Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)

Technological changes have led to important advances in medical diagnoses and treatments that prolong the informal care process. Support from the personal network of informal caregivers is an undervalued resource and the changes that have occurred over time are unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in personal network support among informal caregivers and to examine the effect of these changes on self-perceived caregiver health, with a focus on differences between men and women and caregivers with high and low levels of burden We also investigated caregiver perceptions and explanations of changes to their support network (losses and additions and no change). Using a mixed-methods approach, data were obtained from 32 caregivers that were intentionally selected in Spain, who were interviewed twice with a one-year interval. In the quantitative phase, personal networks analysis was performed with Egonet software, which obtained data on the composition and functional content in social support from 1600 personal relationships (25 alters for each ego in the two waves). In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted in the two waves with a guide in order to explore the changes in informal support resources over time. The selected men with high levels of burden pointed out a loss of network support with more discouraging reports compared with the low-burden male caregivers. Furthermore, the selected women with low burden levels mentioned losses too; however, their reports were more positive. Women reported improved health, especially those with low burden scores in the first wave and those who did not lose support. Caregivers with a high initial burden and who lost support reported worse health, particularly men and women with a strong sense of duty toward care. Social support from personal networks is important for caregiver health and its effects are influenced by gender roles. Our findings could help by improving the relational and social capital of informal caregivers and adapting them to the new needs of formal home care systems.