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Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School

Social networks affect health. In this empirical study, friendship networks in integrative organized sports were examined and then compared with friendship networks in integrative school. Relevant factors for friendship network formation were investigated, with a particular interest in the relevance...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Steiger, Alexander, Mumenthaler, Fabian, Nagel, Siegfried
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8296506/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34205305
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126603
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author Steiger, Alexander
Mumenthaler, Fabian
Nagel, Siegfried
author_facet Steiger, Alexander
Mumenthaler, Fabian
Nagel, Siegfried
author_sort Steiger, Alexander
collection PubMed
description Social networks affect health. In this empirical study, friendship networks in integrative organized sports were examined and then compared with friendship networks in integrative school. Relevant factors for friendship network formation were investigated, with a particular interest in the relevance of intellectual disability. Advanced social network analysis was performed using exponential random graph modeling (ERGM) on individual attributes and dyadic factors, while controlling for network structures. A meta-analysis of estimated ERGMs in each setting, organized sports and school, was conducted. When controlling for all other included factors, intellectual disability is not relevant for friendship networks in organized sports. Athletic ability and gender homophily are relevant factors, while language and similarity in athletic ability are not. Contrary to the results for organized sports, intellectual disability and speaking a foreign language at home are negative factors in friendship networks at school. Athletic ability is important in both settings. Regarding dyadic factors, gender homophily is important in both settings, but similarity in athletic ability is not. To foster the psychosocial health of children with intellectual disabilities, they should be encouraged to participate in integrative organized sports as, there, they are part of friendship networks in a manner equal to their peers without an intellectual disability.
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spelling pubmed-82965062021-07-23 Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School Steiger, Alexander Mumenthaler, Fabian Nagel, Siegfried Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Social networks affect health. In this empirical study, friendship networks in integrative organized sports were examined and then compared with friendship networks in integrative school. Relevant factors for friendship network formation were investigated, with a particular interest in the relevance of intellectual disability. Advanced social network analysis was performed using exponential random graph modeling (ERGM) on individual attributes and dyadic factors, while controlling for network structures. A meta-analysis of estimated ERGMs in each setting, organized sports and school, was conducted. When controlling for all other included factors, intellectual disability is not relevant for friendship networks in organized sports. Athletic ability and gender homophily are relevant factors, while language and similarity in athletic ability are not. Contrary to the results for organized sports, intellectual disability and speaking a foreign language at home are negative factors in friendship networks at school. Athletic ability is important in both settings. Regarding dyadic factors, gender homophily is important in both settings, but similarity in athletic ability is not. To foster the psychosocial health of children with intellectual disabilities, they should be encouraged to participate in integrative organized sports as, there, they are part of friendship networks in a manner equal to their peers without an intellectual disability. MDPI 2021-06-19 /pmc/articles/PMC8296506/ /pubmed/34205305 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126603 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Steiger, Alexander
Mumenthaler, Fabian
Nagel, Siegfried
Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School
title Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School
title_full Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School
title_fullStr Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School
title_full_unstemmed Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School
title_short Friendships in Integrative Settings: Network Analyses in Organized Sports and a Comparison with School
title_sort friendships in integrative settings: network analyses in organized sports and a comparison with school
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8296506/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34205305
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126603
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