Loneliness and cortisol are associated with social network regulation.

This study examines how loneliness and the body's stress response system interact to regulate social connections. We suggest that the drive to reconnect signaled by loneliness can be accompanied physiologically by the production of cortisol, which can offer supportive coping resources. Thus, we investigated how loneliness, cortisol levels, and their interaction predicted changes in network connections in a social organization. Participants (n = 193; 53% female) provided friendship network data at two times. At time 1, participants reported on loneliness and donated saliva (later assayed for cortisol). Results revealed that concurrently, lonely individuals reported fewer friendships, whereas over time, they named more friends. These results support the hypothesis that loneliness is a signal to develop connections. We also explored whom lonely individuals befriended over time. Results showed that cortisol significantly moderated the preference for friends with a similar level of loneliness. Specifically, lonely individuals with higher cortisol befriended those who were less lonely over those who were lonelier. Thus, cortisol levels may serve an adaptive function in mobilizing resources to develop connections that fulfill social belongingness needs. Results supported the theorized signaling function of loneliness and revealed that loneliness and the stress response system interact to shape social connections.

Food Insecure College Students and Objective Measurements of Their Unused Meal Plans.

Some researchers have proposed the prevalence of food insecurity among college students is high due to students' meal plans providing insufficient meals. The association between college students' food security status and their meal plans have not yet been examined. In this study, United States (US) first year college students (N = 534) self-reported their food security status in the Fall 2015 and/or Spring 2016 semester(s). Objective measures of students' meal plans were obtained from the university. Logistic generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to determine if students' meal plan, and meal plan use, predicted food insecurity. Linear GEEs were used to examine several potential reasons for lower meal plan use. We found that students did not use all of their available meals. Compared to students on the most expensive (unlimited) meal plan, students on the cheapest (8 meals/week) meal plan were the most likely to report food insecurity (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.2, 4.1). However, in the Fall semester, 26% of students on unlimited meal plans also reported food insecurity. For students on the 180 meals/semester meal plan, food insecurity was associated with using fewer meals (OR = 0.9, 95% CI = 0.8, 1.0). Students who worked tended to use their meal plan less (ß = -1.3, 95% CI = -2.3, -0.3). Students are reporting food insecurity while having meals left in their meal plan.

Where "Old Heads" Prevail: Inmate Hierarchy in a Men's Prison Unit.

Research of inmate social order is a once-vibrant area that receded just as American incarceration rates climbed and the country's carceral contexts dramatically changed. This study reengages inmate society with an abductive mixed methods investigation of informal status within a contemporary men's prison unit. The authors collect narrative and social network data from 133 male inmates housed in a unit of a Pennsylvania medium-security prison. Analyses of inmate narratives suggest that unit "old heads" provide collective goods in the form of mentoring and role modeling that foster a positive and stable peer environment. This hypothesis is then tested with Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) of peer nomination data. The ERGM results complement the qualitative analysis and suggest that older inmates and those who have been on the unit longer are perceived by their peers as powerful and influential. Both analytical strategies point to the maturity of aging and the acquisition of local knowledge as important for attaining informal status in the unit. In sum, this mixed methods case study extends theoretical insights of classic prison ethnographies, adds quantifiable results capable of future replication, and points to a growing population of older inmates as important for contemporary prison social organization.

Cortisol and testosterone associations with social network dynamics.

This study integrates behavioral endocrinology and network science to explore links between hormones and social network dynamics. Specifically, we examine how cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) are associated with creation of new friendships and maintenance of existing friendships. A collegiate marching band was used as a model system of a mixed-sex social organization. Participants (n=193; 53% female; M age=19.4years, 62.1% European-American) provided friendship nominations at time 1 and two months later at time 2. At time 1, participants donated saliva before and after rehearsal (later assayed for C and T). Stochastic actor-based models revealed that individuals with higher C levels were less likely to maintain their social relationships and more likely to create new friendships. In contrast, individuals with higher T levels were more likely to maintain friendships and less likely to create new relationships. Findings suggest that individual differences in C and T are associated with the initiation and maintenance of friendships and have several noteworthy theoretical implications.