A Spiral of Violence and Status? a Longitudinal Network Analysis of the Interplay between Gender Culture, Social Networks, and Violence Among Adolescents.

This study employs network analysis to shed new light on the relationship between aggressive behavior and status attribution in school. Building on and contributing to literatures on cultural orientations and social networks, we develop a theoretical framework that yields new hypotheses on the interplay between aggressive behavior and peer status. Empirically, we use Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) to analyze a unique longitudinal dataset of over 4,000 students across 43 schools, collected in Germany. We explore whether peers incentivize aggressive behavior, with a particular focus on same-gender and cross-gender status ascription. Our findings reveal that, on average, aggressive peers receive more status attributions than non-aggressive peers. Contrary to previous research, we find that this relationship is not significantly stronger for boys than for girls. While gender homophily emerges as a stronger predictor than preference for aggressive peers, aggressive individuals receive more status attributions, within both gender groups. Notably, aggressive boys receive more status attributions from girls than aggressive girls receive from boys, though this effect is only observable in the first year of data collection when students are youngest. By examining who rewards whom for aggressive behavior, we illuminate a self-perpetuating cycle of aggression and social status. Our findings underscore the value of a relational, gender-specific perspective and contribute to ongoing discussions about violence-promoting subcultures in school settings.