Modeling Social Network Topologies in Elementary Schools

Complex networks are used to describe interactions in many real world systems, including economic, biological and social systems. An analysis was done of inter-student friendship, enmity and kinship relationships at three elementary schools by building social networks of these relationships and studying their properties. Friendship network measurements were similar between schools and produced a Poisson topology with a high clustering index. Enmity network measurements were also similar between schools and produced a power law topology. Spatial confinement and the sense of belonging to a social group played vital roles in shaping these networks. Two models were developed which generate complex friendship and enmity networks that reproduce the properties observed at the three studied elementary schools.