Relationships in context and contexts of relationship: a normative transition at the end of Secondary Education

Abstract

High school is an institution where teens spend a large part of their time. Consequently, in this context, a dense network of relationships tends to be formed during the period of study at the institute. However, at the end of secondary school, this set of contextualized relationships begins to disintegrate. In this study, we analyze the transition from high school to university of a cohort of high school students. First, we interviewed all the students who were in their last year of high school at an institute in the province of Seville (n = 69). A year and a half later, we interviewed them again when many of them were already studying at university (n = 57). Using a hybrid research design, we collected personal network data from each interviewee in the context of a longitudinal whole network design of the entire cohort analyzed. The results show a decrease in the structural cohesion of the networks, both for personal networks and for the complete network. Furthermore, less cohesive personal networks seem more likely to experience short-term changes in ecological transition processes. In the discussion we reflect on the impact of educational transitions on friendship relationships.