STRATIFIED STIGMA IN SOCIAL NETWORKS: EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE AND LOSS OF SOCIAL CONNECTION IN ADOLESCENCE

Exposure to violence (ETV) affects approximately 41% of U.S. adolescents annually, yet its social network consequences remain understudied. Drawing on labeling theory, stigma, and intersectionality, this study argues that ETV functions as a stigmatizing label that reduces adolescent peer popularity in ways stratified by race and gender. Using longitudinal network data from Add Health (Waves I–II; N≈1,938), I employ multi-level structural equation models (MSEM) and temporal exponential random graph models (TERGM) to examine changes in peer nominations across intersectional groups. Results indicate that ETV is associated with lower peer nominations overall, with the most pronounced penalties concentrated among Black girls. TERGM estimates reveal a 3.4–6% decline in Black girls' likelihood of receiving friendship nominations per additional ETV, effects that persist net of depression and alternative explanations such as self-selected isolation. Findings suggest that ETV reproduces social inequality through network-based stigma processes, with possible implications for life-course health disparities.