Does network homophily persist in multicultural volunteering programs? Results from an Exponential Random Graph Model

Abstract

Few studies examined the social network structures within multicultural volunteer programs for low-income diverse older adults, making it unclear how diverse older adults establish social connections beyond their co-ethnic community. This study aims to identify the social network structures within a Senior Companion Program (SCP), a multicultural low-income volunteer program in a Midwestern Metropolitan area in the United States. Data were collected through surveys during a SCP monthly in-service training in October 2021. Russian, Khmer, Somali, Nepali, and English-speaking older volunteers in the SCP (N = 41) identified friends through a nomination form. Exponential Random Graph Modeling (ERGM) was used to identify statistically significant structural features of the SCP network. Graphs and ERGM results demonstrated that participants tended to form friendships with other volunteers of the same gender (β=3.27, p < 0.001), from the same country (β=2.89, p < 0.001), with the same education level (β=0.71, p < 0.001), and from the same volunteer recruitment site (β=2.77, p < 0.001). Surprisingly, there were few transitive ties (β= -1.01, p < 0.001), the tendency to make friends with a friend of a friend, which is typically common in friendship networks. Relationships among diverse older volunteers are largely driven by homophily in this multicultural volunteer program. Addressing language barriers and assigning volunteers from different countries to the same recruitment site may counteract homophily by nationality. However, more research needs to identify whether the opportunity to interact with people of one's same or different cultural backgrounds is a stronger incentive for volunteer engagement and connectedness.