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Animal social networks have been studied intensively in the last decade, but there are relatively few studies of their temporal stability and variation, including the influence of season. We quantified the social network structure across time of a population of wild giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis , in South Africa. Our aim was to investigate differences between dry and wet seasons and stability across years of giraffe social structure. We found temporal stability in terms of association patterns across years, including between seasons, for the population as a whole and for each sex separately. A comparison of the mean social connectedness of individuals between the wet and dry seasons revealed significant differences, with individuals having more social ties and being stronger socially connected in the wet season. Further analyses revealed that this result stemmed from differences in female–female and intersexual associations, whereas there was no evidence for social connectedness among males being affected by season. In summary, while the extent of social connectedness differed between seasons, the overall social connection pattern of the population was stable over time. This study underlines the importance of long-term surveys of wild animals and their social networks and demonstrates that animals can adapt their social behaviour to ecological changes while simultaneously maintaining a stable social structure. • We studied seasonal changes and temporal stability of giraffe social structure. • Individuals were more strongly socially connected in the wet than the dry season. • This was due to stronger social connectedness among females and between sexes. • Social connectedness among males did not differ between seasons. • The overall structure of the social network was stable across years and seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its popularity, few studies have assessed the temporal stability and cross-lagged effects of the Theory of Planned Behavior factors: Attitude, subjective norms and self-efficacy. For this study, 298 adolescent learners from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, filled out a Theory of Planned Behavior questionnaire on teenage pregnancy at baseline and after 6 months. Structural equation modeling showed that there were considerable cross-lagged effects between attitude and subjective norms. Temporal stability was moderate with test-retest correlations ranging from 0.37 to 0.51 and the model was able to predict intentions to have safe sex (R2 = 0.69) Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]