Elsevier

Social Networks

Volume 32, Issue 3, July 2010, Pages 161-167
Social Networks

Obesity-related behaviors in adolescent friendship networks

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2009.09.001Get rights and content

Abstract

This study examines obesity-related behaviors within adolescent friendship networks, because adolescent peers have been identified as being important determinants of many health behaviors. We applied ERGM selection models for single network observations to determine if close adolescent friends engage in similar behaviors and to explore associations between behavior and popularity. Same-sex friends were found to be similar on measures of organized physical activity in two out of three school-based friendship networks. Female friends were found to engage in similar screen-based behaviors, and male friends tended to be similar in their consumption of high-calorie foods. Popularity (receiving ties) was also associated with some behaviors, although these effects were gender specific and differed across networks.

Section snippets

Social networks and health behaviors

Measuring the complex patterns of adolescents’ friendship ties can serve to highlight how network structure and behaviors are interdependent. Theories of social influence identify both direct (e.g. imitation) and indirect (e.g. internalization of group norms) mechanisms of interpersonal influence, which arise through social interaction. Social ties can also be influential as conduits of resources, information and social support, and positions or roles within these social-structural contexts can

Respondents

Male and female students from two independent middle schools in a major Australian city were invited to take part in the study. Participants from School 1 were in year 8, and predominantly 13 years old (76%). Participants from School 2 were in year 8 (82% were 13 years old) and year 9 (87% were 14 years old). Each school year level was defined as a separate peer network to explore similarities and differences within and across age groups and school contexts. Response rates within each of these

Structural effects

The final model parameter estimates and standard errors for the structural effects in each of the six friendship networks (three male, three female) are presented in Table 4, with significant parameters denoted by an asterisk (*).

Endogenous effects were found to explain the structure of the observed networks, and thus need to be accounted for when testing the hypotheses. Across all friendship networks, there were significant reciprocity effects, meaning friendship ties tended to be reciprocated

Discussion

Adolescent school friends were found to be similar on some obesity-related behaviors, particularly leisure activities. Organized physical activity was an important factor in adolescent friendships in two of the three networks, with male and female friends tending to be alike in the extent that they participated in activities such as sports and training. Female friends in all three networks were found to be similar on sedentary screen-based activities, including video/computer gaming and

References (38)

  • T.W. Valente et al.

    Social network associations with contraceptive use among Cameroonian women in voluntary associations

    Social Science & Medicine

    (1997)
  • T.W. Valente et al.

    Adolescent affiliations and adiposity: a social network analysis of friendships and obesity

    Journal of Adolescent Health

    (2009)
  • A.J. Zametkin et al.

    Psychiatric aspects of child and adolescent obesity: a review of the past 10 years

    Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

    (2004)
  • R.E. Andersen et al.

    Relationship of physical activity and television watching with body weight and level of fatness among children

    Journal of the American Medical Association

    (1998)
  • M.J. Booth et al.

    The reliability and validity of the Adolescent Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire

    Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise

    (2002)
  • N.A. Christakis et al.

    The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years

    The New England Journal of Medicine

    (2007)
  • E. Cohen-Cole et al.

    Detecting implausible social network effects in acne, height, and headaches: longitudinal analysis

    British Medical Journal

    (2008)
  • S.C. Duncan et al.

    Sources and types of social support in youth physical activity

    Health Psychology

    (2005)
  • D.L. Espelage et al.

    Statistical analysis of friendship patterns and bullying behaviors among youth

    New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

    (2007)
  • Cited by (195)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text