Volume 20 (2019): Issue 3 (January 2019)

Since its nascency, the field of social network analysis has been intrinsically linked to human health and well-being. In fact, the very first empirical article ever published in Sociometry evaluated a psychiatric treatment to inter-personal distress that employed the spontaneous interactions unfolding in a triad of physician, patient, and proxy actors (Moreno, 1937). This was a first attempt in a research context to show that there may be direct effects that tie patterns of social relations to individual well-being in small groups. Moreno & Jennings (1938) also made the early and astute argument that the social structure observed through measurement of social relations is inseparable from biological and psychological frames of reference: they are all inherently interdependent. More than 80 years of research in this area has since been developed and yet the field is still flush with opportunities to learn about the interplay between social networks and health. In this special issue of the Journal of Social Structure, we highlight the work of leading scientists in this field.

Background. Despite evidence that obesity and related behaviors are influenced by social networks and social systems, few childhood obesity initiatives have focused on social network factors as moderators of intervention outcomes, or targets for intervention strategies. Objectives. This pilot study examines associations between maternal social network characteristics hypothesized to influence health behaviors and the target outcomes of a family-centered childhood obesity prevention initiative. The pilot intervention entailed the provision of healthy eating and activity components as part of an existing home visiting program (HVP) delivered to mothers and infants, to test the feasibility of this approach for improving mother diet, physical activity, and weight status, as well as infant diet and weight trajectory. Methods. Mothers and their infants (N=50 dyads) receiving services from our HVP partner were recruited and randomized to receive the HVP core curriculum with or without a nutrition and physical activity enhancement module for six months. Assessments of mothers’ social network characteristics, mother/infant food intake and mother physical activity, and mothers’ postpartum weight retention and children’s growth velocity were conducted at baseline and post-intervention. Results. Several features of mothers’ social networks, including the receipt of health-related social support, were significantly associated with the focal intervention outcomes (p < .05) at follow-up, controlling for study condition. Conclusions. Integrating childhood obesity prevention into HVPs appears promising. Future family-based interventions to prevent childhood obesity may be enhanced by including social network intervention strategies. For example, by addressing family network characteristics that impede healthy behavior change, or enhancing networks by fostering social support for healthy behavior and weight change.

The successful implementation of technology often hinges on individual beliefs about the innovation being introduced. Little is known about how social networks shape these beliefs. In this study, we examine: (1) whether individual beliefs about technology are influenced by the beliefs of their peers within their social networks (network content); and (2) whether changes in the composition of the social network over time (network churn) moderates the effect of peer beliefs on individual beliefs. We offer and test hypotheses about these relationships using longitudinal social network survey data from hospital staff collected 2 – 4 months before (N = 256) and 3 – 5 months after (N = 284) the implementation of a new electronic medical record (EMR) system at a large, academic hospital. Our findings suggest that peer beliefs about new technology significantly and negatively affect individual beliefs about technology in the early stages of EMR implementation. We also find that the effect of peer beliefs on individual beliefs is stronger in more stable social networks (i.e., social networks that experience few tie deletions over time) and weaker in less stable social networks (i.e., social networks that experience many tie deletions over time). Our study examines social influence in a novel context – the implementation of EMR systems in the hospital setting – and extends network theory by conceptualizing network churn as a moderating variable that may amplify or dampen the effect of networks.

This study investigates how adolescent peer friendship formation relates to help-seeking behavior and how the structure of peer social networks contributes to the creation of social connections by psychological counseling recipients. The study sample comprised 2,264 adolescents ages 12-19 from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Stochastic actor-based modeling simulated the co-dependence of peer friendship networks and adolescent help-seeking behavior from an initial data state to a final data state while accounting for social selection and influence effects in the same model. Results indicated that adolescents who sought psychological counseling in the past year nominated 65% more peers as friends than otherwise identical adolescents who did not use psychological services. Adolescent psychological counseling did not contribute to the loss of friends. Users of psychological services were twice as likely to be named as friends in highly interconnected peer social networks (i.e. more friendship connections among their friends), as opposed to individuals in less interconnected peer groups. The findings indicate improved social functioning of adolescents as a result of psychological counseling. The results advocate for use of psychological services and point to the necessity of wide-spread screening and early detection and treatment of mental ill-health among U.S. adolescents. Group interventions targeting building social skills to enhance peer group social network interconnectivity may promote better social connections for adolescent users of psychological counseling.

In the United States, young Black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) remain disproportionately affected by HIV. The social networks in which YBMSM are embedded are generally understood to be critical factors in understanding their vulnerability. In this study, we acknowledge the relational richness of YBMSMs’ social environments (what we define as multiplexity) and their increasing prioritization of online social networking sites (SNS). Specifically, we investigate whether protective and/or risky features of YBMSMs’ Facebook friendships and group affiliations are related to their HIV prevention and sex behavior engagement, while also accounting for features of their offline confidant (or support) and sex networks. Using data from a population-based cohort study of YBMSM living in Chicago (N=268), we perform a series of multiple logistic regression analyses to examine associations between features of YBMSMs’ Facebook, confidant, and sexual networks with three prevention outcomes and three sex behavior outcomes, while also controlling for factors at the individual and structural levels. Results show that network features play a more significant role in predicting engagement in sex behaviors than prevention behaviors. Specifically, having more confidants, having confidants who are family members, meeting sex partners online, having more YBMSM Facebook friends, belonging to Facebook groups with an LGBTQ focus, and having greater subject diversity in one’s Facebook group affiliations were significantly associated with one or more sex behavior outcomes. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for HIV prevention intervention efforts.

Background: Family health history is a strong risk factor for many chronic diseases. Ethnic minorities have been found to have a low awareness of their family health history (FHH), which may pose a contributing factor to health disparities. Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods social network analysis study was to identify structural and contextual patterns in African American adults’ FHH knowledge based on interpersonal communication exchanges with their family members. Methods: African American adults completed individually administered family network interviews. Participants’ 3-generation family pedigree served as a visual aid to guide their interview. Our primary outcome of interest for this analysis was whether a family member was reported as someone who talks to the participant about their own (i.e., the family member’s) health, which we refer to as a “personal health informant.” To contextualize quantitative findings, participants were asked to describe how they learned about the health history of the relatives they identified during their interview. Results: Participants (n=37) reported an average family network size of 29.4 relatives (SD = 15.5; Range = 10-67). Each participant, on average, named 17% of their familial network as personal health informants. Multivariate regression results showed that participants were more likely to name an alter as a personal health informant if the alter was female (OR = 2.14, p = 0.0519), from the maternal side of the participant’s family (OR = 1.12, p = 0.0006), had one or more chronic health conditions (OR = 2.41, p = 0.0041), was someone who has discussions with the participant about the participant’s health (OR = 16.28, p < 0.0001), was a source of family health information (OR = 3.46, p = 0.0072), and was someone whose health the participant helps to monitor or track (OR = 5.93, p = 0.0002). Complementary qualitative findings indicate that FHH knowledge is facilitated by open, direct communication among relatives. Personal health informants were described as disclosing information for the purposes of informing others for preventive purposes and for gaining social support. Participants also learned about FHH via other methods, including direct observation, during caretaking, and following a relative’s death. Conclusions: Communication and disclosure practices is an important determinant of African Americans’ FHH knowledge. More culturally and contextually meaningful public health efforts are needed to promote family health history sharing, especially regarding paternal family health history, siblings, and extended relatives.

To examine predictors of preschool language abilities, thirty-seven infants at high risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were recorded longitudinally from 5-14 months as they interacted with their caregivers and toys at home. Triadic interactions were coded, categorized as transitive, intransitive or vacuously transitive, and then related to the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI-III) and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) at 36 months. The results show that prior to 14 months, early transitive interactions correlate positively and intransitive interactions correlate negatively with CDI-III and MSEL scores at 36 months. By categorizing interactions between 5-14 months by transitivity, we have demonstrated that recurring triadic patterns can predict communicative abilities at 36 months.