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Evidence Base Home » Social Cohesion and Social Integration » Social networks can help create and promote healthy social behaviors by shaping the flow of resources and information which determine access to opportunities and constraints on behavior

Articles in Social networks can help create and promote healthy social behaviors by shaping the flow of resources and information which determine access to opportunities and constraints on behavior.

  • Women who are overweight (BMI 25-29) are twice as likely to report low social participation.

    Ali SM, Lindstrom M. (2006) Socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioral, and psychological determinants of BMI among young women: differing patterns for underweight and overweight/obesity. European Journal of Public Health 16(3):325-31.

  • A program using social networks to disseminate information about sexually transmitted diseases noted that 60% of the information recipients sought care for an STD within 3 days of symptoms.

    Thomas JC, Eng E, Earp JA, Ellis H. 2001. Trust and collaboration in the prevention of sexually trasmitted diseases. Public Health Report 116(6):540-547.

  • An intervention relying on information dissemination by popular opinion leaders showed results in decreasing high risk sexual behaviors in gay men by approximately 30%.

    Kelly JA. 2004. Popular opinion leaders and HIV prevention peer education: Resolving discrepant findings, and implications for the development of effective community programs. AIDS Care 16(2):139-50.

  • A program in Oakland, CA where teen peer educators present violence prevention workshops in schools has shown that 94% of program members feel they can talk a friend out of carrying a gun, 75% are more likely to look for alternatives to violent situations, and there is an 80% lower truancy rate.

    Youth ALIVE! Program Description. PreventViolence.org. Available at HYPERLINK "http://www.preventviolence.org/index.html" Also at HYPERLINK "http://www.youthalive.org/"

  • Social ties provide access to new health-related information and resources, enhancing people’s actual control and improving their ability to solve various problems. Members of wide networks are well informed about health issues.

    Erickson B. 2003. Social Networks: The Value of Variety. Contexts 2: 25–31.

  • Social network can help promote health by spreading healthy norms and exerting social control over unhealthy behaviors.

    Christakis NA, Fowler JH. 2008. The collective dynamics of smoking in a large social network. N Engl J Med. 358(21):2249-58.
    Kawachi I., Kennedy BP, Glass R. 1999. Social Capital and Self-Rated Health: A Contextual Analysis. American Journal of Public Health 89: 1187–93.

  • Both the positive and negative aspects of friend relationships are associated with psychological wellbeing, self-care behavior, and physical health of adolescents with diabetes, with the latter relations being stronger than the former.

    Helgeson VS, Lopez LC, Kamarck T. 2009. Peer Relationships and Diabetes: Retrospective and Ecological Momentary Assessment Approaches. Health Psychology 28(3): 273-282.
    Helgeson VS, Reynolds KA, Escobar O, Siminerio L, Becker D. 2007. The role of friendship in the lives of male and female adolescents: Does diabetes make a difference? Journal of Adolescent Health 40, 36–43.