Identifying Mechanisms of Peer Influence on Youth Weight-Related Behaviors

确定同伴影响青少年体重相关行为的机制

基本信息

批准号：
10194562
负责人：
James A Kitts
金额：
$ 57.09万
依托单位：
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2016-09-16 至 2023-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10194562
关键词：
Address Adolescence Adolescent Affect Age Athletic Beds Behavior Child Computer software Data Data Analyses Data Collection Development Diet Dietary Practices Dietary intake Diffusion Discrimination Etiology Evolution Exposure to Feedback Friends Friendships Future General Population Grain Health Health behavior Influentials Intervention Investigation Life Literature Measures Mediating Methods Middle School Student Modeling Natural experiment Nature Obesity Overweight Patient Self-Report Physical activity Physiology Play Policy Analysis Prevalence Privacy Process Psychosocial Factor Public Health Quasi-experiment Randomized Research Respondent Risk Factors Schedule Schools Science Seasons Self Efficacy Shapes Social Behavior Social Interaction Social Network Social support Statistical Data Interpretation Structure Students System Testing Theory of Change Time Uncertainty United States Weight Youth base cohort comorbidity contextual factors design effective intervention eighth grade excessive weight gain experience improved innovation insight junior high school next generation obesity in children peer peer influence platform-independent population health prevent simulation social social structure success therapy design tv watching user-friendly virtual

项目摘要

Summary The United States has experienced a two to three fold increase in pediatric obesity since the 1970’s. To date, school-based interventions to prevent and treat overweight and obesity have realized only limited success. Many of these interventions are guided by health behavior theories and change strategies that address the issue from multiple levels of influence. There is, however, limited information regarding peer influence on youth weight status and weight-related behaviors, such as physical activity, screen time, and dietary patterns. A growing body of literature suggests that such weight-related behaviors are similar among friends, but the mechanisms underlying this clustering of behaviors remain unclear. Friends may influence each other, but also similar students may become friends, or friends may be exposed to similar outside influences. A better understanding of these phenomena would facilitate design of more effective interventions that can leverage the power of peer influence. Therefore, the purpose of this proposed study is to identify these mechanisms of action by collecting and analyzing social network and weight-related behavior data in a cohort of diverse young adolescents during their middle school years (6th to 8th grade). We will distinctly measure networks of interaction (whom the respondent spends his/her time with), sentiments (whom the respondent likes), and organized activities (classes, clubs, and teams). Data will be collected several times each academic year allowing us to analyze these processes in fine time grain and to use external changes in the organized activities as natural experiments and quasi-experiments on social network structures and weight-related behaviors. Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models will be used to rigorously analyze the co-evolution of the network structure and weight-related behaviors. Using findings from those statistical analyses, Agent-Based (simulation) Models will be developed to incorporate direct causal relationships and feedbacks as well as the shapes of these effects over time. Such models will be used to simulate potential intervention scenarios on the behaviors and ultimately, weight status. The proposed research will identify unique leverage points for targeting and timing of WRB interventions. We anticipate that next generation WRB interventions will be able to use the information obtained from this study to improve their ability to prevent excess weight gain in youth thereby reducing the current and future prevalence of related health risk factors and co-morbidities. The project will produce an empirically calibrated test bed for developing, testing, and evaluating intervention strategies, which can be shared with the general public along with privacy-protected study data.

概括自1970年代以来，美国的小儿肥胖症已经增加了两到三倍。迄今为止，以学校为基础的预防和治疗超重和肥胖的干预措施仅实现了有限的成功。这些干预措施中的许多都以健康行为理论为指导，并改变了解决该策略来自多个影响的问题。但是，关于同伴对青年的影响的信息有限体重状况和与体重有关的行为，例如体育锻炼，筛查时间和饮食模式。一个越来越多的文献表明，这种与体重相关的行为在朋友中相似，但是行为群集的基础机制尚不清楚。朋友可能会互相影响，但也可能类似的学生可能会成为朋友，或者朋友可能会受到类似的外部影响。更好了解这些现象将有助于设计更有效的干预措施，以利用同伴影响力的力量。因此，这项拟议的研究的目的是确定通过收集和分析社交网络和与体重相关的行为数据的行动青少年在中学年（6至8年级）。我们将明确测量互动（响应的时间都花在他/她的时间上），情感（回应喜欢）和有组织的活动（课程，俱乐部和团队）。数据将在每个学年收集几次允许我们在精细的时间谷物中分析这些过程，并在有组织的活动作为社交网络结构的自然实验和准实验和与权重有关的活动行为。随机参与者的模型将用于严格分析网络的共同发展结构和与体重有关的行为。使用这些统计分析的发现，基于代理（仿真）将开发模型以结合直接的因果关系和反馈以及随着时间的流逝，这些影响的形状。这样的模型将用于模拟在行为，最终是体重状况。拟议的研究将确定独特的杠杆点 WRB干预措施的目标和时机。我们预计下一代WRB干预将能够利用从这项研究中获得的信息来提高其防止年轻人体重增加超过体重增加的能力从而减少相关健康危险因素和合并症的当前和未来患病率。项目将产生经验校准的测试床，用于开发，测试和评估干预策略，可以与公众共享，以及受隐私保护的研究数据。