Familiar faces, familiar spaces: Social similarity and co-presence in non-relational behavioral convergence

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
RACHEL BEHLER ◽  
CHAN SUH ◽  
MATTHEW BRASHEARS ◽  
YONGREN SHI

AbstractSocial influence is frequently measured through an ego's direct ties. Although influence may also stem from an ego's indirect ties, reference group, and casual contacts, it is difficult to capture their impact using existing network methods. We identify and trace the influence stemming from an ego's “familiar others,” consisting of those socially similar individuals with whom the ego comes in contact at school, but does not necessarily share a relationship. To evaluate the role of familiar others, we investigate unhealthy weight behaviors in adolescence using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Our results demonstrate that familiar others' unhealthy weight-related behaviors are strong predictors of the ego's own weight behaviors, net of immediate alters' behaviors, and individual-level characteristics. Further, we find that this relationship is stronger and more robust than that between egos and their direct ties. These results suggest that familiar others constitute a key source of social influence that is distinct from the influence of network alters.

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-125
Author(s):  
Wendi L. Johnson ◽  
Peggy C. Giordano

We build on prior research examining military involvement and criminal involvement by investigating the importance of acquiring the more complete “respectability package” that includes marriage as well as military experience and variations among White and Black respondents. Using data from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; n = 5,801), analyses use logistic regression models to assess associations of military service, marriage, and race with odds of reoffending among White and Black young adults who reported offending at Wave I. Military involvement was associated with lower odds of offending for Black respondents only, while marriage was associated with decreased odds of reoffending across both groups. Among Black respondents, analyses also highlighted the importance of acquiring both components of the respectability package (military service and marriage) in the context of today’s all-volunteer force in reducing criminal involvement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy E. Uecker ◽  
Lindsay R. Wilkinson

Research on education and mental health has focused primarily on the benefits of higher levels of educational attainment. Other aspects of education, such as college selectivity, may also be associated with mental health, and higher subjective social status (SSS) is a potential pathway through which college selectivity and mental health could be linked. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study (a) examines whether college selectivity influences mental health independent of objective measures of socioeconomic status and (b) assesses the role of SSS in this relationship. Among college graduates, attending a more selective college is associated with higher ratings of SSS, which in turn are associated with fewer depressive symptoms and lower perceived stress and anxiety. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of college selectivity and SSS in the mental health of young adults.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 702-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin W. Domingue ◽  
Daniel W. Belsky ◽  
Jason M. Fletcher ◽  
Dalton Conley ◽  
Jason D. Boardman ◽  
...  

Humans tend to form social relationships with others who resemble them. Whether this sorting of like with like arises from historical patterns of migration, meso-level social structures in modern society, or individual-level selection of similar peers remains unsettled. Recent research has evaluated the possibility that unobserved genotypes may play an important role in the creation of homophilous relationships. We extend this work by using data from 5,500 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine genetic similarities among pairs of friends. Although there is some evidence that friends have correlated genotypes, both at the whole-genome level as well as at trait-associated loci (via polygenic scores), further analysis suggests that meso-level forces, such as school assignment, are a principal source of genetic similarity between friends. We also observe apparent social–genetic effects in which polygenic scores of an individual’s friends and schoolmates predict the individual’s own educational attainment. In contrast, an individual’s height is unassociated with the height genetics of peers.


2011 ◽  
Vol 204-210 ◽  
pp. 174-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei Wen Liao ◽  
Chien Yu ◽  
Chin Cheh Yi

The study, based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), investigates the determinants of e-learning acceptance. We create a cross-level variable of the incentive and social influence to explore with the other variable context effect and the interaction effects in the acceptance of e-learning. Data collected from 932 respondents in Taiwan were tested against the research model using the hierarchical linear model approach. This model improved Yu, Liao, Wen’s research to detailed intended the learning environment. The results showed that individual-level variables (performance expectations, effort expectancy, perceived behavioral control), and group-level variables (incentive, social influence) have a positive effect on behavioral intention. The incentive has an effect on behavioral intention through the moderating role of manager influence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 3603-3617 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. McCutcheon ◽  
Stephen J. Watts

Gateway theory has been the source of much debate in both the research literature and public policy. Support for gateway sequencing has been mixed, especially in research that has considered the role of criminological variables in the etiology of substance use. For example, limited prior research has observed as important in gateway sequencing the effects of severe stressors. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health are utilized to test gateway theory and examine whether severe stressors affect the relationship between frequency of cannabis use and later use of other illicit drugs (OIDs). Findings suggest that while frequency of cannabis use does increase the likelihood of later use of OIDs, this relationship may be the result of the common cause of experiencing severe stress. Implications of the findings are discussed.


2020 ◽  
pp. 215686932091653
Author(s):  
Melissa Thompson ◽  
Lindsey Wilkinson ◽  
Hyeyoung Woo

Although originally considered to be a disorder of childhood, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasingly being diagnosed for the first time in adulthood. Yet we know little about the social characteristics (race, gender, and social class) of those first labeled in adulthood, how these differ from those first labeled in childhood/adolescence, and whether the ADHD label is applied proportionately across social groups given ADHD symptomology. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, the current research considers how typifications of ADHD affect application of the ADHD label in childhood/adolescence and in adulthood. Results indicate that even after controlling for ADHD symptoms, social characteristics are important predictors of the ADHD label in childhood/adolescence but are less influential in predicting ADHD labeling in adulthood. Additionally, results indicate the importance of race in moderating the association between childhood ADHD symptoms and application of the ADHD label throughout the life course.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2006 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Steel ◽  
M. Tranmer ◽  
D. Holt

Ecological analysis involves analysing aggregate data for groups of individuals to make inferences about relationships at the individual level. Often the results of such analyses give badly biased estimates. This paper will consider the sources of bias in linear regression analysis using aggregate data. The role of variation of the individual level relationships between groups and the consequent within-group correlations and how these are related to auxiliary variables that characterise the differences between groups is considered. A method of adjusting ecological regression for the effects of auxiliary variables is described and evaluated using data from the 1991 Australian Census.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Bears Augustyn ◽  
Dylan B. Jackson

Research suggests a link between precocious transitions to adulthood (e.g., high school dropout) and maladaptation, and this association is typically assumed to be uniform. We propose that this monolithic portrayal of precocious transitions as problematic for adult functioning is unwarranted, particularly across identities defined by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we use propensity score methodology to demonstrate that the effects of precocious transitions on adult antisocial behavior vary. Results indicate a general null effect of experiencing any precocious transition among low SES subgroups regardless of gender and race/ethnicity and criminogenic effects among more economically privileged subgroups, with the exception of Hispanic females. Additional analyses reveal that the effect of individual transitions further vary in significance across social identities, displaying a criminogenic effect among some subgroups and a null/protective effect among others. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.


2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052096666
Author(s):  
Brent Teasdale ◽  
Mindy S. Bradley

Studies consistently find lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning youth are more likely than other youth to experience discrimination, fear for their safety, and be victimized at school. We argue that same-sex attracted youth may be more likely to both carry weapons and to brandish those weapons as coping mechanisms in response to the strain of real or perceived mistreatment school. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Wave 1, 1994–1995), we examine the relationships between same-sex attraction, fear, victimization, weapon carrying, and weapon brandishing at school. We find that same-sex attracted youth are significantly more likely than other youth to carry a weapon to school, and to brandish the weapon in front of peers. Consistent with general strain explanations, victimization, discrimination, and fear mediate the association between sexual minority status and both outcomes. We discuss the implications of these patterns for primary prevention interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 800-800
Author(s):  
Haena Lee ◽  
Linda Waite

Abstract The role of childhood in shaping overall adult health has been well documented, especially for physical and mental health, but much less is known about the impact of early disadvantage on oral health in later life. Using data from the 2006 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study, we investigate the link between childhood financial and psychosocial adversity and edentulism over a six-year period among U.S. adults aged 51 and older. We find that those growing up with parents with fewer resources face higher risks of having lost all their tooth at baseline and during the follow-up. Adulthood socioeconomic status and health behaviors are strongly associated with the risk of edentulism, net of childhood conditions. However, the effect of low parental resources on the onset of edentulism persists when accounting for these life course factors. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Oral Health Interest Group.


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