Combining theories of health lifestyles—interrelated health behaviors arising from group-based identities—with those of network and behavior change, we investigated network characteristics of health lifestyles and the role of influence and selection processes underlying these characteristics. We examined these questions in two high schools using longitudinal, complete friendship network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Latent class analyses characterized each school’s predominant health lifestyles using several health behavior domains. School-specific stochastic actor-based models evaluated the bidirectional relationship between friendship networks and health lifestyles. Predominant lifestyles remained stable within schools over time, even as individuals transitioned between lifestyles. Friends displayed greater similarity in health lifestyles than nonfriend dyads. Similarities resulted primarily from teens’ selection of friends with similar lifestyles but also from teens influencing their peers’ lifestyles. This study demonstrates the salience of health lifestyles for adolescent development and friendship networks.
adamsjimiLippertAdam M.. 2019. “Under the Radar: Simplifying the Representation of Latent Class Characteristics.”Socius5. doi:10.1177/2378023119873498.
2.
adamsjimiSchaeferDavid R.. 2016. “How Initial Prevalence Moderates Network-Based Smoking Change: Estimating Contextual Effects with Stochastic Actor Based Models.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior57(1):22–36.
3.
adamsjimiSchaeferDavid R.. 2018. “Visualizing Stochastic Actor-Based Model Microsteps.”Socius4. doi:10.1177/2378023118816545.
4.
adamsjimiSchaeferDavid R.EttekalAndrea Vest. 2020. “Crafting Mosaics: Person-Centered Religious Influence and Selection in Adolescent Friendships.”Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion59(1):39–61.
5.
BarberBonnie L.EcclesJacquelynne S.StoneMargaret R.. 2001. “Whatever Happened to the Jock, the Brain, and the Princess? Young Adult Pathways Linked to Adolescent Activity Involvement and Social Identity.”Journal of Adolescent Research16(5):429–55.
BlauPeter M.1977. Inequality and Heterogeneity: A Primitive Theory of Social Structure. New York, NY: Free Press.
8.
BojanowskiMichałCortenRense. 2014. “Measuring Segregation in Social Networks.”Social Networks39:14–32.
9.
BolckAnnabelCroonMarcelHagenaarsJacques. 2004. “Estimating Latent Structure Models with Categorical Variables: One-Step Versus Three-Step Estimators.”Political Analysis12(1):3–27.
10.
BrayBethany C.LanzaStephanie T.XianmingTan. 2015. “Eliminating Bias in Classify-Analyze Approaches for Latent Class Analysis.”Structural Equation Modeling22(1):1–11.
11.
BrechwaldWhitney A.PrinsteinMitchell J.. 2011. “Beyond Homophily: A Decade of Advances in Understanding Peer Influence Processes.”Journal of Research on Adolescence21(1):166–79.
12.
BrenerNancy D.CollinsJanet L.. 1998. “Co-Occurrence of Health-Risk Behaviors among Adolescents in the United States.”Journal of Adolescent Health22(3):209–13.
13.
BurdetteAmy M.NeedhamBelinda L.TaylorMiles G.HillTerrence D.. 2017. “Health Lifestyles in Adolescence and Self-Rated Health into Adulthood.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior58(4):520–36.
14.
CockerhamWilliam C.2005. “Health Lifestyle Theory and the Convergence of Agency and Structure.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior46(1):51–67.
15.
CockerhamWilliam C.2013. “Bourdieu and an Update of Health Lifestyle Theory.” Pp. 127–54 in Medical Sociology on the Move, edited by CockerhamW. C.. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
16.
Cohen-ColeEthanFletcherJason M.. 2008. “Detecting Implausible Social Network Effects in Acne, Height and Headaches: Longitudinal Analysis.”BMJ337:a2533. doi:10.1136/bmj.a2533.
17.
DawJonathanMargolisRachelWrightLaura. 2017. “Emerging Adulthood, Emergent Health Lifestyles: Sociodemographic Determinants of Trajectories of Smoking, Binge Drinking, Obesity, and Sedentary Behavior.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior58(2):181–97.
18.
de la HayeKaylaGreenHarold D.KennedyDavid R.PollardMichaelTuckerJoan S.. 2013. “Selection and Influence Mechanisms Associated with Marijuana Initiation and Use in Adolescent Friendship Networks.”Journal of Research on Adolescence23(3):474–86.
19.
de la HayeKaylaRobinsGarryMohrPhilipWilsonCarlene. 2011. “How Physical Activity Shapes and Is Shaped by Adolescent Friendships.”Social Science & Medicine73(5):719–28.
20.
EnnettSusan T.BaumanKarl E.HussongAndreaFarisRobertFosheeVangie A.CaiLiDurantRobert H.. 2006. “The Peer Context of Adolescent Substance Use: Findings from Social Network Analysis.”Journal of Research on Adolescence16(2):159–86.
21.
FrankKenneth A.MullerChandraSchillerKathryn S.Riegle-CrumbCatherineMuellerAnna StrassmannCrosnoeRobertPearsonJennifer. 2008. “The Social Dynamics of Mathematics Coursetaking in High School.”American Journal of Sociology113(6):1645–96.
22.
FrankenAartPrinsteinMitchell J.DijkstraJan KornelisSteglichChristian E. G.HarakehZeenaVolleberghWilma A. M.. 2016. “Early Adolescent Friendship Selection Based on Externalizing Behavior: The Moderating Role of Pubertal Development. The Snare Study.”Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology44(8):1647–57.
23.
FrechAdrienne. 2012. “Healthy Behavior Trajectories between Adolescence and Young Adulthood.”Advances in Life Course Research17(2):59–68.
24.
FriedkinNoah E.CookKaren S.. 1990. “Peer Group Influence.”Sociological Methods & Research19(1):122–43.
25.
FrohlichKatherine L.PotvinLouise. 1999. “Collective Lifestyles as the Target for Health Promotion.”Canadian Journal of Public Health90(S1):S11–14.
26.
GestScott D.OsgoodD. WayneFeinbergMark E.BiermanKaren L.MoodyJames. 2011. “Strengthening Prevention Program Theories and Evaluations: Contributions from Social Network Analysis.”Prevention Science12(4):349–60.
27.
GoldbergAmirSteinSarah K.. 2018. “Beyond Social Contagion: Associative Diffusion and the Emergence of Cultural Variation.”American Sociological Review83(5):897–932.
28.
GreenHarold D.HortaMarianade la HayeKaylaTuckerJoan S.KennedyDavid R.PollardMichael. 2013. “Peer Influence and Selection Processes in Adolescent Smoking Behavior: A Comparative Study.”Nicotine & Tobacco Research15(2):534–41.
29.
HaasSteven A.SchaeferDavid R.. 2014. “With a Little Help from My Friends: Asymmetrical Social Influence on Adolescent Smoking Initiation and Cessation.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior55(2):126–43.
30.
HuismanMarkSteglichChristian. 2008. “Treatment of Non-response in Longitudinal Network Studies.”Social Networks30(4):297–308.
31.
JungTonyWickramaK. A. S.. 2008. “An Introduction to Latent Class Growth Analysis and Growth Mixture Modeling.”Social and Personality Psychology Compass2(1):302–17.
32.
KandelDenise B.1978. “Homophily, Selection, and Socialization in Adolescent Friendships.”American Journal of Sociology84(2):427–36.
33.
KirkeDeirdre M.2004. “Chain Reactions in Adolescents’ Cigarette, Alcohol and Drug Use: Similarity through Peer Influence or the Patterning of Ties in Peer Networks.”Social Networks26(1):3–28.
34.
KruegerPatrick M.BhalooTajudaullahRosenauPauline Vaillancourt. 2009. “Health Lifestyles in the United States and Canada: Are We Really So Different?”Social Science Quarterly90(5):1380–402.
35.
LawrenceElizabeth M.MollbornStefanieHummerRobert A.. 2017. “Health Lifestyles across the Transition to Adulthood: Implications for Health.”Social Science & Medicine193:23–32.
36.
LewisKevinKaufmanJason. 2018. “The Conversion of Cultural Tastes into Social Network Ties.”American Journal of Sociology123(6):1684–742.
37.
LiefbroerAart C.ElzingaCees H.. 2012. “Intergenerational Transmission of Behavioural Patterns: How Similar Are Parents’ and Children’s Demographic Trajectories?”Advances in Life Course Research17(1):1–10.
38.
LinzerDrewLewisJeffrey. 2011. “PoLCA: An R Package for Polytomous Variable Latent Class Analysis.”Journal of Statistical Software42(10):1–29. doi:10.18637/jss.v042.i10.
39.
LospinoJoshua A.2012. “Statistical Models for Social Network Dynamics.”PhD dissertation, Department of Statistics, University of Oxford.
40.
MarsdenPeter V.1988. “Homogeneity in Confiding Relations.”Social Networks10(1):57–76.
41.
McCutcheonAllen L.1987. Latent Class Analysis: Thousand Oaks, CA. SAGE.
McPhersonMillerSmith-LovinLynnCookJames M.. 2001. “Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks.”Annual Review of Sociology27:415–44.
44.
MollbornStefanieDomingueBenjamin W.BoardmanJason D.. 2014. “Norms as Group-Level Constructs: Investigating School-Level Teen Pregnancy Norms and Behaviors.”Social Forces93(1):241–67.
45.
MollbornStefanieJames-HawkinsLaurieLawrenceElizabethFombyPaula. 2014. “Health Lifestyles in Early Childhood.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior55(4):386–402.
46.
MollbornStefanieLawrenceElizabethJames-HawkinsLaurieFombyPaula. 2014. “How Resource Dynamics Explain Accumulating Developmental and Health Disparities for Teen Parents’ Children.”Demography51(4):1199–224.
47.
MollbornStefanieRiglesBethanyPaceJennifer A.. 2021. “‘Healthier Than Just Healthy’: Families Transmitting Health as Cultural Capital.”Social Problems68(3):574–90.
48.
MoodyJames. 2001. “Race, School Integration, and Friendship Segregation in America.”American Journal of Sociology107(3):679–716.
49.
MoodyJamesFeinbergMark E.OsgoodD. WayneGestScott D.. 2010. “Mining the Network: Peers and Adolescent Health.”Journal of Adolescent Health47(4):324–26.
50.
ResnickMichael D.BearmanPeter S.BlumRobert W.BaumanKarl E.HarrisKathleen M.JonesJoTaborJoyce, et al1997. “Protecting Adolescents from Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health.”Journal of the American Medical Association278(10):832–43.
51.
RipleyRuth M.SnijdersTom A. B.BodaZsófiaVorosAndrásPreciadoPaulina. 2019. Manual for Rsiena. Oxford, UK: University of Oxford, Department of Statistics, Nuffield College.
52.
SchaeferDavid R.adamsjimi. 2017. “The Coevolution of Networks and Health: Introduction to the Special Issue of Network Science.”Network Science5(3):249–56.
53.
SchaeferDavid R.KornienkoOlgaFoxAndrew M.. 2011. “Misery Does Not Love Company: Network Selection Mechanisms and Depression Homophily.”American Sociological Review75(5):764–85.
54.
ShaliziCosma RohillaThomasAndrew C.. 2011. “Homophily and Contagion Are Generically Confounded in Observational Social Network Studies.”Sociological Methods & Research40(2):211–39.
55.
SmithKirsten P.ChristakisNicholas A.. 2008. “Social Networks and Health.”Annual Review of Sociology34:405–29.
56.
SnijdersTom A. B.2001. “The Statistical Evaluation of Social Network Dynamics.”Sociological Methodology31:361–95.
57.
SnijdersTom A. B.2011. “Statistical Models for Social Networks.”Annual Review of Sociology37:129–51.
58.
SnijdersTom A. B.LomiAlessandroTorlóVanina Jasmine. 2013. “A Model for the Multiplex Dynamics of Two-Mode and One-Mode Networks, with an Application to Employment Preference, Friendship, and Advice.”Social Networks35(2):265–76.
59.
SnijdersTom A. B.van de BuntGerhardSteglichChristian E. G.. 2010. “Introduction to Stochastic Actor-Based Models for Network Dynamics.”Social Networks32(1):44–60.
60.
SteadMartineMcDermottLauraMacKintoshAnne MarieAdamsonAshley. 2011. “Why Healthy Eating Is Bad for Young People’s Health: Identity, Belonging and Food.”Social Science & Medicine72(7):1131–39.
61.
SteglichChristianSnijdersTom A. B.PearsonMichael. 2010. “Dynamic Networks and Behavior: Separating Selection from Influence.”Sociological Methodology40(1):329–93.
62.
StetsJan E.BurkePeter J.. 2000. “Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory.”Social Psychology Quarterly63(3):224–37.
63.
StrangDavidSouleSarah A.. 1998. “Diffusion in Organizations and Social Movements: From Hybrid Corn to Poison Pills.”Annual Review of Sociology24:265–90.
64.
SussmanStevePokhrelPallayAshmoreRichard D.BrownB. Bradford. 2007. “Adolescent Peer Group Identification and Characteristics: A Review of the Literature.”Addictive Behaviors32(8):1602–27.
65.
ValenteThomas W.2010. Social Networks and Health: Models, Methods, and Applications. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
66.
VermutJeroen K.MagidsonJay. 2002. “Latent Cluster Analysis.” Pp. 89–106 in Applied Latent Class Analysis, edited by HagenaarsJ. A.McCutcheonA. L.. New York, NY: Cambridge.
67.
WilliamsSimon J.1995. “Theorising Class, Health and Lifestyles: Can Bourdieu Help Us?”Sociology of Health and Illness17(5):577–604.
68.
WimmerAndreasLewisKevin. 2010. “Beyond and Below Racial Homophily: ERG Models of a Friendship Network Documented on Facebook.”American Journal of Sociology116(2):583–642.
69.
ZweigJanine M.PhillipsStacey D.LindbergLaura Duberstein. 2002. “Predicting Adolescent Profiles of Risk: Looking Beyond Demographics.”Journal of Adolescent Health31(4):343–53.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
