A social network approach to measuring social interaction related to change of health behavior required 460 participants in a health promotion program to nominate up to five network members and to rate the supportiveness of each person in changing health behavior during the previous year. Exploratory factor analysis of intercorrelations of the eight items suggested two factors representing supportive and negative interaction with internal consistency reliability of .89 and .61, respectively.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BlackD. R.GleserL. J.KooyersK. J. (1990) A meta-analytic evaluation of couple weight loss programs. Health Psychology, 9, 330–347.
2.
CohenS.LichtensteinE.MbrmelsteinR.KingsolverK.BaerJ.KamarckT. (1988) Social support interventions for smoking cessation. In GottliebB. H. (Ed.), Marshalling social support: formats, processes and effects. New York: Sage. Pp. 211–240.
3.
ConnellC. M.FisherE. B.HoustonC. A. (1992) Relationships among social support, diabetes outcomes, and morale for older men and women. Journal of Aging and Health, 4, 77–100.
4.
FinneganD. L.SolerJ. R. (1984) Psychological factors associated with maintenance of improved health behaviors in postcoronary patients. Journal of Psychology, 119, 87–94.
5.
GordonA. J.ZrullM. (1991) Social networks and recovery: one year after inpatient treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 8, 143–152.
6.
KaplanR. M.HartwellS. L. (1987) Differential effects of social support and social network on physiological and social outcomes in men and women with Type II diabetes mellitus. Health Psychology, 6, 387–398.
7.
KaplanR. M.ToshimaM. T. (1990) The functional effects of social relationships on chronic illnesses and disability. In SarasonR. B.SarasonI. G.PierceG. R. (Eds.), Social support: an interactional view. New York: Wiley. Pp. 427–453.
8.
LassnerJ. B. (1991) Does social support aid in weight loss and smoking interventions? Reply from a family systems perspective. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 13, 66–72.
9.
LevyR. (1985) Social support and compliance: update. Journal of Hypertension, 3, 45–49.
10.
MarcouxB. C.TrenknerL. L.RosenstockI. M. (1990) Social networks and social support in weight loss. Patient Education and Counseling, 15, 229–238.
11.
RookK. (1984) The negative side of social interaction: impact on psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1097–1108.
12.
SchaferL. C.McCaulK. D.GlasgowR. E. (1986) Supportive and nonsupportive family behaviors: relationships to adherence and metabolic control in persons with Type I diabetes. Diabetes Care, 9, 179–185.
13.
SPSS, Inc. (1990) SPSS reference guide [computer program manual]. Chicago, IL: Author.
14.
ZimmermanR. S.ConnorC. (1989) Health promotion in context: the effects of significant others on health behavior change. Health Education Quarterly, 16, 57–75.
