Deck 9: Social Networks and Health Behavior

Question 1

A person who previously did not engage in physical activity starts exercising after starting a new job in which her new colleagues regularly engage in and talk about exercise. This is an example of:

A) Selection
B) Influence
C) Social support
D) Density
E) None of the above

Answer 1

Influence

Question 2

The concept of friends of friends becoming friends refers to:

A) Transitivity
B) Centralization
C) Density
D) Homophily
E) Reciprocity

Answer 2

Transitivity

Question 3

Which phrase best describes individuals with bridging positions?

A) They are especially sensitive to community norms and values
B) They may feel isolated as a result of their peripheral location
C) They are free from social norms of the community
D) They connect otherwise disconnected groups of people
E) They may feel more constrained by their immediate personal network

Answer 3

They connect otherwise disconnected groups of people

Question 4

Which scenario is an example of homophily?

A) Graduating college students attending a job fair to connect with prospective employers
B) Females are more likely to name male friends than vice versa
C) Smokers tend to befriend other smokers
D) Substance abusers are more likely to befriend non-substance abusers
E) Close friends are most likely to provide emotional support than distal friends

Question 5

Which statement does NOT describe individuals with central positions in their social network?

A) They learn about new ideas and have access to information earlier than others
B) They are more sensitive to community norms and values
C) They occupy strategic positions in the network
D) They are identified by high scores on algorithms which identify important nodes
E) They are weakly connected to others in their network, allowing them to exchange valuable information with different groups

Question 6

The number of links in the network divided by the number of possible links is called:

A) Density
B) Clustering
C) Transitivity
D) Centrality
E) Bridging

Question 7

What intervention was effective in reducing tobacco use among adolescents in the United Kingdom?

A) Using popular peer opinion leaders to promote anti-smoking norms
B) Supporting conversations about tobacco use between parents and adolescents
C) Promoting homophily by encouraging non-smokers not to interact with smokers
D) Creating opportunities for adolescents to disclose tobacco use
E) Punishing adolescents for tobacco use and rewarding them for cessation

Question 8

Highly clustered networks with pockets of dense interconnectivity:

A) Facilitate behavior change within and between clusters
B) Slow behavior change within and between clusters
C) Do not influence the rate of diffusion of innovations or behavior change
D) Facilitate behavior change within the cluster but slow behavior change between clusters
E) Have many peripheral and bridging members

Question 9

In a study to understand the adoption and diffusion of contraceptive use in Korean villages, which factor was found to be an important influence of behavior?

A) The family planning behaviors of village opinion leaders
B) The cost of contraceptives
C) The reciprocity among social connections
D) Emotional and instrumental support
E) The frequency of interactions with a healthcare provider

Question 10

In order to address the challenges related to estimating network influences on behavior, networks statisticians may use all of the following approaches EXCEPT:

A) Assign the network to be the dependent variable and the behavior to be the independent variable
B) Exponential random graph models with cross-sectional data
C) Stochastic actor-based models with longitudinal data
D) Specify the attributes of the nodes in the network using statistical software
E) Treat all data as independent regardless of network characteristics

Question 11

The lack of independence in network data lends to straightforward statistical analysis of Social Network Theory.

Question 12

Most interventions integrating network analysis focus on identifying opinion leaders or change agents.

Question 13

Incorporating network methods into other health behavior theories describes Social Support Theory.

Question 14

When an alcoholic maintains a social network of other alcoholics, it is an example of selection.

Question 15

When individuals wait until the majority of people in their network have engaged in a behavior before acting, they are said to have a high threshold to action.

Question 16

Depending on the context and situation, being in a peripheral position can be beneficial or harmful to health.

Question 17

Networks with high rates of homophily are less resistant to change than those with low homophily.

Question 18

Although Social Network Analysis gained popularity in the 1960's and 70's, it has become less relevant with the increased use of the Internet and access to big data.

Question 19

Social support is one branch of social network research.

Question 20

Social Network Theory was developed to describe the relationships among individuals and is not appropriate to describe the relationships between organizations or governments.

Question 21

Based on the studies presented in this chapter, what network characteristics influenced the adoption and diffusion of contraceptive use in developing countries? How might this knowledge be used to design an intervention promoting access to contraception among newly arrived immigrants in the United States?

Question 22

Which constructs are used to describe social networks? Which constructs are used to describe relationships within a social network?