Elucidation of social networks that determine health-related behaviors: Examinations from the perspectives of structure and medium

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K19455
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 58030:Hygiene and public health-related: excluding laboratory approach
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Daisuke Takagi 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科(医学部), 講師 (10724726)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 社会的ネットワーク / 社会ネットワーク分析 / 健康行動

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examined how smoking behavior is shared within one’s personal social network, using social survey data. Using the name generator method, I obtained information on social attributes, health-related behaviors, and communication media of respondents’ four intimate friends, as well as social ties between the four people. The results confirmed that respondents’ and their friends’ smoking behaviors were positively associated. Especially, smoking behavior of “popular” friends, which were measured as the eigenvector centrality, were strongly associated with respondents’ behavior. Furthermore, the associations were pronounced among respondents with shorter years of education. These results suggested that susceptibility to social influence from one’s personal social network may partly explain the disparity in smoking behavior across socioeconomic positions.

Free Research Field

社会心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

固有ベクトル中心性によって測定されたネットワーク内他者の構造的特徴が喫煙行動の社会的伝播に交互作用効果を持ちうること、とくにそれが教育年数の短い人々の間で顕著であることを初めて実証的に確認した点に、本研究の学術的意義がある。また、本研究の社会的意義として、これらの知見は禁煙プログラムにおいて参加者の親密な他者の特性を考慮に入れる必要があることを示唆している。すなわち、対人ネットワークを考慮に入れた禁酒プログラムのように、禁煙においても、とくに影響を受けやすい参加者には、ネットワーク構造を考慮し喫煙との関連が強い社会的紐帯からの影響力を減少させるような介入方略が効果的であることが示唆された。