School-based friendship networks and children's physical activity

A spatial analytical approach

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4589553
AutoresKyle Macdonald-Wallis (University of Bristol), Russell Jago (0000-0002-3394-0176, University of Bristol), Angie S Page (0000-0001-6427-9336, University of Bristol), Rowan Brockman (0000-0002-0342-2124, University of Bristol), Janice L Thompson (0000-0002-7312-3226, University of Bristol)
Ano2011
Volume73
Fascículo1
Páginas6-12
Data de publicação2011-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
EditoraElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.04.018
PMID21680072
PMCIDPMC3133642
OpenAlexW2071263849
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas26
Referências citadas41

Despite the known health benefits, the majority of children do not meet physical activity guidelines, with past interventions to increase physical activity yielding little success. Social and friendship networks have been shown to influence obesity, smoking and academic achievement, and peer-led interventions have successfully reduced the uptake of adolescent smoking. However, the role of social networks on physical activity is not clear. This paper investigates the extent to which friendship networks influence children's physical activity, and attempts to quantify the association using spatial analytical techniques to account for the social influence. Physical activity data were collected for 986 children, aged 10-11 years old, from 40 schools in Bristol, UK. Data from 559 children were used for analysis. Mean accelerometer counts per minute (CPM) and mean minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day (MVPA) were calculated as objective measures of physical activity. Children nominated up to 4 school-friends, and school-based friendship networks were constructed from these nominations. Networks were tested to assess whether physical activity showed spatial dependence (in terms of social proximity in social space) using Moran's I statistic. Spatial autoregressive modelling was then used to assess the extent of spatial dependence, whilst controlling for other known predictors of physical activity. This model was compared with linear regression models for improvement in goodness-of-fit. Results indicated spatial autocorrelation of both mean MVPA (I = .346) and mean CPM (I = .284) in the data, indicating that children clustered in friendship groups with similar activity levels. Spatial autoregressive modelling of mean MVPA concurred that spatial dependence was present (ρ = .26, p < .001), and improved model fit by 31% on the linear regression model. These results demonstrate an association between physical activity levels of children and their school-friends, and indicate that spatial modelling is an informative method for incorporating the influence of school social structure into physical activity analysis

Autoregressive model · Developmental psychology · Friendship · Multilevel model · Physical activity · Physical therapy · Psychological intervention · Sociology · Statistic · Statistics · Demography · Mathematics · Medicine · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Physical Activity and Health · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban Transport and Accessibility