Structural Characteristics of Infection Control Behaviors among Late Adolescents

A Social Network Analysis Approach

Bibliographic Data

ID15329118
AuthorsSungmin Son (0000-0001-5660-192X, Yonsei University, corresponding author), Jinseok Oh (0000-0003-2301-5259, Soonchunhyang Exceptional Child Institute, University of Soonchunhyang, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea)
Year2025
Volume49
Issue5
Pages583-596
Publication date2025-10-31
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Health Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1087-3244 • E-ISSN: 1945-7359
PublisherPNG Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5993/ajhb.49.5.8
OpenAlexW7109139742
LanguageEN
References cited16

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to examine the structural characteristics of infection control behaviors among late adolescents through social network analysis (SNA), providing insights for tailored infection prevention strategies. Methods: We analyzed data from 42 university students 19‐24 years of age using a self-administered online survey and preprocessed for SNA. We assessed infection control behaviors with the Korean-style Infection Control Assessment (K‐ICA), and a one-mode network was constructed to calculate network density, inclusiveness, mean distance, centrality indices, cohesion structures, and Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) correlations. Results: The male network demonstrated higher density (0.389 vs 0.365) and shorter mean distance (1.581 vs 1.635) compared to females, indicating denser behavioral connections. Females exhibited full inclusiveness (1.000) with no isolated nodes, reflecting a consistent practice pattern. Degree centrality analysis identified “Mask use when going out” as most central for males, while “Indoor physical activity” was most central for females. Cohesion analysis revealed 5 behavioral clusters for males and 4 for females. QAP correlation analysis showed a statistically significant structural similarity between networks (r = 0.472, p = .001). Conclusions: Infection control behaviors among late adolescents demonstrate gender-specific network structures and organizational patterns. These findings highlight the importance of gender-sensitive, contextually-tailored infection prevention education and interventions

Centrality · Cohesion (chemistry · Control (management · Control network · Correlation · Network analysis · Social network (sociolinguistics · Social network analysis · Structural equation modeling · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Infection Control in Healthcare · Mental Health Research Topics

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