University of Adelaide and CSIRO Preventative Health Flagship, South Australia, Australia.
Soc Sci Med. 2011 Sep;73(5):719-28. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.06.023. Epub 2011 Jul 12.
The current study explored the role of school-based friendship networks in adolescents' engagement in physical activity (PA). It was hypothesized that similar participation in PA would be a basis for friendship formation, and that friends would also influence behavior. Whether these processes were mediated through cognitive mechanisms was also explored. Self-reported participation in PA, cognitions about PA, and friendship ties to grade-mates were measured in two cohorts of Australian grade eight students (N = 378; M age = 13.7) three times over the 2008 school year. Interdependence between the friendship networks and PA was tested using stochastic actor-based models for social networks and behavior. The results showed that participants tended to befriend peers who did similar amounts of PA, and subsequently emulated their friends' behaviors. Friends' influence on PA was not found to be mediated through adolescents' cognitions about PA. These findings show that there is a mutually dependent relationship between adolescent friendship networks and PA; they highlight how novel network-based strategies may be effective in supporting young people to be physically active.
本研究探讨了基于学校的友谊网络在青少年参与身体活动 (PA) 中的作用。研究假设，相似的 PA 参与将成为友谊形成的基础，而朋友也会影响行为。还探讨了这些过程是否通过认知机制来介导。在 2008 学年期间，通过两次澳大利亚八年级学生队列（N = 378；M 年龄 = 13.7）的三次测量，评估了自我报告的 PA 参与、对 PA 的认知以及与年级同伴的友谊关系。使用社交网络和行为的随机主体模型来测试友谊网络和 PA 之间的相互依存关系。结果表明，参与者倾向于与 PA 量相似的同伴交朋友，然后模仿他们朋友的行为。没有发现朋友对 PA 的影响是通过青少年对 PA 的认知来介导的。这些发现表明，青少年友谊网络和 PA 之间存在相互依存的关系；它们强调了基于网络的新策略如何有效地支持年轻人进行身体活动。
