Eisenberg Daniel, Golberstein Ezra, Whitlock Janis L
Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, United States.
Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Minnesota Population Center, 420 Delaware Street SE, MMC 729, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States.
J Health Econ. 2014 Jan;33:126-38. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.11.006. Epub 2013 Nov 23.
Social scientists continue to devote considerable attention to spillover effects for risky behaviors because of the important policy implications and the persistent challenges in identifying unbiased causal effects. We use the natural experiment of assigned college roommates to estimate peer effects for several measures of health risks: binge drinking, smoking, illicit drug use, gambling, having multiple sex partners, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-injury. We find significant peer effects for binge drinking but little evidence of effects for other outcomes, although there is tentative evidence that peer effects for smoking may be positive among men and negative among women. In contrast to prior research, the peer effects for binge drinking are significant for all subgroups defined by sex and prior drinking status. We also find that pre-existing risky behaviors predict the closeness of friendships, which underscores the significance of addressing selection biases in studies of peer effects.
由于重要的政策影响以及在确定无偏因果效应方面存在的持续挑战，社会科学家继续高度关注危险行为的溢出效应。我们利用分配大学室友这一自然实验，来估计同伴对几种健康风险指标的影响：酗酒、吸烟、非法药物使用、赌博、有多个性伴侣、自杀意念和非自杀性自伤。我们发现同伴对酗酒有显著影响，但几乎没有证据表明对其他结果有影响，不过有初步证据表明，同伴对吸烟的影响在男性中可能是积极的，在女性中可能是消极的。与先前的研究不同，同伴对酗酒的影响在按性别和先前饮酒状况定义的所有亚组中都很显著。我们还发现，先前存在的危险行为能预测友谊的亲密程度，这凸显了在同伴效应研究中解决选择偏差的重要性。
