Meng Jingbo
a Department of Communication , Michigan State University.
Health Commun. 2016 Dec;31(12):1460-71. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2015.1079760. Epub 2016 Apr 7.
A growing number of online social networks are designed with the intention to promote health by providing virtual space wherein individuals can seek and share information and support with similar others. Research has shown that real-world social networks have a significant influence on one's health behavior and outcomes. However, there is a dearth of studies on how individuals form social networks in virtual space and whether such online social networks exert any impact on individuals' health outcomes. Built on the Multi-Theoretical Multilevel (MTML) framework and drawing from literature on social influence, this study examined the mechanisms underlying the formation of an online health social network and empirically tested social influence on individual health outcomes through the network. Situated in a weight management social networking site, the study tracked a health buddy network of 709 users and their weight management activities and outcomes for 4 months. Actor-based modeling was used to test the joint dynamics of preferential selection and social influence among health buddies. The results showed that baseline, inbreeding, and health status homophily significantly predicted preferential selection of health buddies in the weight management social networking site, whereas self-interest in seeking experiential health information did not. The study also found peer influence of online health buddy networks on individual weight outcomes, such that an individual's odds of losing weight increased if, on average, the individual's health buddies were losing weight.
越来越多的在线社交网络旨在通过提供虚拟空间来促进健康，在这个空间里，个人可以与其他有相似情况的人寻求和分享信息以及获得支持。研究表明，现实世界中的社交网络对一个人的健康行为和结果有重大影响。然而，关于个人如何在虚拟空间中形成社交网络以及这种在线社交网络是否会对个人的健康结果产生任何影响的研究却很匮乏。基于多理论多层次（MTML）框架，并借鉴社会影响方面的文献，本研究考察了在线健康社交网络形成的潜在机制，并通过该网络对个体健康结果的社会影响进行了实证检验。该研究以一个体重管理社交网站为背景，追踪了709名用户的健康伙伴网络以及他们4个月的体重管理活动和结果。基于行动者的建模被用于测试健康伙伴之间优先选择和社会影响的联合动态。结果表明，基线、近亲繁殖和健康状况同质性显著预测了体重管理社交网站中健康伙伴的优先选择，而寻求体验性健康信息的自身利益则没有。该研究还发现了在线健康伙伴网络对个体体重结果的同伴影响，即如果一个人的健康伙伴平均而言正在减重，那么这个人减重的几率就会增加。
