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Franken SC, Smit CR, de Leeuw RN, van Woudenberg TJ, Burk WJ, Bevelander KE, Buijzen M. Understanding the behavioral determinants of adolescents' water consumption: A cross-country comparative study. Dialogues Health 2023; 2:100101. [PMID: 38515488 PMCID: PMC10953952 DOI: 10.1016/j.dialog.2023.100101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Substituting the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) with that of water can have a positive effect on adolescents' health. However, despite the attention on this topic in the Global North, it is relatively understudied in other regions of the world, such as the Caribbean. To guide the development of future interventions, understanding the factors determining water consumption among Caribbean adolescents is important. This study examined the behavioral determinants of water consumption among adolescents in Aruba (the Caribbean) and compared them to those in the Netherlands (Western Europe). We used a theoretical model that integrates the dominant theoretical perspectives in the field of public health, including theories of planned behavior, social norms, and intrinsic motivation. This cross-country study included 1,584 adolescents from Aruba and the Netherlands (52% girls; M = 12.34 years; SD = 2.14). The data were analyzed using regression analyses. This study found that in Aruba, adolescents with higher scores of intrinsic motivation, friends' descriptive norms, attitudes, and behavioral control regarding water consumption drank more water. Moreover, the associations between water consumption and both intrinsic motivation as well as friends' descriptive norms for adolescents in Aruba were stronger than those found in the Netherlands. These associations imply that it is even more important for Aruban adolescents than Dutch adolescents to be intrinsically motivated or to perceive their friends often consuming water to drink more water. The cross-country comparison implies that future interventions in Aruba aimed at increasing adolescents' water consumption as an alternative to SSB should focus on enhancing their intrinsic motivation while considering their friends' social norms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia C.M. Franken
- Faculty for Accounting, Finance, and Marketing, University of Aruba, J.E. Irausquinplein 4, Oranjestad, Aruba
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Crystal R. Smit
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Rebecca N.H. de Leeuw
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Thabo J. van Woudenberg
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - William J. Burk
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Kirsten E. Bevelander
- Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University and Medical Centre, P.O. Box 9102, 6500 HC Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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Polman MAA, Beckers D, Burk WJ, Smit CR, Buijzen M, Vink JM, van den Broek N, Larsen JK. The effect of a multi-component school-based social network intervention on children's body mass index: a four-arm intervention study. Psychol Health 2023:1-18. [PMID: 36803013 DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2023.2179084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
Objective: Schools are considered an important setting for stimulating healthy weight. The current study is unique in examining effects of a multi-component school-based social network intervention on children's body mass index z-scores (zBMI).Methods: Four schools were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: a social network intervention using influence agents focusing on water consumption, physical activity, a combination of the two, or a passive control condition. Participants included a total of 201 6- to-11-year-old children (53.7% girls; Mage = 8.51, SDage = 0.93). At baseline, 149 (76.0%) participants had a healthy weight, 29 (14.8%) had overweight and 18 (9.2%) had obesity.Results: Linear mixed effect models indicated that a multi-component school-based social network intervention targeting both water consumption and physical activity was most effective in decreasing children's zBMI.Conclusion: This study suggests that schools can contribute to the intervention of childhood obesity-even without involving the parents-by targeting both children's water consumption and physical activity through influential peers, but more research is needed to identify mechanisms of change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marloes A A Polman
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Desi Beckers
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - William J Burk
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Crystal R Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jacqueline M Vink
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Nina van den Broek
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Junilla K Larsen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Smit CR, Bevelander KE, de Leeuw RNH, Buijzen M. Motivating Social Influencers to Engage in Health Behavior Interventions. Front Psychol 2022; 13:885688. [PMID: 35936257 PMCID: PMC9354713 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.885688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social influencers are widely known as the promotors of purchase behavior as well as for their potential to change health behaviors among individuals in their social networks. For social influencers to be successful in changing behaviors, it is essential that they convey their message in an authentic, original, credible, and persistent manner. In the context of health behavior interventions, this requires a focus on the motivation of social influencers to engage in the intervention. This perspective article describes the importance of motivating social influencers to engage in the desired health behaviors themselves and to promote it within their social network. We briefly describe the current state of knowledge and our empirical experience in implementing health interventions with social influencers. Using insights from self-determination theory, we demonstrate how social influencers can be motivated optimally in health behavior interventions and, thereby, improving the success of the intervention. To illustrate these insights and guide intervention practice, we provide concrete examples of techniques that can be applied in health interventions involving social influencers. We conclude with directions for further research and intervention practice to improve the delivery of health behavior interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal R. Smit
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- *Correspondence: Crystal R. Smit
| | - Kirsten E. Bevelander
- Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University and Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Moniek Buijzen
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Smit CR, de Leeuw RNH, Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, van Woudenberg TJ, Buijs L, Buijzen M. Promoting water consumption among Dutch children: an evaluation of the social network intervention Share H 2O. BMC Public Health 2021; 21:202. [PMID: 33482776 PMCID: PMC7825228 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-10161-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background There is a need to develop and improve interventions promoting healthy drinking behaviors among children. A promising method could be to stimulate peer influence within children’s social networks. In the Share H2O social network intervention (SNI), peer influence was utilized by selecting a subset of influential children and training them as ‘influence agents’ to promote water consumption—as an alternative to SSBs. Previous research has mainly focused on the process of selecting influence agents. However, the process of motivating influence agents to promote the behavior has hardly received any research attention. Therefore, in the SNI Share H2O SNI, this motivation process was emphasized and grounded in the self-determination theory (SDT). This study evaluated the implementation of the Share H2O SNI, focusing on whether and how applying SDT-based techniques can motivate the influence agents and, indirectly, their peers. Methods This study included data collected in the Netherlands from both the influence agents (n = 37) and the peers (n = 112) in the classroom networks of the influence agents. Self-reported measurements assessed the influence agents’ enjoyment of the training, duration and perceived autonomy support during the training, and changes in their intrinsic motivation and water consumption before and after the start of the intervention. Changes in the peers’ intrinsic motivation, perceived social support, and social norms were measured before and after the start of the intervention. Results The influence agents enjoyed the training, the duration was adequate, and perceived it as autonomy supportive. There was an increase in the influence agents’ intrinsic motivation to drink water and their actual water consumption. Providing personal meaningful rationales seemed to have motivated the influence agents. The intrinsic motivation and perceived descriptive norm of the peers remained stable. The peers reported an increase in their perceived social support and injunctive norm concerning water drinking after the intervention. Influence agents appeared to mainly use face-to-face strategies, such as modeling, talking to peers, and providing social support to promote the behavior. Conclusions The current findings provided preliminary evidence of the promising effects of using SDT-based techniques in an SNI to motivate the influence agents and, indirectly, their peers. Trial registration NTR, NL6905, Registered 9 January 2018, https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/6905
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal R Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. .,Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | | | - Kirsten E Bevelander
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University and Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - William J Burk
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Thabo J van Woudenberg
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Buijs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, Smit CR, van Woudenberg TJ, Buijs L, Buijzen M. Exploring the directionality in the relationship between descriptive and injunctive parental and peer norms and snacking behavior in a three-year-cross-lagged study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2020; 17:76. [PMID: 32539775 PMCID: PMC7296677 DOI: 10.1186/s12966-020-00977-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background People’s eating behavior is assumed to be influenced by what other people do (perceived descriptive norms) and what others approve of (perceived injunctive norms). It has been suggested that adolescents are more susceptible to peer norms than parental norms, because they experience a strong need for group acceptance that leads to conforming to peer group norms. The current study examined changes in snacking behavior and four types of social norms (i.e., parental and peer descriptive and injunctive norms) that promoted fruit and vegetable intake among adolescents. This study was the first to examine whether snacking behavior also influenced norm perceptions by testing the directionality of these associations. Methods The study consisted of 819 participants (M [SD] age = 11.19 [1.36]; 46.1% boys), collected at three time points (T1 = 2016, T2 = 2017 and T3 = 2018) during the MyMovez project. Self-reported frequency of snack consumption, perceived parental and peer descriptive and injunctive norms were assessed. The primary analysis consisted of a series of cross-lagged autoregressive models specified in a structural equation modeling framework. Results Model comparisons testing the descriptive and injunctive norms in separate models and in an additional combined model revealed evidence for bi-directional associations between norms and snacking behavior. Descriptive peer and parent norms were not found to have an effect on subsequent snacking behaviors. Perceived injunctive parental norms were positively associated with healthy snack food intake and negatively associated with unhealthy snack intake (forward direction). Injunctive peer norms were negatively associated with healthy snack food intake. In addition, higher unhealthy snack food intake was negatively associated with the perception of descriptive and injunctive parental norms 1 year later (reversed direction). We did not find peer norms to be more closely associated with changes in snacking behaviors compared to parental norms. Conclusions Parents expecting their children to snack healthy had a positive influence on healthy snacking behavior whereas only acting as a healthy role model did not. Future research should address the possible interaction between descriptive and injunctive norms. Research should also take into account the bi-directional relations between eating behaviors and normative perceptions.
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Affiliation(s)
- K E Bevelander
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. .,Primary and Community Care, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University and Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - W J Burk
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - C R Smit
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.,Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - T J van Woudenberg
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.,Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - L Buijs
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - M Buijzen
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.,Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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Van Woudenberg TJ, Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, Smit CR, Buijs L, Buijzen M. Testing a Social Network Intervention Using Vlogs to Promote Physical Activity Among Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Psychol 2020; 10:2913. [PMID: 31998181 PMCID: PMC6967297 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a need to stimulate physical activity among adolescents, but unfortunately, they are hard to reach with traditional mass media interventions. A promising alternative is to carry out social network interventions. In social network interventions, a small group of individuals (influence agents) is selected to promote health-related behaviors within their social network. This study investigates whether a social network intervention is more effective to promote physical activity, compared to a mass media intervention and no intervention. Adolescents (N = 446; Mage = 11.35, SDage = 1.34; 47% male) were randomly allocated by classroom (N = 26, in 11 schools) to one of three conditions: social network intervention, mass media intervention, or control condition. In the social network intervention, 15% of the participants (based on peer nominations) was approached to become an influence agent, who created vlogs about physical activity that were shown during the intervention. In the mass media intervention, participants were exposed to vlogs made by unfamiliar peers (i.e., vlogs of the social network intervention). The control condition did not receive vlogs about physical activity. All participants received a research smartphone to complete questionnaires and a wrist-worn accelerometer to measure physical activity. The trial was registered a priori in the Dutch Trial Registry (NTR6903). There were no differences in objectively measured physical activity between this social network intervention and the control condition in the short-term, but there was an unexpected increase in the control condition compared to the social network intervention in the long-term. No differences between the social network intervention and mass media intervention were observed. The current study does not provide evidence that this social network intervention is effective in increasing physical activity in adolescents. Exploratory analyses suggest that this social network intervention increased the perceived social norm toward physical activity and responses to the vlogs were more positive in the social network intervention than in the mass media intervention. These initial results warrant further research to investigate the role of the social norms and the added benefit of using influence agents for social network interventions. Clinical Trial Registration:https://www.trialregister.nl/, identifier NTR6903.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kirsten E Bevelander
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Primary and Community Care, Radboud University and Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - William J Burk
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Crystal R Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Laura Buijs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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Smit CR, Buijs L, van Woudenberg TJ, Bevelander KE, Buijzen M. The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Children's Dietary Behaviors. Front Psychol 2020; 10:2975. [PMID: 31998202 PMCID: PMC6967733 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past years vlogs rapidly have become an attractive platform for food industries, sponsoring social media influencers to promote their products. As with more traditional media, social media influencers predominantly promote unhealthy drinks and foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt - consumption of which may increase the risk of overweight, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. The aim of the current Brief Research Report is to examine the impact of vlogs on children's unhealthy dietary behaviors. Drawing on longitudinal survey data from 453 8- to 12-year-old children, we analyzed the longitudinal relations between children's frequency of watching vlogs and their consumption of unhealthy beverages and snacks. Structural path modeling analyses of three waves of data with 1-year intervals showed that children's self-reported frequency of watching vlogs influenced consumption of unhealthy beverages 2 years later. The analyses did not yield significant relations for Unhealthy Snacks Consumption. The strength of the observed longitudinal relation between children's Frequency of Watching Vlogs and Consumption of unhealthy beverages was comparable to previous findings regarding more traditional types of food marketing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal R. Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Laura Buijs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Kirsten E. Bevelander
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
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van Woudenberg TJ, Simoski B, Fernandes de Mello Araújo E, Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, Smit CR, Buijs L, Klein M, Buijzen M. Identifying Influence Agents That Promote Physical Activity Through the Simulation of Social Network Interventions: Agent-Based Modeling Study. J Med Internet Res 2019; 21:e12914. [PMID: 31381504 PMCID: PMC6699133 DOI: 10.2196/12914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Social network interventions targeted at children and adolescents can have a substantial effect on their health behaviors, including physical activity. However, designing successful social network interventions is a considerable research challenge. In this study, we rely on social network analysis and agent-based simulations to better understand and capitalize on the complex interplay of social networks and health behaviors. More specifically, we investigate criteria for selecting influence agents that can be expected to produce the most successful social network health interventions. Objective The aim of this study was to test which selection criterion to determine influence agents in a social network intervention resulted in the biggest increase in physical activity in the social network. To test the differences among the selection criteria, a computational model was used to simulate different social network interventions and observe the intervention’s effect on the physical activity of primary and secondary school children within their school classes. As a next step, this study relied on the outcomes of the simulated interventions to investigate whether social network interventions are more effective in some classes than others based on network characteristics. Methods We used a previously validated agent-based model to understand how physical activity spreads in social networks and who was influencing the spread of behavior. From the observed data of 460 participants collected in 26 school classes, we simulated multiple social network interventions with different selection criteria for the influence agents (ie, in-degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and random influence agents) and a control condition (ie, no intervention). Subsequently, we investigated whether the detected variation of an intervention’s success within school classes could be explained by structural characteristics of the social networks (ie, network density and network centralization). Results The 1-year simulations showed that social network interventions were more effective compared with the control condition (beta=.30; t100=3.23; P=.001). In addition, the social network interventions that used a measure of centrality to select influence agents outperformed the random influence agent intervention (beta=.46; t100=3.86; P<.001). Also, the closeness centrality condition outperformed the betweenness centrality condition (beta=.59; t100=2.02; P=.046). The anticipated interaction effects of the network characteristics were not observed. Conclusions Social network intervention can be considered as a viable and promising intervention method to promote physical activity. We demonstrated the usefulness of applying social network analysis and agent-based modeling as part of the social network interventions’ design process. We emphasize the importance of selecting the most successful influence agents and provide a better understanding of the role of network characteristics on the effectiveness of social network interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bojan Simoski
- Social AI Group, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Kirsten E Bevelander
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.,Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University and Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - William J Burk
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Crystal R Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Laura Buijs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Michel Klein
- Social AI Group, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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Smit CR, de Leeuw RNH, Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, Buijs L, van Woudenberg TJ, Buijzen M. An integrated model of fruit, vegetable, and water intake in young adolescents. Health Psychol 2018; 37:1159-1167. [DOI: 10.1037/hea0000691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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10
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Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, Buijs L, Smit CR, van Woudenberg TJ, Buijzen M. A longitudinal study of friends' and parents' norms on core and non-core snack food intake. Appetite 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.05.159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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van Woudenberg TJ, Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, Smit CR, Buijs L, Buijzen M. A randomized controlled trial testing a social network intervention to promote physical activity among adolescents. BMC Public Health 2018; 18:542. [PMID: 29685112 PMCID: PMC5913789 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-5451-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The current study examined the effectiveness of a social network intervention to promote physical activity among adolescents. Social network interventions utilize peer influence to change behavior by identifying the most influential individuals within social networks (i.e., influence agents), and training them to promote the target behavior. METHOD A total of 190 adolescents (46.32% boys; M age = 12.17, age range: 11-14 years) were randomly allocated to either the intervention or control condition. In the intervention condition, the most influential adolescents (based on peer nominations of classmates) in each classroom were trained to promote physical activity among their classmates. Participants received a research smartphone to complete questionnaires and an accelerometer to measure physical activity (steps per day) at baseline, and during the intervention one month later. RESULTS A multilevel model tested the effectiveness of the intervention, controlling for clustering of data within participants and days. No intervention effect was observed, b = .04, SE = .10, p = .66. CONCLUSION This was one of the first studies to test whether physical activity in adolescents could be promoted via influence agents, and the first social network intervention to use smartphones to do so. Important lessons and implications are discussed concerning the selection criterion of the influence agents, the use of smartphones in social network intervention, and the rigorous analyses used to control for confounding factors. TRIAL REGISTRATION Dutch Trial Registry (NTR): NTR6173 . Registered 5 October 2016 Study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Radboud University (ECSW2014-100614-222).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - William J Burk
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Crystal R Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Buijs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Bevelander KE, Smit CR, van Woudenberg TJ, Buijs L, Burk WJ, Buijzen M. Youth's social network structures and peer influences: study protocol MyMovez project - Phase I. BMC Public Health 2018; 18:504. [PMID: 29661223 PMCID: PMC5902932 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-5353-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Youth are an important target group for social network interventions, because they are particularly susceptible to the adaptation of healthy and unhealthy habits and behaviors of others. They are surrounded by ‘social influence agents’ (i.e., role models such as family, friends and peers) that co-determine their dietary intake and physical activity. However, there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive research on the implementation of a social network approach in health campaigns. The MyMovez research project aims to fill this gap by developing a method for effective social network campaign implementation. This protocol paper describes the design and methods of Phase I of the MyMovez project, aiming to unravel youth’s social network structures in combination with individual, psychosocial, and environmental factors related to energy intake and expenditure. In addition, the Wearable Lab is developed to enable an attractive and state-of-the-art way of collecting data and online campaign implementation via social networks. Methods Phase I of the MyMovez project consists of a large-scale cross-sequential cohort study (N = 953; 8-12 and 12-15 y/o). In five waves during a 3-year period (2016-2018), data are collected about youth’s social network exposure, media consumption, socialization experiences, psychological determinants of behavior, physical environment, dietary intake (snacking and drinking behavior) and physical activity using the Wearable Lab. The Wearable Lab exists of a smartphone-based research application (app) connected to an activity tracking bracelet, that is developed throughout the duration of the project. It generates peer- and self-reported (e.g., sociometric data and surveys) and experience sampling data, social network beacon data, real-time physical activity data (i.e., steps and cycling), location information, photos and chat conversation data from the app’s social media platform Social Buzz. Discussion The MyMovez project - Phase I is an innovative cross-sequential research project that investigates how social influences co-determine youth’s energy intake and expenditure. This project utilizes advanced research technologies (Wearable Lab) that provide unique opportunities to better understand the underlying processes that impact youths’ health-related behaviors. The project is theoretically and methodologically pioneering and produces a unique and useful method for successfully implementing and improving health campaigns. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5353-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten E Bevelander
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Communication Science, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Crystal R Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Communication Science, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Thabo J van Woudenberg
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Communication Science, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Buijs
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Communication Science, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - William J Burk
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Communication Science, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Communication Science, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Franken SCM, Smit CR, Buijzen M. Promoting Water Consumption on a Caribbean Island: An Intervention Using Children's Social Networks at Schools. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2018; 15:ijerph15040713. [PMID: 29642628 PMCID: PMC5923755 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15040713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2018] [Revised: 03/29/2018] [Accepted: 04/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and the associated childhood obesity are major concerns in the Caribbean, creating a need for interventions promoting water consumption as a healthy alternative. A social network-based intervention (SNI) was tested among Aruban children to increase their water consumption and behavioral intention to do so and, consequently, to decrease SSB consumption and the associated behavioral intention. In this study, the moderating effects of descriptive and injunctive norms were tested. A cluster randomized controlled trial was completed in schools (mean age = 11 years ± SD = 0.98; 54% girls). Children were assigned to the intervention group (IG; n = 192) or control group (CG; n = 185). IG children were exposed to peer influencers promoting water consumption and CG children were not. Regression analyses showed that water consumption increased for IG children with a high injunctive norm score (p = 0.05); however, their intention to consume more water remained unchanged (p = 0.42). Moreover, IG children showed a decrease in SSB consumption (p = 0.04) and an increase in their intention to consume less SSB (p = 0.00). These findings indicate that SNIs are a promising instrument for health behavioral changes for Aruba and other islands in the Caribbean region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saskia C M Franken
- Faculty for Accounting, Finance and Marketing, University of Aruba, J.E. Irausquinplein 4, Oranjestad, Aruba.
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Crystal R Smit
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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14
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Smit CR, de Leeuw RNH, Bevelander KE, Burk WJ, Buijzen M. A social network-based intervention stimulating peer influence on children's self-reported water consumption: A randomized control trial. Appetite 2016; 103:294-301. [PMID: 27085637 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2015] [Revised: 04/05/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The current pilot study examined the effectiveness of a social network-based intervention using peer influence on self-reported water consumption. A total of 210 children (52% girls; M age = 10.75 ± SD = 0.80) were randomly assigned to either the intervention (n = 106; 52% girls) or control condition (n = 104; 52% girls). In the intervention condition, the most influential children in each classroom were trained to promote water consumption among their peers for eight weeks. The schools in the control condition did not receive any intervention. Water consumption, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, and intentions to drink more water in the near future were assessed by self-report measures before and immediately after the intervention. A repeated measure MANCOVA showed a significant multivariate interaction effect between condition and time (V = 0.07, F(3, 204) = 5.18, p = 0.002, pη(2) = 0.07) on the dependent variables. Further examination revealed significant univariate interaction effects between condition and time on water (p = 0.021) and SSB consumption (p = 0.015) as well as water drinking intentions (p = 0.049). Posthoc analyses showed that children in the intervention condition reported a significant increase in their water consumption (p = 0.018) and a decrease in their SSB consumption (p < 0.001) over time, compared to the control condition (p-values > 0.05). The children who were exposed to the intervention did not report a change in their water drinking intentions over time (p = 0.576) whereas the nonexposed children decreased their intentions (p = 0.026). These findings show promise for a social network-based intervention using peer influence to positively alter consumption behaviors. TRIAL REGISTRATION This RCT was registered in the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12614001179628). Study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Radboud University (ECSW2014-1003-203).
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal R Smit
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Rebecca N H de Leeuw
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Kirsten E Bevelander
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - William J Burk
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Moniek Buijzen
- Communication Science, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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