Youth's social network structures and peer influences: study protocol MyMovez project - Phase I

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Social Network Analysis
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Youth are highly susceptible to social influences on health behaviors like diet and physical activity.
• Social influence agents (family, friends, peers) significantly shape youth's energy intake and expenditure.
• There's a need for systematic research on social network approaches in health campaigns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an effective method for social network health campaign implementation targeting youth.
• To investigate the relationship between social network structures and factors influencing youth's energy intake and expenditure.

Main Methods:

• A large-scale, cross-sequential cohort study (N=953, ages 8-15) conducted over three years (2016-2018).
• Utilized the Wearable Lab, a smartphone app with an activity tracker, to collect diverse data including social network exposure, behavior determinants, dietary intake, and physical activity.
• Data collection involved peer/self-reports, experience sampling, social network beacon data, real-time activity tracking, location, photos, and chat data.

Main Results:

• Phase I focused on designing and testing the methodology for data collection and campaign implementation.
• Established a comprehensive dataset linking social network structures with individual, psychosocial, and environmental factors affecting youth energy balance.

Conclusions:

• The MyMovez project Phase I provides a pioneering methodology for understanding and influencing youth health behaviors through social networks.
• The Wearable Lab offers a novel approach to data collection and online health campaign delivery, paving the way for improved public health interventions.