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Using a Social Network Approach to Characterize Oral Health Behavior Social Support Among Mexican-Origin Young Adults

Affiliations
  • 1School of Communication, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.
  • 2San Diego, Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health, The San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
  • 3Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
  • 4School of Public Health, San Diego State University and the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health, San Diego, California, USA.
  • 5Psychology Department, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.
  • 6School of Dentistry, University of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.

Published on:

December 24, 2024

Abstract

Using a social network approach, we characterize who Mexican-origin young adults perceive as social support sources for oral health behaviors and provide additional validity evidence for Oral Health Behavior Social Support Scales (OHBSS). From April to September 2022, we gathered social network data from 62 Mexican-origin adults (21-40 years old) through Zoom interviews about their perceived received social support for three oral health behaviors (toothbrushing, flossing, and obtaining dental care) from three potential sources of support (family, health providers, and others/friends). Overall, we found similar results across all three oral health behaviors. We also found evidence for convergent and discriminant validity of OHBSS scales using social network measures. Implications of findings are discussed.

Keywords:

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