Understanding the Social Networks That Form within the Context of an Obesity Prevention Intervention
Table 1
Measures of network structure and predicted change.
Measure of network structure
Definition
Predicted change after intervention
Degree centrality
Number of ties that an actor has with other actors in the network.
Increase
Constraint
Degree to which extent to which an actor’s connections are to others who are connected to one another. This is important because less constrained networks would allow for the possibility of increasing potential connections through ties with others who are not already connected to others in ego’s network, thereby enabling exposure to health information and health behaviors that are flowing through the network.
Decrease
2-step reach
How many people in the network a person could get to within two links of him/herself, expressed as a percentage of the total number of people in the network. This is a good measure of how well any individual could spread health information or health behaviors through the network by reaching out to friends and friends-of-friends.
Increase
Density
The number of ties among people in the network expressed as a percentage of all possible ties. If every person is tied directly with every other person the density is 100%. Increased density would allow for accelerated flow of desired health information or health behaviors through the network.
