David Kennedy

Publications (2)5.85 Total impact

• Article: Social distance and homophily in adolescent smoking initiation.

  Myong-Hyun Go, Joan S Tucker, Harold D Green, Michael Pollard, David Kennedy
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  ABSTRACT: Studies often demonstrate homophily in adolescent smoking behavior, but rarely investigate the extent to which this is due to the peer network processes of selection versus influence. Applying the concept of social distance, this study examines these two processes for smoking initiation. We analyzed socio-centric network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=2065; grades=7th-12th). Social distance (degrees of separation), combined with stability and change in friendship networks, was used to derive indicators of peer selection and influence on initiation. Multilevel modeling was used to predict initiation from these indicators, and propensity score modeling was used to determine whether these associations remained after adjusting for pre-existing differences between initiators and consistent non-smokers. We found that both peer influence and selection effects increased the likelihood of initiation even after adjusting with propensity score weights and demographic controls. While the effect size for peer influence depended on the overall proportion of smokers at the school, the selection effect was independent of the school environment. De-selection and indirect influence effects were not significant after controlling for school norm interactions. The association between peer smoking and adolescent smoking initiation appears to be due to both peer selection and direct influence. However, "friends of friends" effects are likely to be confounded with contextual factors. Given that smoking initiation is primarily associated with close personal interactions between the adolescent and his/her friends, prevention efforts should focus on the role of smoking in fostering personal relationships among adolescents.
  Drug and alcohol dependence 03/2012; 124(3):347-54. · 3.60 Impact Factor
• Article: Friendship networks and trajectories of adolescent tobacco use.

  Michael S Pollard, Joan S Tucker, Harold D Green, David Kennedy, Myong-Hyun Go
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  ABSTRACT: This article examines how friendship networks in adolescence are linked to tobacco use trajectories through a combination of analytic techniques that traditionally are located in separate literatures: social network analysis and developmental trajectory analysis. Using six years of longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we identify a set of six unique developmental trajectories of smoking (never smokers, steady lows, delayed increasers, early increasers, decreasers, and steady highs). Individuals' locations in their friendship networks were then linked to their trajectory group membership. Adolescents with a greater number of smoking friends were more likely to belong to the higher use trajectories. Beyond this exposure to smoking peers, individuals who at baseline were either members of a smoking group or liaisons to a smoking group were more likely than members of a nonsmoking group to belong to the higher use trajectories. Liaisons to a smoking group were particularly likely to belong to the delayed increaser trajectory group. Trajectory group membership for adolescents who belonged to a nonsmoking group did not significantly differ from those who were isolates or liaisons to a nonsmoking group. The study suggests features of an individual's social network have long-lasting associations with smoking behaviors.
  Addictive behaviors 03/2010; 35(7):678-85. · 2.25 Impact Factor