Alene Kennedy-Hendricks1, Heather Schwartz1, Rachel Johnson Thornton1, Beth Ann Griffin1, Harold D Green1, David P Kennedy1, Susan Burkhauser1, Craig Evan Pollack1. 1. At the time of the study, Alene Kennedy-Hendricks was a PhD candidate at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Heather Schwartz, Beth Ann Griffin, Harold D. Green Jr, David P. Kennedy, and Susan Burkhauser are with the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA. Rachel Johnson Thornton and Craig Evan Pollack are with the School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: In a survey of families living in public housing, we investigated whether caretakers' social networks are linked with children's health status. METHODS: In 2011, 209 children and their caretakers living in public housing in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, were surveyed regarding their health and social networks. We used logistic regression models to examine the associations between the perceived health composition of caretaker social networks and corresponding child health characteristics (e.g., exercise, diet). RESULTS: With each 10% increase in the proportion of the caretaker's social network that exercised regularly, the child's odds of exercising increased by 34% (adjusted odds ratio = 1.34; 95% confidence interval = 1.07, 1.69) after the caretaker's own exercise behavior and the composition of the child's peer network had been taken into account. Although children's overweight or obese status was associated with caretakers' social networks, the results were no longer significant after adjustment for caretakers' own weight status. CONCLUSIONS: We found that caretaker social networks are independently associated with certain aspects of child health, suggesting the importance of the broader social environment for low-income children's health.
OBJECTIVES: In a survey of families living in public housing, we investigated whether caretakers' social networks are linked with children's health status. METHODS: In 2011, 209 children and their caretakers living in public housing in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland, were surveyed regarding their health and social networks. We used logistic regression models to examine the associations between the perceived health composition of caretaker social networks and corresponding child health characteristics (e.g., exercise, diet). RESULTS: With each 10% increase in the proportion of the caretaker's social network that exercised regularly, the child's odds of exercising increased by 34% (adjusted odds ratio = 1.34; 95% confidence interval = 1.07, 1.69) after the caretaker's own exercise behavior and the composition of the child's peer network had been taken into account. Although children's overweight or obese status was associated with caretakers' social networks, the results were no longer significant after adjustment for caretakers' own weight status. CONCLUSIONS: We found that caretaker social networks are independently associated with certain aspects of child health, suggesting the importance of the broader social environment for low-income children's health.
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