Social control can positively influence health behaviors, but changes in social networks over time may cause older adults to experience less health-related social control. The size and composition of social control networks, and receipt of health-related social control, were examined in a probability sample of 509 household residents (aged 25-80 years) in Los Angeles County who completed a tele...

Objective: This survey aimed at studying the effects of socioeconomic and family factors in adolescents’ tendency towards smoking, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse. Methods: Using multistage sampling, 3530 high school students were selected in Tehran, Iran. They completed the Iranian adolescents risk behavior scale questionnaire (IARS) and demographic questionnaire with the main focus on ...

In this paper we investigate the energy consumption of a low power radio device in its three modes of operation: transmission, reception and idle. We identify these modes of operation from the traces of the energy consumption of the device by modifying the device’s firmware to include and exclude certain events. We present energy consumption measurements two orders of magnitude lower than an 80...

While techniques exist for simulating group behaviors, these methods usually only provide simplistic navigation and planning capabilities. In this work, we explore the benefits of integrating roadmap-based path planning methods with flocking techniques. We show how group behaviors such as exploring can be facilitated by using dynamic roadmaps (e.g., modifying edge weights) as an implicit means ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of prenatal mercury exposure and fish intake with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related behavior. METHODS For a population-based prospective birth cohort recruited in New Bedford, Massachusetts (1993-1998), we analyzed data for children examined at age 8 years with peripartum maternal hair mercury measures (n = 421) or maternal report...

Respondents participating in survey or interview based research often tend to give answers that put themselves in a favorable light, displaying social desirability bias (SDB). Understanding the susceptibility of individuals to underreport their perceived unhealthy holiday behaviors or over report holiday behaviors they perceive as healthy has important implications for health promotion and heal...

OBJECTIVE To analyze oral health behaviors changes over time in Brazilian adolescents concerning maternal educational inequalities. METHODS Data from the Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (Brazilian National School Health Survey) were analyzed. The sample was composed of 60,973 and 61,145 students from 26 Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District in 2009 and 2012, respectively. The ...

Previous research has documented social contagion in obesity and related health behaviors, but less is known about the social processes underlying these patterns. Focusing on married or cohabitating couples, we simultaneously explore three potential social mechanisms influencing obesity: normative body size, social control, and behavior modeling. We analyze the association between partner chara...

International trade, population migration, changes in living conditions (i.e., consumption transition, nutritional transition), and changes in production, marketing, and availability of consumer goods (i.e., production transition) have brought about continuous and rapid changes in the human environment. Such changes have improved the health and economic status of many people in developing count...

International trade, population migration, changes in living conditions (i.e., consumption transition, nutritional transition), and changes in production, marketing, and availability of consumer goods (i.e., production transition) have brought about continuous and rapid changes in the human environment. Such changes have improved the health and economic status of many people in developing count...