title: Intergenerational Social Networks and Health Behaviors Among Children Living in Public Housing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Alene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kennedy-Hendricks
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Rachel Johnson
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Beth Ann
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Harold D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burkhauser
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Craig Evan
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pollack
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001835:Body Weight; D017028:Caregivers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D011638:Public Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044469:Racial Groups; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors