title: Neighborhood, Family and Peer-Level Predictors of Obesity-Related Health Behaviors Among Young Adolescents.
abstract: This longitudinal study examines peer social functioning (PSF), familism, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) on adolescents' obesity risk.
  
  
  
  Participants ( N  = 2,144) were originally sampled from 16 middle schools in Southern California (45% male; 45% Hispanic) as part of an alcohol and other drug use prevention program (CHOICE). Multilevel regression modeling tested main effects and interaction terms of PSF, familism, and NSES assessed at Wave 5 ( M age = 14.15) on body mass index and risk of obesity-related behaviors at Wave 6.
  
  
  
  Higher PSF predicted healthier eating habits, less screen time, and more physical activity. Higher familism also predicted more physical activity. The positive effect of PSF on healthy eating was stronger among youth who reported higher familism. PSF also moderated the associations of NSES with healthy eating and physical activity.
  
  
  
  Findings emphasize the importance of targeting both peer and family factors, which may be more amenable to change than NSES.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.|RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah-Jeanne
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Salvy
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeremy N V
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Regina A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: D'Amico
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002140:California; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012919:Social Behavior; D012923:Social Class
keywords: family functioning; health behavior; peers