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The contagious spread of violence among US adolescents through social networks

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  • Bond, R.M.
  • Bushman, B.J.

Abstract

Objectives. To test the hypothesis that violence among US adolescents spreads like a contagious disease through social networks. Methods. Participants were a nationally representative sample of 90 118 US students aged 12 to 18 years who were involved in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Violence was assessed by having participants report the number of times in the preceding 12 months they had been involved in a serious physical fight, had hurt someone badly, and had pulled a weapon on someone. Results. Participants were 48% more likely to have been involved in a serious fight, 183% more likely to have hurt someone badly, and 140% more likely to have pulled a weapon on someone if a friend had engaged in the same behavior. The influence spread up to 4 degrees of separation (i.e., friend of friend of friend of friend) for serious fights, 2 degrees for hurting someone badly, and 3 degrees for pulling a weapon on someone. Conclusions. Adolescents were more likely to engage in violent behavior if their friends did the same, and contagion of violence extended beyond immediate friends to friends of friends.

Suggested Citation

  • Bond, R.M. & Bushman, B.J., 2017. "The contagious spread of violence among US adolescents through social networks," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 107(2), pages 288-294.
    • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303550_1
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303550
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    Cited by:

    1. Silas Courage E & Prof. Mrs. E. E. Ebenuwa-Okoh & Prof. Mrs. F. N Ugoji, 2023. "Social Media usage SMU and Delinquent Behaviour DB Among Secondary School Students in Delta State," International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science, International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS), vol. 12(10), pages 71-79, October.
    2. Roger D. Magarey & Christina M. Trexler, 2020. "Information: a missing component in understanding and mitigating social epidemics," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Steven Wilkins Reeves & Shane Lubold & Arun G. Chandrasekhar & Tyler H. McCormick, 2024. "Model-Based Inference and Experimental Design for Interference Using Partial Network Data," Papers 2406.11940, arXiv.org.

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