Doctoral Dissertation Research: Impact of Geography and Social Ties on Health and Well-being

该项目研究了人们共同或单独生活的社会和空间环境如何影响他们的身心健康。关于人类的一个基本社会和生物学事实是，人们生活的地方决定了他们成为什么样的人，特别是他们的健康和经济前景。其原因尚不完全清楚，但其中一个关键原因是，人们并不独立生活;与他人的关系产生了面对面的社交网络，而这些社会联系通常占据着相同的位置。研究已经建立了网络和地方之间的联系，以及网络和健康之间的联系，但这个博士论文研究项目探讨了所有三个（人在网络中的地方）的交叉点。 结果可能有助于从业者和决策者创造新的思维方式的地理环境的网络和新的方式来解决重要的公共health concerns.This research uses extremely detailed data on 24,812 individuals in 176 communities in a setting in which people live in close proximity to members of their社交网络. 多层次模型等统计方法被用来回答与网络、地理和健康相关的各种问题。研究人员调查了以下问题：1）网络中心性与地理中心性是否相关，以及这些位置如何影响健康？2)个体之间的负面联系是否在空间上形成了模式，使得个体“与敌人更亲近”，而不是与朋友更亲近，这种亲近如何影响健康？3)使用“生态交错区”的生态概念，特定地点的个人是否会经历更高的健康结果变异性？该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

This project examines how the social and spatial environments in which people live either jointly or separately and independently affect their mental and physical health. A fundamental social and biological fact about human beings is that where people live shapes who they become, and their health and economic prospects in particular. The reasons for this are still not fully understood but one key reason is that people do not live on their own; relationships to others give rise to face-to-face social networks, and these social connections generally occupy the same places. Research has established the connections between networks and place, and between networks and health, but this doctoral dissertation research project explores the intersection of all three (people in networks in places). Results may help practitioners and decision makers create new ways of thinking about geographically contextualized networks and new ways of addressing important public health concerns.This research uses extremely detailed data on 24,812 individuals in 176 communities in a setting in which people live in close proximity to members of their social networks. Statistical methods such as multilevel models are employed to answer a variety of questions related to networks, geography, and health. The researcher investigates the following questions: 1) Is network centrality associated with geographic centrality and how do these locations impact health? 2) Are negative ties between individuals spatially patterned such that individuals “keep their enemies closer” than their friends, and how does this proximity influence health? 3) Using the ecological concept of “ecotones,” do individuals in particular locations experience higher variability in health outcomes?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.