Do Social Networks Add to the Predictive Value of Traditional Socioeconomic Characteristics? The Bolivia Case Study

Fannie Fonseca-Becker, Johns Hopkins University

This study tests whether the prediction of health related knowledge (correct breastfeeding practices) can be improved by the composition of an individual's personal network above that predicted by his/her socioeconomic or demographic characteristics. Promotion of breastfeeding practices that enhance child survival are of importance in Bolivia because of its high infant morbidity and mortality. Data on women and men 15-49 years of age were collected by two cross-sectional probability samples (baseline: 2,256; follow-up: 2,354) from seven urban areas in Bolivia. Model building and the log likelihood ratio criteria were used to assess the significance of the variables in the model. Results show that the network variables add significantly to the predictive power of the socioeconomic variables (25.8 with 6 degrees of freedom, p<.01). These results can be of importance to other health research areas such as that of HIV/AIDS.