Abstract
Background: Previous research has revealed under-reporting of personal network members (i.e., alters) in studies involving people who use drugs (PWUD). This analysis (1) characterizes relationships that were more likely to be omitted but later recalled with prompting and (2) identifies network structural characteristics most impacted by these omissions among a sample of PWUD in rural Appalachian Kentucky, an epicenter of the opioid epidemic. Methods: Data were collected through longitudinal assessments as part of the Social Networks Among Appalachian People (SNAP) study (2008–2017). Study participants completed interviewer-administered questionnaires that collected social network data via free-listing at baseline and six-month intervals. At visit 5, after free-listing, interviewers prompted participants with the names of previously reported alters. We used modified Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations to identify individual- and relationship-level characteristics associated with an alter being reported only after prompting. We examined the impact of including vs. excluding relationships reported after prompting on local and global sociometric network measures (i.e., betweenness centrality, bridging, density, mean degree, transitivity, cliques, and 2-cores). Results: Relationships reported only after prompting were more likely to be immediate family (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio [APR]:1.29; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.03–1.63) and less likely to involve sex (APR:0.54; 95% CI: 0.43–0.67). Considerable differences were observed for participant positional rankings of betweenness centrality and bridging, and differences in network density and average degree pre- and post-prompting were statistically significant. Conclusion: Longitudinal network studies that aim to assess transmission dynamics, information diffusion, or peer influence should consider the effects of omitted relationships.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 109554 |
| Journal | Drug and Alcohol Dependence |
| Volume | 238 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 Elsevier B.V.
Funding
This work was supported by grants R01 DA024598 and R01 DA033862 to investigator Jennifer Havens from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and grant R21 AI131979 to investigator Abby E. Rudolph from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. Any findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project. This work was supported by grants R01 DA024598 and R01 DA033862 to investigator Jennifer Havens from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and grant R21 AI131979 to investigator Abby E. Rudolph from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. Any findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
| National Institute on Drug Abuse | |
| National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | R21AI131979 |
| National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases |
Keywords
- Persons who use drugs
- Rural
- Social network analysis
- Substance use
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Toxicology
- Pharmacology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)
