Collective Efficacy and Obesity-Related Health Behaviors in a Community Sample of African Americans

Abstract

The social environment is important to body mass index and obesity. However, it is unknown if perceptions of the social environment are associated with obesity-related behaviors in populations at greatest risk for being overweight or obese. We evaluated the relationship between collective efficacy and diet and physical activity in a community-based sample of African American adults who were residents in an urban area. Data were collected as part of an academic-community partnership from November 2009–2011. We evaluated whether participants met the recommended guidelines for diet and physical activity based on collective efficacy and their sociodemographic background, health care variables, and self-efficacy in a community-based sample of African American adults (n=338) who were residents in the Philadelphia, PA metropolitan area. Overall, many participants did not meet the recommended guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake or physical activity. The likelihood of meeting the recommended guidelines for fruit intake increased with greater levels of collective efficacy (OR=1.57, 95% CI=1.18, 2.07, p=0.002) and self-efficacy for diet (OR=1.56, 95% CI=1.19, 2.04, p=0.001). Collective efficacy was not associated with physical activity and the positive association between collective efficacy and vegetable intake was not statistically significant (OR=1.25, 95% CI=0.94, 1.65, p=0.12). It is important to determine the most effective methods and settings for improving diet and physical activity behaviors in urban African Americans. Enhancing collective efficacy may be important to improving adherence to recommended guidelines for obesity-related health behaviors.

Why the Neighborhood Social Environment Is Critical in Obesity Prevention

“…Doing so would foster cohesion and collective efficacy in a community. 19,33 For example, through the development of joint use agreements, communities can gain access to school recreational facilities that may otherwise not be available to the public after school hours, thus providing a cost-effective way to share community resources while also increasing opportunities to engage in physical activity. The process of developing such an agreement could aid in the development of social capital within the community; thus, communities that come together to develop a joint use agreement or to design and develop other community resources could result in multiple gains for the community-a gain in a built environment resource, such as a park, and a gain in social efficacy, both of which may address obesity risk behaviors.…”

“…8,17,18 A positive perception of the neighborhood social environment may increase the likelihood of outdoor physical activity; parents, for example, may be more likely to allow their children to play outside. 19 Increased levels of collective efficacy and social cohesion provide more opportunities for modeling healthy behaviors in a supportive environment in addition to preventing deterioration of the physical environment (i.e., trash, street lights, graffiti) and promoting safety. 19,20 In disadvantaged neighborhoods, having poor quality built environments-whichs limit an individual's potential for physical activity and access to healthy foods-there may also be a lack of structural opportunities (i.e., safe parks) for social interaction, resulting in limited social networks.…”

“…19 Increased levels of collective efficacy and social cohesion provide more opportunities for modeling healthy behaviors in a supportive environment in addition to preventing deterioration of the physical environment (i.e., trash, street lights, graffiti) and promoting safety. 19,20 In disadvantaged neighborhoods, having poor quality built environments-whichs limit an individual's potential for physical activity and access to healthy foods-there may also be a lack of structural opportunities (i.e., safe parks) for social interaction, resulting in limited social networks. While evidence of the influence of social networks on obesity and related behaviors is typically not limited to the neighborhood environment, they are still important to consider, as social networks within a neighborhood may be highly visible and influential, and people may form close bonds with neighbors or choose to live in proximity to family and friends.…”

A comparative effectiveness education trial for lifestyle health behavior change in African Americans

“…As in other reports [1], participants did not meet recommended guidelines for PA and FV intake, but socioeconomic factors were not associated significantly with these behaviors. Collective efficacy, or social cohesion was only associated significantly with fruit intake whereas dietary self-efficacy was associated significantly with both FV intake [19]. None of the socioeconomic, social environment or psychological variables were associated significantly with PA. On the basis of these findings, we focused on further developing the integrated risk education (INT) protocol.…”

“Strength of Weak Ties,” Neighborhood Ethnic Heterogeneity, and Depressive Symptoms among Adults: A Multilevel Analysis of Korean General Social Survey (KGSS) 2012

“…The concept of collective efficacy, or social cohesion, has been widely used as a key component of contextual or neighborhood effect (Browning and Cagney 2002;Halbert et al 2014;Sampson et al 1997). KGSS contains two specific items to construct this variable.…”