Members, isolates, and liaisons: Meta-analysis of adolescents' network positions and their smoking behavior

Existing research finds that peer networks play an important role in adolescents' smoking behaviors. To evaluate this research, meta-analysis was utilized to investigate the relationship between social positions (e.g., group members vs. isolates vs. liaisons) in friendship networks and smoking behaviors. The results (N = 5,067, k = 8) showed that adolescents from multiple countries who are isolated in friendship networks are more likely to report smoking behaviors than those with friends (members or liaisons). The results also show that these differential odds of smoking based on network position has decreased over the past 15 years.