Inference for influence over multiple degrees of separation on a social network

Tyler J. VanderWeele
2013 Statistics in Medicine  
States and behaviors of different individuals are expected to be correlated across a social network. Christakis and Fowler have proposed a 'three degrees of influence rule' to characterize the extent of such dependence. In this paper we discuss three distinct interpretations of such a rule, one involving only associations (which is the interpretation for which Christakis and Fowler give evidence), one involving actual causation, generally referred to as contagion or social influence, and one
more » ... olving direct effects. We discuss analytic procedures appropriate for assessing evidence for each possible interpretation and the increasingly difficult methodological challenges present in each interpretation.
doi:10.1002/sim.5653 pmid:23341081 pmcid:PMC4221254 fatcat:t6ekssqvjjcyvek7y5ebl2okuu