USC researchers present at the Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting in San Francisco

A group of health behavior researchers from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at Keck School of Medicine of USC attended The Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 46th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions. The event, held in San Francisco, CA, from March 26–29, 2025, focused on the theme “Context Matters: Bridging Perspectives in Behavioral Medicine.” The conference brought together scientists to discuss how various policy, medical, and environmental factors shape both behavior and health— and how the science and practice of behavioral medicine is most effective when these broader contexts are taken into account.

Kristina Miljkovic
2nd year PhD student in the Health Behavior Research program

“I am grateful for the chance to attend a conference that pushed my thinking in so many directions, including exposure to new methods, cross-disciplinary research, and the intersection of academia and industry,” Miljkovic says. “One highlight was learning how health technology is not only shaping the future of research but also transforming how we approach public health in the real world. It was inspiring to be surrounded by so many people driving innovation and impact.”

Title of poster presentation: Optimizing Alcohol Interventions in Sororities Using Social Network Analysis

Miljkovic’s study applied social network analysis to examine drinking behaviors within a sorority, focusing on the structure of the drinking buddy network and the role of leadership to identify the most influential individuals. Results showed that the most central members were not sorority leaders, suggesting that interventions delivered solely through executive members may have limited reach. These findings support a shift toward network-informed intervention strategies that use central individuals to promote safe drinking behaviors.

Title of poster presentation: The Role of Peer Networks and Demographic Factors in Adolescent Binge Drinking: A Cross-Sectional Study of Southern California High Schools

This study looked at how friendships and demographics like gender and ethnicity affect binge drinking among high school students in Southern California. We found that males were less likely to binge drink than females, and Hispanic/Latinx students were more likely to binge drink than their non-Hispanic peers. Most notably, having just one binge-drinking friend increased a student’s odds of binge drinking by 56%, emphasizing the need for peer-informed prevention strategies.

Kristen Moore
4th year PhD student in the Health Behavior Research program

Title of poster presentation: Compositional data analysis of 24-hour movement behaviors as a predictor for cardiometabolic health outcomes among school-aged youth: A Systematic Review

“The Society of Behavioral Medicine conference was a fantastic conference that gave us the chance to explore San Francisco and connect with experts across the field,” says Moore. “We hosted a happy hour for former REACH Lab members and colleagues, which was a great opportunity to reconnect and catch up with professional friends. The conference featured a mix of symposia, poster sessions, and keynote speakers who emphasized the importance of continuing scientific research.”

Through a systematic review of studies that used compositional data analysis, Moore examined how 24-hour movement behaviors: sleep, sedentary time, and physical activity, related to cardiometabolic health in school-aged youth. She found that while sleep and sedentary behavior were important, higher intensity physical activity (moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) was linked to the most favorable cardiometabolic health.

Max Samuelson
1st year PhD student in the Health Behavior Research program

Title of poster presentation: Unpacking the Role of Automatic Associations in Physical Activity Behavior: Insights from a Real-World Ecological Momentary Assessment

“I highly recommend attending this conference— it is exceptionally student-friendly, offering a supportive environment where feedback from senior researchers is constructive, insightful, and geared toward growth rather than critique,” says Sameulson, who gave a poster presentation. “The collaborative atmosphere encourages meaningful dialogue and provides valuable opportunities for professional development and networking.”

Samuleson studied how people’s automatic gut feelings about physical activity (measured throughout their daily lives) were related to how much they moved. People who generally had more positive automatic feelings about physical activity did more intense exercise, but on days when those feelings were stronger than usual, they exercised less. These findings suggest that while long-term positive attitudes may help people stay active, day-to-day changes in mindset might work differently and should be considered when designing strategies to help people stay active.

Wei-Lin Wang
Senior Research Associate, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences

Title of Presentation: Variability and Maintenance of Physical Activity: Associations with Health Outcomes in a 12-month Emerging Adult Study

Wang gave an oral presentation on his study which aimed to illustrate the application of his team’s physical activity classification algorithm and to introduce a novel statistical approach for analyzing the resulting data. Wang’s findings suggested that a person-centered framework offers valuable insights into the relationship between individual physical maintenance status and health outcomes.