scholarly journals The Association Between Social Resources and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Migrants and Non-Migrants Living in Guangzhou, China

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chan Kit Hoi ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Fangjing Zhou ◽  
Kalon Sou ◽  
Brian J. Hall

Background: Depression is a commonly studied mental disorder affecting Chinese internal (i.e., rural-to-urban) migrants. Social resources effectively reduce depression for many communities experiencing adversities. This study evaluated social-level risk factors for depression between internal migrant and non-migrant Chinese living in mainland China. Method: We conducted a random population-level survey among migrants and local residents living in Guangzhou, China. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. We used items from the Social Support Rating Scale to measure social resource dimensions, including social network size, emotional support, structural social capital, and one (self-developed) item that measured belonging (an element of social cohesion). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 measured depression. Correlation and regression analyses of the partial sample (n = 678) were conducted to estimate the association between social resources and depression for migrants (n = 383) and non-migrants (n = 295). Results: Stratified regression analysis demonstrated that for migrants, greater belonging was associated with less depression, while age and larger friendship social network size was related to less depression among non-migrants. Conclusion: Differences emerged in our sample with regard to the types of social resources that are protective against depression between migrants and non-migrants. Interventions that provide opportunities for migrants to better integrate and feel welcomed into their new communities may reduce their depression symptoms.

Author(s):  
Ziggi Ivan Santini ◽  
Paul E. Jose ◽  
Ai Koyanagi ◽  
Charlotte Meilstrup ◽  
Line Nielsen ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Previous studies have shown that engaging in formal social participation may protect against declining mental health, but social network size (the number of close social ties a person has) may moderate the relationship. We assessed the potential moderating role of social network size using longitudinal data. Methods Nationally representative data from two consecutive waves (2011, 2013) of the SHARE survey were analyzed. The data consisted of 38,300 adults from 13 European countries aged 50 years and older in 2011. Measures pertaining to formal social participation, social network size, quality of life, and depression symptoms were used. Multivariable linear regression models were conducted. Results The majority of participants (over 70% of the sample) had a social network size of four or less close social ties. We identified significant moderations in both models. Individuals with relatively few close social ties may have benefitted from formal social participation both in terms of reductions in depression symptoms and increases in quality of life, while formal social participation among those with many social ties did not appear to be beneficial, and may even to some extent have been detrimental. Conclusions Declines in mental health specifically among those with relatively few close social ties could potentially be prevented through the promotion of formal social participation. It is possible that such strategies could have a greater impact by specifically targeting individuals that are otherwise socially isolated. High levels of formal participation among those with relatively many close social ties may not be pragmatically beneficial.


2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas V. Pollet ◽  
Sam G. B. Roberts ◽  
Robin I. M. Dunbar

Previous studies showed that extraversion influences social network size. However, it is unclear how extraversion affects the size of different layers of the network, and how extraversion relates to the emotional intensity of social relationships. We examined the relationships between extraversion, network size, and emotional closeness for 117 individuals. The results demonstrated that extraverts had larger networks at every layer (support clique, sympathy group, outer layer). The results were robust and were not attributable to potential confounds such as sex, though they were modest in size (raw correlations between extraversion and size of network layer, .20 < r < .23). However, extraverts were not emotionally closer to individuals in their network, even after controlling for network size. These results highlight the importance of considering not just social network size in relation to personality, but also the quality of relationships with network members.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312098525
Author(s):  
Balazs Kovacs ◽  
Nicholas Caplan ◽  
Samuel Grob ◽  
Marissa King

We utilize longitudinal social network data collected pre–COVID-19 in June 2019 and compare them with data collected in the midst of COVID in June 2020. We find significant decreases in network density and global network size following a period of profound social isolation. While there is an overall increase in loneliness during this era, certain social network characteristics of individuals are associated with smaller increases in loneliness. Specifically, we find that people with fewer than five “very close” relationships report increases in loneliness. We further find that face-to-face interactions, as well as the duration and frequency of interactions with very close ties, are associated with smaller increases in loneliness during the pandemic. We also report on factors that do not moderate the effect of social isolation on perceived loneliness, such as gender, age, or overall social network size.


2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1732) ◽  
pp. 1327-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kanai ◽  
B. Bahrami ◽  
R. Roylance ◽  
G. Rees

The increasing ubiquity of web-based social networking services is a striking feature of modern human society. The degree to which individuals participate in these networks varies substantially for reasons that are unclear. Here, we show a biological basis for such variability by demonstrating that quantitative variation in the number of friends an individual declares on a web-based social networking service reliably predicted grey matter density in the right superior temporal sulcus, left middle temporal gyrus and entorhinal cortex. Such regions have been previously implicated in social perception and associative memory, respectively. We further show that variability in the size of such online friendship networks was significantly correlated with the size of more intimate real-world social groups. However, the brain regions we identified were specifically associated with online social network size, whereas the grey matter density of the amygdala was correlated both with online and real-world social network sizes. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the size of an individual's online social network is closely linked to focal brain structure implicated in social cognition.


Author(s):  
Nasrin Motazedian ◽  
Mehrab Sayadi ◽  
Somaye Oboodi ◽  
Hassan Joulaei

: Street children are a hard-to-reach population. Since the direct method is not feasible and has some limitations, we utilized the network scale-up (NSU) as an indirect method. This study was conducted in Shiraz municipalities. Our target population was Iranian boys between 10 to 18 years of age during the years 2014 to 2016. Three trained psychologists conducted face to face interviews with 86 street children (boys) on the streets, through the convenience sampling technique. The social network size of street boys in Shiraz was estimated at 17 persons (ranging from zero to 92 people, mean = 17 ± 17, median = 13). Overall, the network size of the hidden population might be smaller than the general population, due to the stigmatized nature of their behavior and place of work.


Stroke ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amar Dhand ◽  
Douglas Luke ◽  
Angela Kim ◽  
Steven K Feske ◽  
Catherine E Lang ◽  
...  

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