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Social Relationships and Physical and Mental Health in Midlife: A Multidimensional Profile-Based Approach

  • THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
  • 2023, 36(2), pp.79-102
  • DOI : 10.35574/KJDP.2023.6.36.2.79
  • Publisher : The Korean Society For Developmental Psychology
  • Research Area : Social Science > Psychological Science
  • Received : April 28, 2023
  • Accepted : May 26, 2023
  • Published : June 15, 2023

Chaerim Park ORD ID 1 Huiyoung Shin ORD ID 1

1전북대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Individuals’ social relationships are characterized by multidimensional aspects of structure, function, and quality, and different constellations of such relationship features can have an important influence on health. This study identified middle-aged adults’ social relationship types based on extensive sets of structural, functional, and qualitative relationship features. We then examined their associations with physical and mental health outcomes. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) results using 555 middle-aged adults identified four social relationship types: diverse, family-oriented, friend-oriented, and restricted. Regression results suggested that an individual's social relationship type membership was significantly associated with one's physical and mental health outcomes. Specifically, compared to being in the restricted relationship type, being in the diverse, family-oriented, and friend-oriented network types was associated with higher levels of physical health and positive emotions. Further, compared to being in the restricted relationship type, being in the diverse and family-oriented relationship type was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and negative emotions. The results suggest that both quantitative and qualitative features of social relationships can have important implications on individuals’ physical and mental health. The findings underscore the utility of the multidimensional approach in deriving and characterizing individuals’ social relationships.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.