The Relation of Social Network Structure Variables to The Mental Health and The Breadth and Quality of Church Support of Single Young Adult Church Members
Healy, James Edward
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/68992
Description
Title
The Relation of Social Network Structure Variables to The Mental Health and The Breadth and Quality of Church Support of Single Young Adult Church Members
Author(s)
Healy, James Edward
Issue Date
1985
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Clinical
Abstract
The study was designed to investigate the social support networks of single young adult church members with a view towards understanding the significance of differing network patterns, both for mental health, and for the breadth and quality of support these individuals receive from fellow church members in their networks.
The subjects were 83 church-involved Catholics between the ages of 21 and 40, who were either never married or divorced. Instruments used were modified versions of the Hirsch Social Network List and the McFarlane Social Relationships Scale, a Social Network Matrix Form, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, and the Bradburn Scales of Negative and Positive Affect. Responses were analyzed through multiple regression and canonical correlation.
It was discovered that those individuals whose network members were better known to each other across the church/non-church boundary experienced more feelings of positive affect. It was also found that the greater the percentage of network members from the church, the wider was the breadth of support received from church members. Divorced individuals also experienced fewer feelings of negative affect than the never-married.
In ancillary analyses, it was discovered that an overall measure of available support was a significant predictor for self-esteem, symptomatology, sense of well-being, and feelings of positive affect. In addition, it was found that, as a group, the social network structure variables related significantly to what were termed "enhancement" mental health variables, but not to what were termed "deficiency" mental health variables. Finally, it was disovered that individuals received a wider breadth of support from fellow church members to the extent that, within their network, church members knew non-church members who were not family members.
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