Modelling the Association between Social Network Factors and Mental Health in Australia

Abstract

This dissertation examines three under-researched areas which forms the basis of the research questions: 1) whether subjective social network factors influence mental health, 2) whether social network factors influence mental health, depression and anxiety at different life stages, and 3) whether subjective social network factors can mediate the association between mental health and psychological distress. Altogether, this dissertation comprises of six chapters. Chapter 1 outlines the key literature on social network and mental health. The independent variables include social isolation which is the lack of social contact. Social trust refers to an individual’s expectation that others involved in a social relationship can be relied upon to act in ways that are caring towards their interests, while social connectedness measures how people come together and interact with one another. Chapter 2 discusses the research methodology and dataset used in this dissertation. A quantitative design approach was adopted, using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Chapter 3 highlights two published journal papers, which show how social network factors significantly influences mental health at different life stages. In Chapter 4, the association between social network factors and depression or anxiety at different life stages was examined. The results support the earlier notion that social network factors do have a statistically significant influence on depression and anxiety. Chapter 5 examined whether subjective social network factors mediate the association between mental health and psychological distress for individuals with high psychological distress. The findings revealed that the social network factors do mediate this relationship. In Chapter 6, the key findings, recommendations, research and practical implications, and future works are explained.