The Structure of Social Support in Confidant Networks: Implications for Depression

Social support differs for depressed and non-depressed individuals. However, the structural features of social supports, as represented via social networks and how they are related to depression, and its mitigation, are unclear. Here, we examine associations between personal support network structures and self-reports of depression and depression mitigation behaviors. Cross-sectional data were collected from participants (n = 1002 adults) recruited from a research volunteer website. Personal support networks were elicited by asking participants to nominate up to six people (i.e., confidants) that they talk to about interpersonal problems (e.g., unpleasant social encounters) and to indicate who knows whom among their confidants. Results show that the confidant networks of depressed and non-depressed participants did not differ in network size or in constraint—i.e., the degree to which confidants’ ties overlap with the ties of the participant. However, depressed participants’ confidants had significantly fewer average ties with one another (mean degree). Irrespective of depression diagnosis, lower network constraint and size predicted greater engagement in depression mitigation behaviors. That is, having relatively large confidant networks within which one can freely navigate one’s personal information can contribute to improvement in depressive outcomes. Implications are further discussed in the discussion section.