Higher Social Connectedness Research Articles

Assessing social anhedonia in a transdiagnostic sample: Insights from a computational psychiatry lens.

Anhedonia, a reduced ability to experience positive affect and seek rewards, is present across many psychiatric disorders, notably among individuals who experienced trauma. Within the social domain, anhedonia manifests as an altered sense of belonging and social isolation and is associated with poorer clinical outcomes. Yet, mechanistic operationalizations of social anhedonia are lacking, limiting our understanding of the relationship between these mechanisms and affective symptoms. To address these questions, we developed a social reward exploration task which was administered to a transdiagnostic sample of trauma-exposed Veterans (N = 33) while they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. The goal was to maximize compliments from two unknown partners, as participants were told these partners selected compliments based on seeing their picture. A Bayesian reinforcement learning modeling approach was used to extract cognitive and neural markers of compliment (reward) exploration. To address these questions, we developed a social reward exploration task which was administered to a transdiagnostic sample of trauma-exposed Veterans (N = 33) while they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. The goal was to maximize compliments from two unknown partners, as participants were told these partners selected compliments based on seeing their picture. A Bayesian reinforcement learning modeling approach was used to extract cognitive and neural markers of compliment (reward) exploration. Higher social connectedness (β = 0.51; 95 % CI=[0.11,0.94]) and anxiety (β = 0.57; 95 % CI=[0.13,1.00]) were independently associated with more model-based choices of the partner they anticipated to be most complimenting. In the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC; z = 3.89, p .001) and left inferior parietal lobule (z = 3.96, p .001), neural responses to reward prediction errors (RPE) were more positive in response to compliment relative to non-compliment outcomes. Greater positive RPE ACC activation was associated with lower anxiety (β = −0.51; 95 % CI=[−0.99,−0.10]. Computational approaches to social reinforcement learning can help identify important neurocognitive differences in social reward sensitivity among individuals with complex affective profiles, such as trauma-exposed individuals. Understanding these differences may help develop new prediction and treatment tools for social anhedonia.

Understanding the Effect of External and Internal Assets on Hazardous/Harmful Drinking Among Chinese College Students: A Serial Mediation Model.

Hazardous/harmful drinking among college students is increasingly becoming a global health concern. Previous studies have mostly paid more attention to the prevalence and risk factors of alcohol use disorder based on the public health approach, and less is understood about psychological mechanisms and protective factors of problem drinking behavior. Grounded in the framework of developmental assets, this study explored the predictive effect of external assets (i.e., social connectedness) and internal assets (i.e., self-concept clarity and drinking refusal self-efficacy) on hazardous/harmful drinking among Chinese college students. Participants were 598 college students with a mean age of 19.41 (SD = 1.21) years. The results of structural equation modeling showed that social connectedness negatively predicted college students' hazardous/harmful drinking. Moreover, our path analyses revealed a serial mediation among these variables: students with high social connectedness tended to report high self-concept clarity, which in turn increased drinking refusal self-efficacy, and consequently decreased the level of hazardous/harmful drinking. This study revealed the mechanisms underlying how external and internal assets predict risky drinking among college students. These findings made significant contributions to prevention and precision interventions for college-aged youth with drinking problems.

Ethnicity, social connectedness, and the rural-urban food continuum: Food security among urban informal settlement dwellers in Kenya

Rapid urbanization in developing countries is increasingly becoming an important development issue due to its negative effects on poverty and food insecurity in cities. This study investigated the determinants of the food insecurity gap among urban households living in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, and the role of social connectedness and the rural-urban food continuum. Using panel data collected from 385 households using a two-stage cluster sample design, the study applied panel data regression and decomposition models to understand the factors affecting food insecurity access scores and weekly household food consumption expenditure. Descriptive results showed a score of 8.00 for the pooled sample on the household food access scale, with households from other regions having a lower score (7.94) than those from the Western region (8.32). 43 % of households from Western Kenya engaged in farming in rural areas (43 %) and had higher social connectedness (45 %) than households from other regions. The results indicate that dependency ratio, income, savings, social connectedness, rural visits, and dietary knowledge are significant factors impacting food security. Decomposition of levels and change in food insecurity revealed that endowments from the random effects model contributed to reducing the food insecurity gap between households originating from the Western region and those from other regions. The study highlights the importance of considering regional factors and promoting social connectedness and rural-urban linkages in addressing food insecurity in informal urban settlements.

Understanding and comparing risk factors and subtypes in South Korean adult and adolescent women's suicidal ideation or suicide attempt using survey and social media data.

This study aimed to investigate the similarities and differences in risk factors for suicide among adult and adolescent women in South Korea and identify subtypes of suicidal ideation or suicide attempt in each group. Multifaceted data were collected and analyzed by linking survey and social media data. Interpretable machine learning models were constructed to predict suicide risk and major risk factors were extracted by investigating their feature importance. Additionally, subtypes of suicidal adult and adolescent women were identified and explained using risk factors. The risk factors for adult women were primarily related to mental disorders, while those for adolescent women were primarily related to interpersonal experiences and needs. Two subtypes of suicidal adult women were one with high psychiatric symptoms and mental disorders of them and/or their families and the other with excessive social media use and high online victimization. Two subtypes of suicidal adolescent women were one with high psychiatric symptoms, high ACEs, and high social connectedness, and the other with frequent social media use, high online sexual victimization, and high social assurance. These findings enable a stratified and targeted understanding of suicide in women and help develop customized suicide prevention plans in South Korea.

34 Neurocomputational Mechanisms of Social Reward Processing in Combat-Exposed Veterans

Objective:Combat exposure is associated with higher rates of depressive symptoms, including anhedonia (i.e., a reduced ability to seek and experience rewards) and feelings of social disconnectedness. While these symptoms are commonly documented in combat-exposed Veterans following deployment, the cognitive mechanisms underlying this pathology is less well understood. Computational modeling can provides detailed mechanistic insights into complex cognition, which may be particularly useful to understand how social reward processing is altered following combat exposure. Here, we use a Bayesian learning model framework to address this question.Participants and Methods:Thirty-three Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/ Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/Operation New Dawn (OND) Veterans (25 Male, 8 Female) between the ages of 18-65 years old (M = 41.61, SD = 10.49) participated in this study. In both classic/monetary and social reward conditions, participants completed a 2-arm bandit task, in which they must choose on each trial between two options (i.e., slot machine vs social partner) with unknown reward rates. While they received monetary outcomes in the classic condition, participants received compliments from different fictitious partners in the social condition. We first compared a learning-independent Win-stay/Lose-shift (WSLS) heuristic and either a Rescorla-Wagner Q-learning or a Bayesian learning model (Dynamic Belief Model/DBM) paired with a Softmax reward maximization policy. DBM+Softmax provided the best fit of the data for most participants (31/33). Individual DBM parameters of prior reward expectation, reward learning (i.e., perceived stability of reward rates), and Softmax reward maximization were estimated and compared across conditions.Results:Participants did not differ in their reward learning parameters across monetary and social conditions (t(30)= -0.70, p = 0.490), suggesting similar perception of reward stability in both modalities. However, higher Bayesian prior mean (i.e., initial belief of reward rate; t(30)= -2.31, p = 0.028, d=0.42) and greater reward maximization (i.e., Softmax parameter; t(30)= -2.26, p = 0.031, d=0.41) were observed in response to social vs monetary rewards. In the social reward condition, higher self-reported social connectedness was associated with greater model fit of our DBM model (i.e., smaller Bayesian Information Criterion/BIC; r = -0.38, p = 0.041). In this condition, those expecting higher reward rates when initiating reward exploration (those with higher DBM prior mean) endorsed lower self-esteem (Spearman's ρ = -0.43, p = 0.078) and lower positive affect (ρ = -0.32, p = 0.078).Conclusions:A Bayesian learning modeling framework can characterize mechanistic differences in the processing of social vs non-social reward among combat-exposed Veterans. Individuals with higher social connectedness were more model-based in their performance, consistent with the notion that they are more likely to estimate and anticipate how much social peers have to offer. Combat-exposed individuals with lower self-esteem and positive affect appear to have higher initial expectations of reward from unknown partners, which could reflect greater need for mood and/or self-esteem repair in those individuals. Overall, Bayesian modeling of social reward behavior provides a useful quantitative framework to predict clinically relevant construct of functional outcomes in military populations.

Learning to eat from others: Does nutritional information acquired from peers affect nutrition intake?

Rural communities in low- and middle-income countries are vulnerable to malnutrition. They also tend to have strong social ties, exhibit high social connectedness, and lean on relatives, neighbors, and friends for support and information. Accordingly, focusing on the three macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) and three critical micronutrients (iron, zinc, and selenium), we analyze the effects of nutritional information acquired from relatives, neighbors, and friends on rural households' nutrition intake. We utilize propensity score matching to analyze cross-sectional data collected from 915 rural households in China. Results show that acquiring nutritional information significantly improves households' intake of fats, iron, and selenium but does not affect the intake of proteins, carbohydrates, and zinc. The disaggregated analysis reveals that the nutrition intake of females responds to nutritional information, but that of males does not. Also, large households' nutrition intake increases in response to nutritional information, whereas that of small households is mostly unaffected. The results suggest that people assimilate new ideas to improve their dietary habits. However, by the same token, they may be susceptible to the deleterious effects of nutritional misinformation and fads. Policymakers, not-for-profit organizations, and industry stakeholders should disseminate evidence-based nutritional information to foster health and wellbeing in rural areas.

Social Connectedness among Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents with Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Exploring Individual and Facility-Level Variation

Introduction: This study sought to explore individual and facility-level variation in social connectedness among long-stay nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s or other dementias (ADRD). Methods: We identified 721,074 long-stay residents with ADRD using 2016 Minimum Data Set 3.0 data. Social connectedness was defined using the social connectedness index (SCI) (high: SCI = 5, lower: 0 < SCI ≤ 4). Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) provided estimates of the associations between resident-level and facility-level characteristics, and high SCI was derived from logistic models. Results: The SCI Cronbach’s alpha was 0.69; 78.6% had high SCI scores. Men were less likely than women to have higher SCI scores (aOR = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.97–0.98). Increasing age was associated with higher SCI scores (e.g., aOR [85–94 vs. 40–64 years]: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.06–1.07). Those with moderate cognitive impairment (aOR: 0.87) and severe cognitive impairment (aOR: 0.85) had reduced odds of SCI = 5 relative to those with mild/intact cognitive function. Residents living in homes with special care dementia units and with higher percentage of residents with dementia had decreased odds of high social connectedness. Discussion/Conclusion: Understanding resident- and nursing home-level variation in social connectedness may be important for targeting interventions that reduce isolation among residents with ADRD.

Determinants of social health trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic in older adults: the Rotterdam Study.

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and accompanying lockdown restrictions impacted social life significantly. We studied associations of sociodemographic factors, mental and social health markers, and brain structure with social health trajectories during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prospective longitudinal population-based cohort study. Community-dwelling inhabitants of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Repeated questionnaires including questions on social health were sent to Rotterdam Study participants from April 2020 onwards. Social health data at study baseline were available for 5017 participants (mean age: 68.7 ± 11.3; 56.9% women). Determinants were assessed in routine Rotterdam Study follow-up (1990-2020), including global brain volumes in a subset of participants (N = 1720). We applied linear mixed models and generalized estimating equations to quantify associations between determinants and trajectories of loneliness, perceived social isolation and social connectedness over three time points from April 22nd to July 31st 2020. Loneliness prevalence was 27.9% in April 2020 versus 12.6% prepandemic. Social isolation (baseline mean 4.7 ± 2.4) and loneliness scores (baseline mean 4.9 ± 1.5) decreased over time, whereas social connectedness trajectories remained stable. Depressive symptoms, female sex, prepandemic loneliness, living alone, and not owning a pet were independently associated with lower social connectedness and higher social isolation and loneliness at COVID-19 baseline, but recovery of social health was similar for all determinants. Larger intracranial volume was associated with higher social connectedness. Despite baseline differences for specific determinants, older adults showed similar recovery of loneliness and social isolation alongside stable social connectedness over time during the pandemic. Social health is multidimensional, especially during a global health crisis.

Opioid pain medication misuse, concomitant substance misuse, and the unmet behavioral health treatment needs of transgender and gender diverse adults

BackgroundLimited research has explored risk factors for opioid pain medication misuse, concomitant substance misuse, and the unmet behavioral health treatment (BHTx) needs of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults. MethodsIn 2019, TGD adults (N = 562) in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were purposively recruited and completed a psychosocial and behavioral health survey (95 % online; 5% in-person). Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with past 12-month opioid pain medication misuse and unmet BHTx needs. ResultsOverall, 24.4 % of participants were trans women; 32.0 % trans men; and 43.6 % were non-binary. Past-year substance misuse included: marijuana (56.8 %), hazardous drinking (37.5 %), hallucinogens (9.8 %), benzodiazepines (8.2 %), and opioid pain medication (8.0 %). Among participants with past-year substance misuse and BHtx need (n = 326), 81.3 % received BHtx and 18.7 % had unmet BHtx needs. Being a trans woman, having HIV, stigma in healthcare, and number of substances misused were associated with increased odds of past-year opioid pain medication misuse; high social connectedness was associated with decreased odds of opioid pain medication misuse (p-values<0.05). Younger age, stigma in healthcare, and misusing opioid pain medications were associated with increased odds of unmet BHTx needs; post-traumatic stress disorder and family support were associated with decreased odds of unmet BHtx needs (p-values<0.05). ConclusionsAddressing disparities in opioid pain medication misuse among TGD people requires systematic improvements in healthcare access, including efforts to create TGD-inclusive BHtx environments with providers who are equipped to recognize and treat the social and structural drivers of TGD health inequities, including opioid pain medication misuse.

Evaluating the impact of a time orientation intervention on well-being during the COVID-19 lockdown: past, present or future?

ABSTRACT Lockdown policies brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic pose a threat to well-being. This study examined the effectiveness of three positive psychology interventions, with different time-orientations, on well-being as well as predictors of well-being during lockdown. Participants (n= 261) completed measures of lockdown characteristics, attachment orientation, and emotion regulation, were then randomly allocated to one of four interventions; nostalgia (past), gratitude (present), best possible self (BPS; future) or control (recalling a TV show), and completed outcome measures of well-being and affect. Results showed that BPS resulted in higher positive affect and that both BPS and gratitude resulted in higher social connectedness than the nostalgia intervention. Further, greater well-being during lockdown was predicted by greater attachment security, greater emotion regulation, and more social interactions. In sum, focusing on the present or future during lockdown is more effective for well-being than focusing on the past, which alongside trait characteristics predict well-being under lockdown.

The Bright Sides of Sadness in Late Life

Sadness is often thought of as unpleasant and dysfunctional. Yet, evolutionary-functionalist approaches and discrete emotional aging frameworks suggest that sadness is an emotion that helps us deal with loss and thus may become particularly salient and adaptive in late life. This talk presents findings from a multi-study, multi-method research program using age-diverse samples and experimental and longitudinal study designs. Findings show (1) intact or elevated levels of sadness responding in late life (i.e., higher sadness expressions in response to distressing film clips; higher coherence between sad facial expressions and autonomic physiology in response to film clips depicting loss; stability in sadness behaviors in marital conflict interactions). Moreover, (2) higher levels of sadness responding are linked to adaptive outcomes in late life (i.e., higher social connectedness, higher compensatory control strategies) with some effects generalizing across age groups (i.e., links between sadness coherence and well-being). Implications for future research are discussed.

Abstract 15768: Social Connectedness is Independently Associated With Cardiovascular Health

Introduction: Social connectedness (SC) is an important determinant of maintaining overall health, and the strength of connections with others may influence cardiovascular health (CVH) in part through improvement in cardiovascular disease risk factors. However, there is a lack of research on the role of SC in promoting CVH, as defined by the American Heart Association’s 2020 Impact Goals. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of SC on CVH among adults. Hypothesis: Higher SC will be associated with higher odds of optimal CVH, relative to inadequate CVH. Methods: Data are from the Community of Mine study, a cross-sectional study of 602 participants (42% Hispanic, 56% female, mean age 59 years) living in San Diego County. CVH was based on Life’s Simple 7 using six metrics including smoking, physical activity, body mass index, total cholesterol, blood pressure, and fasting glucose. A 12-point summary score was used to classify participants as having inadequate (0-6), average (7-8), or optimal (9-12) CVH. SC was assessed using a 7-item scale designed to assess social relationships and strength of connections with others (Cronbach’s alpha=0.92). A mean score across all items was generated. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the association between SC and CVH. We adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, governmental cash assistance, income, education, sex, history of medical comorbidities, family history of heart disease, and depressive symptoms. Results: SC was independently associated with CVH (p=0.04). More specifically, a 1-unit increase in mean SC score was associated with a 46% increase in relative odds of having optimal CVH compared to inadequate CVH (OR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.07-1.98), and a 21% increase in relative odds of having average CVH compared to inadequate CVH (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 0.96-1.52). Conclusions: Higher social connectedness is associated with a greater likelihood of having optimal CVH. Individuals’ perceptions of the strength of their relationships could have cardioprotective benefits through promotion of favorable cardiovascular health behaviors and factors.

Self-Compassion and Social Connectedness Buffering Racial Discrimination on Depression Among Asian Americans

This study aimed to examine the personal (i.e., self-compassion) and social (i.e., social connectedness) resources that can buffer individuals’ psychological distress in the face of difficulty based on previous literature on self-compassion and social connectedness. We used a cross-sectional online survey to examine whether there was a three-way interaction of racial discrimination, three self-compassion components (i.e., self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity), and social connectedness on depression among Asian American college students. Participants were 205 Asian Americans from a West Coast public university. Results supported the moderation hypothesis with social connectedness and self-kindness as moderators. Specifically, at higher social connectedness and higher self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was not significant. Conversely, at higher social connectedness and lower self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was significantly positive. Furthermore, at lower social connectedness and higher self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was significantly positive. However, at lower social connectedness and lower self-kindness, the association between racial discrimination and depression was not significant. The same results applied to the second (i.e., social connectedness and mindfulness as moderators), but not the third (i.e., social connectedness and common humanity as moderators) moderation hypothesis. Both personal (i.e., self-compassion) and social (i.e., social connectedness) factors work together to buffer the impact of racial discrimination on depression among Asian American college students.

Emotion Regulation in Context: Social Connectedness Moderates Concurrent and Prospective Associations With Depressive Symptoms

Introduction: Emotion regulation in healthy functioning and in depression is typically examined as an intrapersonal phenomenon, but growing evidence suggests social factors affect individuals' strategy use and effectiveness. We examined whether the role of emotion regulation in depression—concurrently and over four weeks—depends on social connectedness, predicting that higher social connectedness would dilute effects of one's own strategy use regardless of specific strategy. Methods: Young adult participants (n = 187) completed measures of perceived social connectedness, depressive symptoms, two avoidant emotion regulation strategies (ruminative brooding and experiential avoidance), and two approach-oriented strategies (positive reappraisal and planning), and depressive symptoms again four weeks later (n = 166). Results: Cross-sectional associations of emotion regulation with symptoms were moderated by social connectedness: effects of both avoidant and approach strategies were weaker among more connected individuals. Prospectively, social connectedness moderated effects of approach strategies, but not avoidant strategies. Among more socially connected individuals, using approach strategies—which are typically adaptive—was associated with higher symptoms over time. Discussion: Results partially replicate previous research and support the role of social factors as important contexts of intraper-sonal emotion regulation and dysregulation in depression. Findings suggest that social resources can dilute intrapersonal effects regardless of strategy type—more in the shorter term than in the longer term—and can even lead seemingly adaptive strategies to backfire over time. Implications for research integrating emotion regulation, relationships, and depressive psychopathology are discussed.

The effect of social network on the physical activity-cognitive function nexus in late life.

The sample included respondents aged 65 years and older who participated in both the fourth and sixth waves of Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (n = 17,104). Cognitive functioning in Wave 6, measured as the average of standardized scores for recall, fluency, and numeracy, was regressed on the extent of vigorous physical activity, social network size, and several confounders in Wave 4 (including the corresponding cognition score at baseline). Interaction terms for physical activity and network size were also considered. Moderate and high levels of vigorous physical activity, as well as social network size, were related to the cognition outcome after controlling for the confounders. Introduction of the interaction terms showed a direct and positive association of both moderate and high physical activity with the cognition outcome scores as social network size increased. However, among respondents in small- (0-1 members) and moderate-sized networks (2-3 members), greater physical activity was unrelated to the cognition score at follow-up. Only the interaction of high social connectedness (4-7 network members) and vigorous physical activity was significant. Vigorous physical activity is, indeed, related to subsequent cognitive functioning. However, the relationship is tempered by social network size. Therefore, interventions that increase both social connectedness and physical activity, especially among older people who are isolated and sedentary, are warranted.

Impact of Brief Counseling on Nonurgent Prior- versus Never-counseled Samples

ABSTRACTThe purposes of this study were to distinguish prior- versus never-counseled nonurgent University Counseling Center (UCC) clients and to test if brief counseling had a differential impact on these two samples. The prior-counseled sample (n = 100) was more prepared for counseling, had a lower stigma for seeking help, as well as lower social connectedness and life satisfaction versus the never-counseled sample (n = 109). After brief counseling (median of four sessions after triage), the prior-counseled group (n = 33) had significantly higher social connectedness, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, while only social connectedness of the never-counseled group (n = 31) increased.

Relationship of loneliness and social connectedness with depression in elderly: A multicentric study under the aegis of Indian Association for Geriatric Mental Health

Aim of the Study: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of loneliness and its relationship with social connectedness and depression in elderly. Additional aims were to evaluate the demographic and clinical factors associated with loneliness and social connectedness in elderly patients with depression. Methodology: The study sample comprised 488 elderly patients (age ≥60 years) with depression recruited across 8 centers. These patients were evaluated on Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 Scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) Scale, Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale (LS), and Revised Social Connectedness Scale. Results: About three-fourth (77.3%) of the entire sample reported the presence of loneliness. With respect to specific loneliness symptom, 62.5% reported lack of companionship, 58.7% reported being left out in life, and 56.5% of the individuals reported felt isolated from others. No gender differences were noted in the prevalence of any loneliness symptom. Higher loneliness scores had significant positive correlation with severity of depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms as assessed by GDS-30, PHQ-15, and GAD-7, respectively, in individuals of both the genders. Higher social connectedness was associated with higher level of anxiety and lower loneliness in females only. Being currently single, older age, longer duration of illness, presence of family history of mental illness, presence of comorbid physical illness, and absence of substance abuse were associated with higher loneliness. With regard to suicidality, higher loneliness was associated with nonspecific active suicidal thoughts, active suicidal ideations with and without intent, nonsuicidal behavior, and higher intensity of suicidal ideations. Conclusions: About three-fourth of the elderly patients with depression also have associated loneliness. Loneliness is associated with higher severity of depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Severity of depression is associated with loneliness but not with social connectedness. Lower social connectedness among elderly females with depression is associated with higher loneliness, but this is not true for elderly males with depression.

Measuring Social Connectedness

We introduce a new measure of social connectedness between U.S. county-pairs, as well as between U.S. counties and foreign countries. Our measure, which we call the Connectedness Index (SCI), is based on the number of friendship links on Facebook, the world's largest online social networking service. Within the U.S., social connectedness is strongly decreasing in geographic distance between counties: for the population of the average county, 62.8% of friends live within 100 miles. The populations of counties with more geographically dispersed social networks are generally richer, more educated, and have a higher life expectancy. Region-pairs that are more socially connected have higher trade flows, even after controlling for geographic distance and the similarity of regions along other economic and demographic measures. Higher social connectedness is also associated with more cross-county migration and patent citations. Social connectedness between U.S. counties and foreign countries is correlated with past migration patterns, with social connectedness decaying in the time since the primary migration wave from that country. Trade with foreign countries is also strongly related to social connectedness. These results suggest that the SCI captures an important role of social networks in facilitating both economic and social interactions. Our findings also highlight the potential for the SCI to mitigate the measurement challenges that pervade empirical research on the role of social interactions across the social sciences.

Social connectedness and life satisfaction: Comparing mean levels for 2 undergraduate samples and testing for improvement based on brief counseling

ABSTRACTObjectives: Comparing the mean levels of social connectedness and life satisfaction, and analyzing their relationship for 2 undergraduate samples, and testing for an increase in their means for a brief counseling sample. Participants: Between October 2013 and May 2015, 3 samples were collected: not-in-counseling (NIC; n = 941), initial counseling session (ICS; ie, triage session only; n = 168), and brief counseling (BC; ie, median of 4 additional counseling sessions; n = 28). Methods: Online surveys measuring demographic and background control variables, social connectedness, and life satisfaction. Results: NIC students exhibited higher social connectedness and life satisfaction than ICS students. Social connectedness significantly explained life satisfaction beyond controlled-for variables for both samples. There was a significant increase in social connectedness and life satisfaction for the BC sample. Conclusions: Social connectedness is an important antecedent of life satisfaction for undergraduates. Brief counseling can increase transition students' social connectedness and life satisfaction.

Differential Role of Social Connectedness in Geriatric Depression Among Southeast Asian Ethnic Groups.

There is little empirical evidence on the effects of social connectedness on geriatric depression for Southeast Asians. Studies have rarely examined interethnic differences in the resilience factors for depression in this diverse population. Greater understanding is needed as the number of older Southeast Asians in the United States increases. We sought to examine the association between social connectedness and depressive symptoms in Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian elders. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, bilingual/bicultural staff collected demographics, the Lubben Social Network Scale, and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Univariate and multivariate regression models were constructed for the full aggregated sample and for each ethnic subgroup. In the full aggregated sample analysis, Southeast Asian elders were at increased risk for depression and had low social connectedness. Marriage and English proficiency were resilience factors, whereas social connectedness did not play a significant role. In disaggregated analyses, high social connectedness, marriage, and younger age were resilience factors for Vietnamese elders. English proficiency was the only significant resilience factor for Laotians, and age at the time of immigration was the only significant resilience factor for Cambodian elders. This study underscores the need for researchers to disaggregate data for ethnic subgroups in the Asian American population. Southeast Asian elders are at increased risk for depression and have low social connectedness. There exist important interethnic differences in resilience factors for geriatric depression, suggesting the need for more studies and interventions that are sensitive to subtle cultural differences among Southeast Asian subgroups.