Social Network Diversity and Mental Health Among Mothers of Individuals With Autism.
Robert S Dembo, Marsha R Mailick, Abby E Rudolph and 3 others
PMID 36807480WHAT IT FOUND
Having a wider variety of relationships, not just more friends, protected mothers of adults with autism against depression over 12 years.
Mothers with diverse networks had lower symptoms, and those with fewer symptoms maintained more diverse ties.
Key findings
01Network diversity predicted lower depression over time, even after accounting for the total number of relationships.
02The relationship was bidirectional: higher depression predicted a subsequent decrease in network diversity.
03Mothers of children with intellectual disability had less diverse networks.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample was primarily non-Hispanic white (93.81%) and not representative of all families of individuals with ASD. Data relied on maternal self-reports, which may introduce bias. The study included only mothers, leaving a gap in knowledge regarding fathers. The method of reviewing previous network rosters may have biased results toward stability. The study did not account for virtual contacts, which are increasingly common.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA). No conflicts of interest were declared by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that simply increasing the number of friends or contacts will improve maternal mental health. The study found that the benefit of network size disappeared when the variety of relationship types was accounted for, meaning the diversity of ties is the critical factor.