The Impact of Late Adolescents' Social Network Strength on Mental Health

Stronger social networks in late adolescence are associated with better mental health, highlighting the importance of social connections. While correlational findings suggest general links between centrality and emotional well-being, the regression results underscore specific predictors with practical implications. In-degree, in-closeness, and eigenvector centrality were associated with reduced depressive symptoms, indicating that being well-integrated within a social network may offer protective benefits. In contrast, high out-closeness centrality predicted increased depression, suggesting that the effort required to maintain outward-reaching connections may impose psychological burdens. These findings suggest that targeted interventions should focus on strengthening inward social integration while addressing the stress related to maintaining extensive outward connections, providing direction for more effective youth mental health strategies.