A Network Analysis of Social Support, Social Anxiety and Loneliness Relationships in College Students with and Without Disabilities

Background: Although social support, social anxiety, and loneliness have been shown to be interrelated, the specific node-level associations underlying these relationships remain largely unclear. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the specific associations among the nodes of these constructs and, in particular, to compare differences in the network structure of these constructs between college students with and without disabilities. Methods: A total of 1793 college students were included in this study, including 749 individuals with disabilities (41.8%) and 1044 individuals without disabilities (58.2%). Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing perceived social support, social anxiety, and loneliness. The primary analytical method was network analysis, which was used to identify key nodes and potential edges, both in the overall sample and separately among college students with and without disabilities. Results: In the overall sample, FS1 (Family gives practical help) and TS3 (Teacher comforts me when in trouble) were identified as core nodes; FS1 (Family gives practical help), TS4 (Teachers care about my emotional state), and PS4 (Rely on friends in difficulties) served as key bridge nodes. Among college students with disabilities, TS3 (Teacher comforts me when in trouble), TS4 (Teachers care about my emotional state), and FS1 (Family gives practical help) were core nodes, while TS4 (Teachers care about my emotional state)and FS1 (Family gives practical help) were key bridge nodes. Among those without disabilities, FS4 (Family offers emotional support), PS4 (Rely on friends in difficulties), and TS3 (Teacher comforts me when in trouble) were core nodes, and TS4 (Teachers care about my emotional state), PS4 (Rely on friends in difficulties), and PS1 (Friends truly help me) were key bridge nodes. Furthermore, significant group differences were observed in network structure invariance and edge-wise comparisons. Relative to their peers without disabilities, college students with disabilities showed a pattern in which social support appeared to be independent of, or even positively associated with, social anxiety and loneliness, along with more positive cross-system connections across different support sources. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of tailoring interventions to specific phenomena to promote mental health among different college students.