Adam M Kuczynski1, Jonathan W Kanter2, Donald J Robinaugh3. 1. University of Washington, 119a Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. adamkucz@uw.edu. 2. University of Washington, 119a Guthrie Hall, Box 351525, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Bowdoin Square, Room 656, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Humans are fundamentally social beings, and the relationships we form with others are crucial for our well-being. Research across a variety of domains has established the association between a variety of interpersonal factors and health outcomes, including quality-of-life. However, there is a need for a more integrative, holistic analysis of these variables and how they relate to one another. METHODS: Undergraduate students (n = 1456) from four universities across the United States completed self-report measures of their quality-of-life and a variety of interpersonal factors identified as important predictors across the literature. We examined zero-order correlations between these measures and quality-of-life, estimated a path model to look at unique variance accounted for by each, and finally used network analysis to examine the network of direct and indirect associations among these variables and quality-of-life. RESULTS: Loneliness had the strongest association with quality-of-life across all analyses. When examining the unique association between quality-of-life and each interpersonal variable, six remained statistically significant: loneliness, social support, social connectedness, emotional intelligence, intimacy with one's romantic partner, and empathic concern. These results were supported by the network model, which found direct associations between quality-of-life and these six variables as well as indirect associations with all other interpersonal variables in the model. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this research suggest that interpersonal factors in general, and loneliness in particular, are strongly associated with quality-of-life. Future research is needed to establish the direction of these effects and examine for whom these findings are generalizable.
PURPOSE:Humans are fundamentally social beings, and the relationships we form with others are crucial for our well-being. Research across a variety of domains has established the association between a variety of interpersonal factors and health outcomes, including quality-of-life. However, there is a need for a more integrative, holistic analysis of these variables and how they relate to one another. METHODS: Undergraduate students (n = 1456) from four universities across the United States completed self-report measures of their quality-of-life and a variety of interpersonal factors identified as important predictors across the literature. We examined zero-order correlations between these measures and quality-of-life, estimated a path model to look at unique variance accounted for by each, and finally used network analysis to examine the network of direct and indirect associations among these variables and quality-of-life. RESULTS: Loneliness had the strongest association with quality-of-life across all analyses. When examining the unique association between quality-of-life and each interpersonal variable, six remained statistically significant: loneliness, social support, social connectedness, emotional intelligence, intimacy with one's romantic partner, and empathic concern. These results were supported by the network model, which found direct associations between quality-of-life and these six variables as well as indirect associations with all other interpersonal variables in the model. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this research suggest that interpersonal factors in general, and loneliness in particular, are strongly associated with quality-of-life. Future research is needed to establish the direction of these effects and examine for whom these findings are generalizable.
Entities:
Keywords:
Interpersonal processes; Loneliness; Network analysis; Quality-of-life; Social isolation
Authors: Maria D Calderon Leon; João F Guassi Moreira; Tara S Peris; Jennifer A Silvers; Natalie M Saragosa-Harris; Yael H Waizman; Anna Sedykin Journal: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev Date: 2022-09-24