Social network density and rehospitalization among young adult patients.

The authors interviewed 30 patients under age 40 who had been hospitalized repeatedly to determine the relationship between social network density, or the extent to which network members know one another, and rehospitalization. They found that moderate levels of network density were associated with fewer days in the hospital. Time spent in the hospital was not related to network size, and patient diagnosis was not a good predictor of hospitalization. The authors hypothesize that a moderately dense network is optimal for psychologically vulnerable individuals because it can be maintained under stress.