Abstract

Individuals’ social relationships are characterized by multidimensional aspects of structure, function, and quality, and different constellations of such relationship features can have an important influence on health. This study identified middle-aged adults’ social relationship types based on extensive sets of structural, functional, and qualitative relationship features. We then examined their associations with physical and mental health outcomes. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) results using 555 middle-aged adults identified four social relationship types: diverse, family-oriented, friend-oriented, and restricted. Regression results suggested that an individual's social relationship type membership was significantly associated with one's physical and mental health outcomes. Specifically, compared to being in the restricted relationship type, being in the diverse, family-oriented, and friend-oriented network types was associated with higher levels of physical health and positive emotions. Further, compared to being in the restricted relationship type, being in the diverse and family-oriented relationship type was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and negative emotions. The results suggest that both quantitative and qualitative features of social relationships can have important implications on individuals’ physical and mental health. The findings underscore the utility of the multidimensional approach in deriving and characterizing individuals’ social relationships.