Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of social connectedness, social identity, and social comparison on social well-being, with the objective of discussing psychosocial strategies to enhance social well-being and providing foundational data for such interventions. To this end, Study 1 employed a survey to statistically examine the relationships between the variables, and mediation analysis was conducted to gain a more precise understanding of these relationships. Study 2 involved an experimental approach to determine the causal effects of social connectedness and social comparison on social well-being, and to test for the presence of interaction effects. The primary findings of the study are as follows: First, social connectedness and Korean social identity were found to have a positive impact on social well-being, with Korean social identity fully mediating the relationship between social connectedness and social well-being. Second, while the main effects of social connectedness and social comparison on social well-being and social identity were confirmed, no interaction effects between these two variables were observed. Specifically, higher levels of social connectedness were associated with more positive reports of social well-being and social identity. Additionally, downward comparison with past Korean society resulted in the most favorable outcomes for social well-being. These findings highlight the importance of social well-being, a concept that has received relatively little attention, and provide empirical evidence on the effects of key variables—social connectedness, social identity, and social comparison—thus offering a foundation for the development of strategies aimed at enhancing social well-being.