Personal well-being networks, social capital and severe mental illness: exploratory study

Sweet, Daryl; Byng, Richard; Webber, Martin; Enki, Doyo; Porter, Ian; Larsen, John; Huxley, Peter; Pinfold, Vanessa

doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.117.203950

Cited by 46 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…focusing on one or two key network members to enable them to garner optimal social support and reduce burden). Participants in the current study often foregrounded distal friendships, valued activities, hobbies, places and things in their accounts of the supportive features of personal communities of support [32]. These findings extend the NEM by highlighting the strength of weaker ties and non-human network members for managing mental health problems.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Identified network members included friends, family members, health professionals, pets, hobbies, places, activities and objects. This was supplemented by additional questions drawn from the literature which were designed to explore the role and function of different network members in relation to the managing of mental health in everyday settings [29,32,35,[37][38][39]. See also the Appendix.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Network diversity is important in relation to the capacity to leverage resources [31]. In relation to mental health, 'formal and sparse' networksthose with fewer social ties, higher proportions of professional network members and lower engagement in social activities -have been associated with lower subjective wellbeing compared to other types of more socially diverse networks [32]. Less is known about what is involved in retaining and utilising networks as part of on-going management and the work entailed in mobilising and using personal support networks in everyday settings over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Social networks create both opportunities and constraints for people in terms of accessing and using resources to manage mental health [33] . The association of increased network resources with better mental health implicates viewing the configuration of connections to people, places, locations and meaningful activities as the building blocks for personal mental health recovery [18,32]. Currently, relatively little is known about the value that people attach to network members, how decisions are made about connecting to and sustaining different types of network relationships or the work required to navigate and negotiate such relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Negotiating support from relationships and resources: a longitudinal study examining the role of personal support networks in the management of severe and enduring mental health problems

et al. 2020

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Background: Personal communities or personal support networks comprise a variety of social ties considered important to individuals in their everyday lives. This set of active and significant ties influence the capacity to manage mental health problems because of the potential to access social support. However, little is known in the context of people's everyday management of mental health about how relationships with people, places, objects and activities are navigated and negotiated. This study aimed to explore the nature and negotiation of support from personal communities in the everyday management of severe and enduring mental health problems. Methods: A longitudinal qualitative study undertaken in the UK incorporating 79 interviews with 29 participants based on personal network mapping. 29 users of mental health services with a diagnosis of severe and enduring mental illness were interviewed at three time points. Data was analysed using an inductive thematic approach underpinned by the Network Episode Model. Results:The presence and maintenance of interpersonal trust was a fundamental condition of the relational work required to develop, undertake and sustain relationships with others. Whilst relationships with spouses, family members and friends were generally viewed positively, the work required to engage human others was contingent, vicarious and overlain with felt and enacted stigma. Developing relationships with others was hindered by a lack of confidence fuelled by the experience of mental illness and a fear of rejection or failure. By contrast, weaker ties and inanimate objects and places offered and provided a sense of reliability and security. Strategies employed by participants in order to garner sufficient support for condition management in the light of these particular challenges are illuminated by the discussion of who and what is relevant and valued in personal support networks. Conclusions: Access to valued activities, hobbies and things should be considered alongside human relationships in providing a means of ongoing support and resource for the everyday management of life for those experiencing severe and enduring mental health problems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Negotiating support from relationships and resources: a longitudinal study examining the role of personal support networks in the management of severe and enduring mental health problems

et al. 2020

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“…While this exploratory study has limitations, the findings suggest that there is potential for people with severe mental illness and practitioners to use the personal wellbeing network mapping approach to support recovery. 75 …”

Section: Actively Managing Personal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forward Thinking - NIHR research on support for people with severe mental illness

2018

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Social networks and symptomatic and functional outcomes in schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Degnan

Berry

Sweet

et al. 2018

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

Self Cite

154

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PurposeTo conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the strength of associations between social network size and clinical and functional outcomes in schizophrenia.MethodStudies were identified from a systematic search of electronic databases (EMBASE, Medline, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) from January 1970 to June 2016. Eligible studies included peer-reviewed English language articles that examined associations between a quantitative measure of network size and symptomatic and/or functional outcome in schizophrenia-spectrum diagnoses.ResultsOur search yielded 16 studies with 1,929 participants. Meta-analyses using random effects models to calculate pooled effect sizes (Hedge’s g) found that smaller social network size was moderately associated with more severe overall psychiatric symptoms (N = 5, n = 467, g = − 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = − 0.875, − 0.184, p = 0.003) and negative symptoms (N = 8, n = 577, g = − 0.75, 95% CI = − 0.997, − 0.512, p = 0.000). Statistical heterogeneity was observed I2 = 63.04%; I2 = 35.75%,) which could not be explained by low-quality network measures or sample heterogeneity in sensitivity analyses. There was no effect for positive symptoms (N = 7, n = 405, g = − 0.19, 95% CI = 0.494, 0.110, p = 0.213) or social functioning (N = 3, n = 209, g = 0.36, 95% CI = − 0.078, 0.801, p = 0.107). Narrative synthesis suggested that larger network size was associated with improved global functioning, but findings for affective symptoms and quality of life were mixed.ConclusionPsychosocial interventions which support individuals to build and maintain social networks may improve outcomes in schizophrenia. The review findings are cross-sectional and thus causal direction cannot be inferred. Further research is required to examine temporal associations between network characteristics and outcomes in schizophrenia and to test theoretical models relating to explanatory or mediating mechanisms.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00127-018-1552-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Personal well-being networks, social capital and severe mental illness: exploratory study

Cited by 46 publications

References 29 publications

Negotiating support from relationships and resources: a longitudinal study examining the role of personal support networks in the management of severe and enduring mental health problems

Negotiating support from relationships and resources: a longitudinal study examining the role of personal support networks in the management of severe and enduring mental health problems

Forward Thinking - NIHR research on support for people with severe mental illness

Social networks and symptomatic and functional outcomes in schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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