The effects of neighborhood social ties and networks on mental health and well-being: A qualitative case study of women residents in a middle-class Korean urban neighborhood

Naeun Gu

Social Science & Medicine, 2020, vol. 265, issue C

Abstract: Despite the general understanding of the significance of neighborhood social capital on mental health, our understanding of the mechanisms of these effects is limited. This study thus explores the characteristics of neighborhood social ties and networks experienced by women residents in their urban neighborhood in the Seoul metropolitan area, Korea, and how these social relationships contributed to their mental health and well-being. We draw on a phenomenological qualitative study conducted in 2016, which included interviews with 18 full-time or part-time housewives with children. The participants in this study experienced the neighborhood social networks and ties as unessential but supportive relationships, as an extension of mothering, and as a source of stressful social comparisons. With these characteristics, the social relationships had both positive and negative effects on the participants’ mental health and well-being because they provided social support but also generated everyday stress. This study illustrates an example of the complex link between neighborhood social capital and mental health. It also contributes to our understanding of the everyday processes that influence the health and well-being of women, highlighting the possible oppressive attributes of neighborhood communities.

Keywords: South Korea; Neighborhood social capital; Social networks; Social ties; Mental health and well-being; Gender; Maternal role (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113336

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