Social Connection Constellations and Individual Well-Being Typologies: Using the Loglinear Modeling Approach with Latent Variables

Despite a well-established association between social connection and well-being, it is unclear which aspects of social connection link to well-being in what ways. This gap in the literature necessitates a holistic evaluation of each construct and their comprehensive associations. This study used a pattern-based approach to (1) identify different constellations of quality, quantity, and need in social connection, (2) identify different typologies of well-being (using indicators of life satisfaction, a sense of purpose, depression, and perceived stressed), and (3) investigate their associations holistically. In a sample of 700 individuals (age: 17–33; 79.9% females; 77.1% White), five social connection constellations (i.e., low, dissatisfied, satisfied, compensatory, and high [social connection]) and three well-being typologies (i.e., distressed, satisfied, and aimless overload [well-being]) were identified. People with dissatisfied social connections were most likely to be in the distressed typology (92%), while those with high social connections were least likely to be in this typology (0%). People with satisfied (52%) and high (58%) social connections were most likely to be in satisfied well-being typology, while those with dissatisfied social connections were least likely to be in this typology (1%). People with low social connections were most likely to be in the aimless overload typology (73%), while those with dissatisfied social connections were least likely to be in this typology (7%). Findings highlighted multi-faceted nature of both constructs, illustrated the importance of high quality social connection for well-being, and emphasized the necessity of considering the role of quantity in the context of other social connection dimensions.