Keywords: Social Networks, Negative Ties, Health, Social Relationships

Research at the intersection of social networks and well-being has traditionally focused on the positive dimensions of social relationships, such as friendship or social support networks. However, the exploration of negative relationships or the negative aspects of ostensibly positive relationships is equally important – yet remains an area with limited research. This lack of research can be partly attributed to lower prevalence rates of negative relationships (negative ties), necessitating large (and more expensive) sample sizes to draw meaningful conclusions. Indeed, prior studies suggest that negative ties and relationships characterized by both positive and negative aspects (ambivalent ties) may exert a more pronounced impact on health and well-being than purely positive connections.

This study is part of CHIP50 social network study, which was fielded in August 2024 and included 21,000 US respondents from various non-probability panels. Given the setting of the CHIP50 study, where each participant is asked to name five close contacts, in our research, we focus on which negative aspects are relevant for strong relationships, namely ambivalent ties. Drawing on the frequency data of previous negative tie types, we selected the two most prevalent types for our study: ‘worrying’ and ‘annoying.’ Furthermore, to add another dimension, we included the aspect of ‘conflict,’ operationalized as ‘arguments.’

We will receive the data in January 2025. In the planned analyses, we will examine (a) the typology (which negative ties exist and coexist), (b) the prevalence (how often do the different negative tie types occur), as well as (c) the impact of ambivalent relationships on mental health, measured using several indicators (e.g., happiness and life satisfaction, mental well-being).