누가 중년 여성의 부정 정서를 더 효과적으로 완화하는가?: 경험표집법(ESM)으로 본 사회적 관계의 효과와 가족 친밀감의 조절 역할

This study analyzed the relationship between family, friends, and weak ties with negative affect experiences in the daily lives of middle-aged women, and examined the moderating effect of family intimacy. Middle age represents a critical transition period in women’s lives, characterized by complex biological changes and social role transitions. Data were collected from 90 middle-aged women residing in Seoul, using the Experience Sampling Method to gather 2,163 momentary experiences six times daily for one week. Multilevel modeling analysis revealed that negative affect decreased more significantly when women were with weak ties such as work colleagues, church members, or hair salon stylists, compared to when they were with family members. This pattern persisted even after controlling for activity types, confirming that “who one is with” has a more significant association with negative affect than “what one is doing.” Notably, the effect of weak ties on reducing negative affect was more pronounced among women with low family intimacy, supporting Rook’s (2009) social compensation theory. This aligns with the Convoy Model proposed by Kahn and Antonucci (1980), which suggests that various layers of social networks contribute to an individual’s psychological adaptation and well-being. The study highlighted the importance of weak ties in addition to family relationship quality for middle-aged women’s emotional well-being, and revealed that weak ties serve a unique function in the emotional domain beyond information exchange. These findings suggest that to promote mental health in middle-aged women, social support should focus not only on improving family relationships but also on facilitating the formation of weak social ties.