When Do Social Connections Matter Most? Differential Roles of Relationships In Coping Among Young Adults Experiencing Social Withdrawal

Background: Social withdrawal among young adults has become an increasingly serious concern in Korea, particularly in the context of high suicide rates and growing mental health challenges. Individuals experiencing social withdrawal often attempt to re-engage through coping efforts, and social connections may play a critical role in facilitating re-engagement. Despite evidence that different types of social relationships may serve distinct functions across stages of coping, existing studies have largely treated both coping processes and social connections as homogeneous constructs. Thus, little is known about whether and how individuals’ stage of coping interacts with different types of social connections to shape social withdrawal. To address this critical knowledge gap, the study aimed to examine the moderating role of social connections in the association between coping stages and social withdrawal.

Methods: Data were drawn from 2,273 Korean young adults who reported having experienced social withdrawal in the past using the 2022 Seoul Survey on Socially Withdrawn Youth (ages 19–34, 56% female). The outcome variable, current social withdrawal, was assessed based on respondents’ withdrawal status at the time of the survey (1 = currently socially withdrawn [13%], 0 = not withdrawn). Coping efforts were operationalized as a three-stage indicator reflecting progression from (1) no intention to exit social withdrawal, to (2) intention without action, and (3) intention and active attempts. Social connections were operationalized as the perceived availability of support across family, peer, and community-based relationships (e.g., neighbors and colleagues). We conducted binary logistic regression, adjusting for age, gender, education, perceived poverty, physical health, mental health, and school or employment participation. Multiple imputation was used to address missing data.

Results: The coping stage of ‘intention and attempts’ was associated with lower odds of current social withdrawal, whereas the ‘intention without action’ stage was not significantly associated with social withdrawal. Peer connections were negatively associated with current social withdrawal, whereas family and community-based connections were not significantly associated with the outcome. Moderation analyses indicated that the link between coping efforts and current social withdrawal differed by levels of peer and community-based connections, particularly at the ‘intention without action’ stage. In contrast, family connections did not significantly moderate these associations.

Conclusion/Implications: These findings suggest that social connections operate through distinct mechanisms across stages of coping among young adults with prior experiences of social withdrawal. Peer relationships appear particularly important at early, pre-action stages by facilitating the transition from intention to engagement, whereas connections with neighbors and colleagues may support sustained involvement once engagement is underway. These results highlight the importance of nuanced, stage-sensitive interventions that consider both different forms of social connections and different stages of coping to effectively address social withdrawal among young adults. Peer-based (e.g., peer support) and community-based (e.g., employment supports, community programming) social integration models may help facilitate the transition from intention to action for young adults who are hesitant about engagement. Future research should further examine how cultural contexts, including stigma, shape the role of family and other social ties in the reengagement process in Korea.