Children's social networks and their association with behavioural disturbances in single-parent families: A comparison between a clinical group and a control group

During the last few decades it has been established that there is a strong relation between the social network of adults and their mental health. Different aspects of the network and its influence on the individual have been studied. The present investigation studied the social network of children, 9–16 years old, all living with single parents. A clinical group was compared with a control group to ascertain whether the social networks of the two groups differed in any way and, also, whether there was any relation between social network and behavioural disturbances. The investigation shows that the social network of the clinical group differed from that of the control group, and, even for children, there is a relation between social network and behavioural disturbances. Children's social networks explained about 20% of the total incidence of behavioural disturbances.