Social networks contributing to the emergence of depression

Abstract

Abstract The paper aims at reinterpreting the psychological insights on the formation of depression from the perspective of critical theories and tests the resulting model. In the first part of the paper based on Bourdieu’s, Giddens’, Habermas’, Honneth’s and Lash’s theories of social integration, an attempt is made to identify those network constellations, which simultaneously block goal attainment and veil the social components of the blocking. These distorted networks are considered to be contributing factors of the emergence of depression. In the second part of the paper based on the database of ESS 2012 the correspondence of such network distortions and depression is analyzed along with the causes of the adding up of various distortions. Key words: critical theory, network theory, depression, ESS 2012