BINDING AND NON-BINDING INTEGRATION:
THE RELATIONAL COSTS AND REWARDS
OF SOCIAL TIES ON MENTAL HEALTH
Mitch
Berbrier
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Aileen
Schulte
State University of New York at New Paltz
This article explores the relationship between social integration and mental health. We extend the notions of relational costs and relational rewards (Levinger and Huesmann 1980), and we introduce the concepts of binding and non-binding social integration. Binding social ties include obligatory relations, such as those with family or at work; non-binding integration represents more voluntary relationships, such as those with friends, neighbors or membership in various organizations. We argue (1) that the direct effects of social integration on psychological distress arise out of the more proximate effects of relational costs and rewards, and (2) that costs are more associated with binding integration, while rewards are more associated with non-binding integration. We test these hypotheses using a two wave panel study of individuals from the Indianapolis area (N=486), and find some support for our claims. Most clearly we find that the binding nature of relationships seems to effect mental health outcomes. Because of inherent limitations regarding how costs and rewards of relationships have been measured -- both traditionally and in our data, support for our ideas about relational costs and rewards is more tenuous and will require further investigation. We conclude that the main effect of social integration may fruitfully be addressed by considering the binding or non-binding nature of social ties as the source of relational costs and rewards which directly affect mental health.