Social Anhedonia is Associated with Low Social Network Diversity in Trauma-Exposed Adults

Social anhedonia has been proposed to contribute to social isolation in several psychiatric disorders, but it has not been examined in relation to deficits in social connection that also characterize posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A growing body of evidence emphasizes the health importance of structural features of social networks, including their size and complexity. The current study examined the association between social anhedonia and social network features in a sample of trauma-exposed participants with and without PTSD as well as in non-trauma-exposed controls. Participants (N = 101; n = 37 healthy controls, n = 23 trauma-exposed without PTSD; n = 41 lifetime PTSD) completed self-report measures of social anhedonia (Revised Social Anhedonia Scale) and structural social network features, including social network size, diversity, and the number of embedded networks (Social Network Index). Relative to healthy controls, participants with PTSD reported significantly lower social network sizes and fewer embedded networks. In the combined trauma-exposed sample, higher ratings of social anhedonia were associated with lower social network diversity, r(62) = -.43, p < .001, an effect that remained statistically significant after controlling for PTSD and depression symptom severity. These results suggest that elevated social anhedonia in trauma-exposed individuals may contribute to disruptions in social network structure consistent with social isolation.