An Agent Model for a Human's Social Support Network Tie Preference during Depression

Seeking support from their environment is important for people suffering from a depression. People usually have different social networks to which they are attached with different ties. In this paper, a computational model is presented that describes the selection of network members for seeking support based on the strength of the tie to people in the network and personal characteristics. The model has been implemented in a simulation environment. Simulations of different scenarios show that specific personality traits and environmental settings indeed lead to a pattern of social disengagement or a preference for strong or weak tie support. A mathematical analysis proofs that such equilibria are indeed a consequence of the model