Jun Naito

<p>In social stratification and social network research, social resources are assumed to broaden life chances including the freedom of choice. Furthermore, it has been claimed that social support networks function as relational resources. In this study, I try to clarify the conditions under which social support networks enhance people's freedom of choice. In addition, I analyze the relationship between such conditions and social stratification of socioeconomic statuses. For my analysis, I used the Stratification and Social Psychology Survey (SSP2015), a data set that includes the indices of perceived freedom and social support network size. Perceived freedom is a self-rated measure of freedom of choice and is interpreted as a proxy measure of subjective well-being. My analysis yielded the following results: (1) Support networks can serve as a social resource enabling an actor to feel that s/he has the freedom of choice. (2) However, the effect of support networks on perceived freedom interacts with the individual (respondent's) income level. For respondents with low individual incomes, the positive effect of support networks on perceived freedom is lesser than for those with high individual incomes. This interaction effect suggests that much social support is provided as part of reciprocal social exchanges requiring a certain amount of funds rather than as altruistic contributions. Therefore, for support networks to be effective safeguards against social exclusion, an adequate redistribution of socioeconomic resources for the poor is necessary.</p>