Associations between social networks and creative behavior during adolescence: The mediating effect of psychological capital

Creative behaviors in adolescence are associated with peer relationships. However, the specific manifestations and mechanisms are poorly understood. According to the small-world theory, peer social networks is contributed to creative behavior. Meanwhile, according to the social capital theory, adolescents can gain social support from peer social networks; in turn, they accumulate psychological capital to support their creative behaviors. The current study used a social network research design to examine associations between adolescent social network position (indegree, outdegree, closeness, and betweenness) within their peer network and their creative behaviors. A total of 783 adolescents aged 15–18 years (M = 16.41; 48.7% female) were recruited to participate in this study. The results showed that indegree, closeness, and betweenness centrality positively predicted the creative behavior of adolescents through the mediating effect of psychological capital. The finding supports the view of the small world theory and social capital theory that adolescents’ peer status in a social network promotes their psychological capital, which in turn promotes the expression of creative behaviors.