The mechanisms underlying the SES-psychological distress association are not fully explored. Based on representative cross-sectional data from Israel for the year 2017 (N = 1508), we examine (1) the association between subjective poverty, material deprivation, social capital, and psychological distress among young adults (20–29 years); and (2) whether social capital mediates the subjective poverty/material deprivation-psychological distress association. Informal social capital includes connections with family and friends, perceived support, and perceived trust, whereas formal social capital includes volunteering and civic and political involvement. An additional aspect was online social network usage. We constructed a structural equation model to explore paths of relationships between subjective poverty, material deprivation, social capital, and psychological distress. Subjective poverty and material deprivation were strong predictors of psychological distress. Informal social capital buffered the negative effect of subjective poverty and material deprivations on psychological distress, whereas use of online social networks increased it. The use of online social networks, however, promoted informal social capital, which, in turn, was a protective factor against psychological distress. Further investigation is needed on which patterns and platforms of online social networks harm and which promote young adults’ psychological wellbeing. Informal social capital should be a prominent aspect of both preventive medicine practice and health promotion initiatives among young adults. Policy-makers are called on to support this important means of promoting public health. However, to substantially narrow disparities in psychological distress among young adults, direct action should be taken to reduce poverty and material deprivation.

SES-心理困扰关联的潜在机制尚未得到充分探索。根据以色列 2017 年的代表性横断面数据（N = 1508），我们研究了（1）年轻人（20-29 岁）主观贫困、物质匮乏、社会资本和心理困扰之间的关联；(2)社会资本是否介导主观贫困/物质匮乏-心理困扰关联。非正式社会资本包括与家人和朋友的联系、感知支持和感知信任，而正式社会资本包括志愿服务以及公民和政治参与。另一个方面是在线社交网络的使用。我们构建了一个结构方程模型来探索主观贫困、物质匮乏、社会资本、和心理困扰。主观贫困和物质匮乏是心理困扰的有力预测因素。非正式社会资本缓冲了主观贫困和物质剥夺对心理困扰的负面影响，而在线社交网络的使用则增加了这种负面影响。然而，在线社交网络的使用促进了非正式的社会资本，这反过来又是防止心理困扰的保护因素。需要进一步调查在线社交网络的哪些模式和平台会伤害以及促进年轻人的心理健康。非正式的社会资本应该是年轻人预防医学实践和健康促进举措的一个突出方面。呼吁政策制定者支持这一促进公共卫生的重要手段。然而，