Refaeli Tehila, Achdut Netta
The Charlotte Jack Spitzer Department of Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Health Soc Care Community. 2022 Feb;30(2):668-684. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13177. Epub 2020 Sep 22.
Loneliness is a severe risk factor that has been linked to diminished health outcomes and low quality of life across ages. Young adults have been identified as a high-risk group for experiencing loneliness, but only a few studies have explored the economic and social determinants of loneliness in this age group. Taking a social inequality approach to health, with loneliness as a focus, this study examined: (a) the associations between the following factors - subjective social status (SSS) indicators (perceived poverty and perceived income adequacy), offline and online social capital, and neighbourhood capital - and loneliness; and (2) whether social and neighbourhood capital were moderators in the association between SSS and loneliness. Cross-sectional data for individuals aged 20-29 were taken from the 2017 Israeli Social Survey (N = 1,508). Employing multinomial logit models, we found that perceived poverty was a strong predictor of loneliness. Greater social and neighbourhood capital decreased loneliness, whereas a higher use of online social networks increased loneliness. Neighbourhood capital and perceived trust were moderators, whereas trust was a resilience factor, neighbourhood capital strengthened the negative effect of perceived poverty on loneliness. To reduce the prevalence of loneliness in young adults, policymakers should examine various means of enhancing social and neighbourhood capital along with moderating the use of online social networks. However, they should be aware that interventions of this kind can do little to buffer the strong effect of perceived poverty on loneliness, as in most cases the effect of perceived poverty on the probability of loneliness is not ameliorated by improved social or neighbourhood resources.
孤独是一个严重的风险因素，与各年龄段健康状况下降和生活质量低下有关。年轻人被确定为易患孤独感的高危群体，但只有少数研究探讨了该年龄组孤独感的经济和社会决定因素。本研究以社会不平等视角看待健康问题，将孤独作为重点，考察了：（a）以下因素之间的关联——主观社会地位（SSS）指标（感知贫困和感知收入充足程度）、线下和线上社会资本以及邻里资本——与孤独感；以及（2）社会资本和邻里资本是否在SSS与孤独感之间的关联中起调节作用。20 - 29岁个体的横断面数据取自2017年以色列社会调查（N = 1508）。采用多项逻辑回归模型，我们发现感知贫困是孤独感的一个强有力预测因素。更多的社会资本和邻里资本会降低孤独感，而更多地使用在线社交网络则会增加孤独感。邻里资本和感知信任起调节作用，而信任是一个恢复力因素，邻里资本强化了感知贫困对孤独感的负面影响。为降低年轻人中孤独感的普遍程度，政策制定者应研究增强社会资本和邻里资本以及调节在线社交网络使用的各种方法。然而，他们应意识到，这类干预措施对于缓冲感知贫困对孤独感的强大影响作用不大，因为在大多数情况下，感知贫困对孤独可能性的影响不会因社会或邻里资源的改善而得到缓解。
