The role of country-level characteristics for the association between loneliness and neighborhood cohesion – A multi-level analysis
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The prevalence of loneliness varies widely across Western societies. However, the underlying sources of these cross-national disparities are still the subject of debate. In particular, recent advances in the literature put emphasis on exploring the moderating role of country-level characteristics for a better understanding under which condition individual-level factors predict loneliness. One such predictor for loneliness is neighbourhood cohesion as perceiving the community as reciprocal and supportive has a large protective potential against loneliness. The present study links these lines of research and explores how three country-level characteristics (i.e., norms of cultural pluralism, welfare spending, and internet penetration rates) explain cross-national disparities in loneliness and whether they exert a moderating influence on the relationship between neighbourhood cohesion and loneliness. By running linear multilevel models using data from the European Social Survey (N = 45042) as well as Eurostat Data, we find that all three country-level characteristics explain national disparities in loneliness as well as neighbourhood cohesion. However, only norms of cultural pluralism moderate the association between neighbourhood cohesion and loneliness on the individual level. This suggests that the potential of interventions aiming at fostering neighbourhood cohesion to prevent loneliness varies depending on the cultural context.
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,450
OpenAlex ID: W4399846609