IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i6p3698-d775389.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Capital as a Mediator and Moderator in the Association between Loneliness and Health, Israel as a Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Orna Baron-Epel

    (School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel)

  • Roni Elran-Barak

    (School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel)

  • Milka Donchin

    (The Braun School of Public Health & Community Medicine, The Hebrew University-Hadassah, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
    Israel Healthy Cities Network, Jerusalem 91072, Israel)

Abstract

Loneliness has been associated with poor health. Social capital (SC) could possibly prevent the ill effects of loneliness. The study aims to assess the association of loneliness with physical and mental health in four different communities in Israel and study the impact of structural and cognitive SC on that association. A cross-sectional face-to-face survey with 4620 adults in four towns was conducted. The questionnaire included self-rated health (SRH), mental health (MH), loneliness, cognitive and structural SC and socioeconomic characteristics. Logistic regression analysis and mediation and moderation effects were calculated. Loneliness was associated with worse SRH (OR = 0.4–0.5) and worse MH (OR = 2.0–10). Both SC variables were associated with health. However, towns differ in these associations. Structural SC serves as a significant mediator between loneliness and SRH in all towns and is a mediator between loneliness and MH in two towns. Cognitive social capital was a moderator between loneliness and MH in two towns. This study suggests that increasing SC could possibly compensate for loneliness and buffer its effect on health. The study reinforces the need for the performance of separate health profiles to assess possible interventions for each community, as not always can we generalize these results to all communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Orna Baron-Epel & Roni Elran-Barak & Milka Donchin, 2022. "Social Capital as a Mediator and Moderator in the Association between Loneliness and Health, Israel as a Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-16, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3698-:d:775389
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3698/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3698/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ami Rokach & Tricia Orzeck & Janice Cripps & Katica Lackovic-Grgin & Zvjezdan Penezic, 2001. "The Effects of Culture on the Meaning of Loneliness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 17-31, January.
    2. Shiell, Alan & Hawe, Penelope & Kavanagh, Shane, 2020. "Evidence suggests a need to rethink social capital and social capital interventions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    3. Christina R. Victor & Christine Dobbs & Kenneth Gilhooly & Vanessa Burholt, 2021. "Loneliness in mid-life and older adults from ethnic minority communities in England and Wales: measure validation and prevalence estimates," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 5-16, March.
    4. Laura Coll-Planas & Dolors Rodríguez-Arjona & Mariona Pons-Vigués & Fredrica Nyqvist & Teresa Puig & Rosa Monteserín, 2021. "“Not Alone in Loneliness”: A Qualitative Evaluation of a Program Promoting Social Capital among Lonely Older People in Primary Health Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Tingley, Dustin & Yamamoto, Teppei & Hirose, Kentaro & Keele, Luke & Imai, Kosuke, 2014. "mediation: R Package for Causal Mediation Analysis," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 59(i05).
    6. Hawe, Penelope & Shiell, Alan, 2000. "Social capital and health promotion: a review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 871-885, September.
    7. Baron-Epel, Orna & Weinstein, Ruth & Haviv-Mesika, Amalia & Garty-Sandalon, Noga & Green, Manfred S., 2008. "Individual-level analysis of social capital and health: A comparison of Arab and Jewish Israelis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 900-910, February.
    8. William Lauder & Kerry Mummery & Siobhan Sharkey, 2006. "Social capital, age and religiosity in people who are lonely," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 334-340, March.
    9. De Silva, Mary J. & Huttly, Sharon R. & Harpham, Trudy & Kenward, Michael G., 2007. "Social capital and mental health: A comparative analysis of four low income countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 5-20, January.
    10. Rodgers, Justin & Valuev, Anna V. & Hswen, Yulin & Subramanian, S.V., 2019. "Social capital and physical health: An updated review of the literature for 2007–2018," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sabatini, Fabio, 2015. "Structural social capital and health in Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 129-142.
    2. Sibo Zhao & Yanwen Li & Yonggang Su & Long Sun, 2021. "Reliability and Validity of the Chinese General Social Capital Scale and Its Effect on Physical Disease and Psychological Distress among Chinese Medical Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-13, June.
    3. Sabatini, Fabio, 2014. "The relationship between happiness and health: Evidence from Italy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 178-187.
    4. Leddy, Anna M. & Whittle, Henry J. & Shieh, Jacqueline & Ramirez, Catalina & Ofotokun, Ighovwerha & Weiser, Sheri D., 2020. "Exploring the role of social capital in managing food insecurity among older women in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    5. Fiorillo Damiano & Sabatini Fabio, 2011. "Quality and quantity: The role of social interactions in individual health," wp.comunite 0073, Department of Communication, University of Teramo.
    6. Ezumah, Nkoli & Manzano, Ana & Ezenwaka, Uchenna & Obi, Uche & Ensor, Tim & Etiaba, Enyi & Onwujekwe, Obinna & Ebenso, Bassey & Uzochukwu, Benjamin & Huss, Reinhard & Mirzoev, Tolib, 2022. "Role of trust in sustaining provision and uptake of maternal and child healthcare: Evidence from a national programme in Nigeria," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    7. Fiorillo, Damiano & Sabatini, Fabio, 2011. "Quality and quantity: The role of social interactions in self-reported individual health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1644-1652.
    8. Jenny Gierveld & Pearl A. Dykstra & Niels Schenk, 2012. "Living arrangements, intergenerational support types and older adult loneliness in Eastern and Western Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(7), pages 167-200.
    9. Davis Tharayil, 2012. "Developing the University of the Philippines Loneliness Assessment Scale: A Cross-Cultural Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 106(2), pages 307-321, April.
    10. Santini, Ziggi Ivan & Jose, Paul E. & Koyanagi, Ai & Meilstrup, Charlotte & Nielsen, Line & Madsen, Katrine R. & Koushede, Vibeke, 2020. "Formal social participation protects physical health through enhanced mental health: A longitudinal mediation analysis using three consecutive waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in E," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    11. Natalie DeForest & Yuqi Wang & Zhiyi Zhu & Jacqueline S. Dron & Ryan Koesterer & Pradeep Natarajan & Jason Flannick & Tiffany Amariuta & Gina M. Peloso & Amit R. Majithia, 2024. "Genome-wide discovery and integrative genomic characterization of insulin resistance loci using serum triglycerides to HDL-cholesterol ratio as a proxy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    12. Fu, Yao & Jordan, Lucy P. & Zhou, Xiaochen & Chow, Cheng & Fang, Lue, 2023. "Longitudinal associations between parental migration and children's psychological well-being in Southeast Asia: The roles of caregivers' mental health and caregiving quality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    13. Maria Pavlova & Rainer Silbereisen & Kamil Sijko, 2014. "Social Participation in Poland: Links to Emotional Well-Being and Risky Alcohol Consumption," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(1), pages 29-44, May.
    14. Zawisza, Katarzyna & Sekuła, Paulina & Gajdzica, Michalina & Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata, 2024. "Social capital and all-cause mortality before and during the COVID-19 pandemic among middle-aged and older people: Prospective cohort study in Poland," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    15. Alexander Maas & Liang Lu, 2021. "Elections have Consequences: Partisan Politics may be Literally Killing Us," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 45-56, January.
    16. McNeill, Lorna Haughton & Kreuter, Matthew W. & Subramanian, S.V., 2006. "Social Environment and Physical activity: A review of concepts and evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 1011-1022, August.
    17. Atanasov, Pavel & Witkowski, Jens & Ungar, Lyle & Mellers, Barbara & Tetlock, Philip, 2020. "Small steps to accuracy: Incremental belief updaters are better forecasters," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 19-35.
    18. Shengkui Zhang & Yongbin Wang & Ying Zhu & Xiaoming Li & Yang Song & Juxiang Yuan, 2020. "Rotating Night Shift Work, Exposure to Light at Night, and Glomerular Filtration Rate: Baseline Results from a Chinese Occupational Cohort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-14, December.
    19. McConnell, Bonnie B., 2016. "Music and health communication in The Gambia: A social capital approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 132-140.
    20. Ma Yuan & Cao Yue-qun & Wang Hao & Xiang Hong, 2022. "Does Social Capital Promote Health?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 501-524, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3698-:d:775389. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.