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Country-Level Bonding, Bridging, and Linking Social Capital and Immigrants’ Life Satisfaction

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  • Yoosun Chu

    (Boston College School of Social Work)

  • Ce Shen

    (Boston College School of Social Work)

  • Jie Yang

    (Boston College School of Social Work)

Abstract

This cross-national study examines the contextual effects of country-level social capital on immigrants’ life-satisfaction in host societies. Country-level social capital was constructed by bonding, bridging, and linking according to descriptions by Szreter and Woolcock (2004). We conducted a two-level regression analysis using 3208 immigrants nested within 52 countries included in the World Values Survey Wave 6. Immigrants had a lower level of life satisfaction in host countries with a higher bonding social capital (inward-looking and homogeneous). The effect of age on life satisfaction also varied according to country-level bonding social capital and age-groups. In addition to the effects of country-level social capital, our study found that immigrants had a higher level of life satisfaction in countries with a higher gross national income (GNI) per capita and a lower percentage of immigrants. Consistently with the previous studies, our study also found that immigrants’ key socio-demographics (subjective health, age, gender, marital status, and income level) were significantly associated with immigrants’ life satisfaction. Findings suggest that not only immigrants’ individual characteristics but also the social capital of host countries - in particular, the bonding social capital - play a significant role in immigrants’ life satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Yoosun Chu & Ce Shen & Jie Yang, 2018. "Country-Level Bonding, Bridging, and Linking Social Capital and Immigrants’ Life Satisfaction," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(3), pages 745-759, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ariqol:v:13:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11482-017-9556-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11482-017-9556-1
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    1. Aamir Ali Chughtai, 2021. "A Closer Look at the Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Job Performance," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(2), pages 805-825, April.
    2. Laura Monteiro & Michael Haan, 2022. "The Life Satisfaction of Immigrants in Canada: Does Time Since Arrival Matter more than Income?," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1397-1420, September.
    3. Chinglen Laishram & Khaikholen Haokip, 2023. "Implications of Social Capital on Life satisfaction in a Stratified Society: Gendering the Bonding, Bridging, and Linking framework using representative samples of India," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 3039-3063, August.
    4. Virginia Paloma & Marta Escobar-Ballesta & Blanca Galván-Vega & Juan Diego Díaz-Bautista & Isabel Benítez, 2021. "Determinants of Life Satisfaction of Economic Migrants Coming from Developing Countries to Countries with Very High Human Development: a Systematic Review," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(1), pages 435-455, February.

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