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Loneliness amongst older people in Europe: a comparative study of welfare regimes

Author

Listed:
  • Fredrica Nyqvist

    (Åbo Akademi University, Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Social Policy)

  • Mikael Nygård

    (Åbo Akademi University, Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, Social Policy)

  • Thomas Scharf

    (Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University)

Abstract

Previous research implies that the extent of welfare state regime provision plays an important indirect role in the prevalence of loneliness in later life. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the association between quality of living conditions and level of social integration indicators and the absence of loneliness in five different welfare regimes. By incorporating welfare state regimes as a proxy for societal-level features, we expanded the micro-level model of loneliness suggesting that besides individual characteristics, welfare state characteristics are also important protective factors against loneliness. The data source was from the European Social Survey round 7, 2014, from which we analysed 11,389 individuals aged 60 and over from 20 countries. The association between quality of living conditions, level of social integration variables and the absence of loneliness was analysed using multivariate logistic regression treating the welfare regime variable as a fixed effect. Our study revealed that the absence of loneliness was strongly associated with individual characteristics of older adults, including self-rated health, household size, feeling of safety, marital status, frequency of being social, as well as number of confidants. Further, the Nordic as well as Anglo-Saxon and Continental welfare regimes performed better than the Southern and Eastern regimes when it comes to the absence of loneliness. Our findings showed that different individual resources were connected to the absence of loneliness in the welfare regimes in different ways. We conclude that older people in the Nordic regime, characterised as a more socially enabling regime, are less dependent on individual resources for loneliness compared to regimes where loneliness is to a greater extent conditioned by family and other social ties.

Suggested Citation

  • Fredrica Nyqvist & Mikael Nygård & Thomas Scharf, 2019. "Loneliness amongst older people in Europe: a comparative study of welfare regimes," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 133-143, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujoag:v:16:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s10433-018-0487-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10433-018-0487-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Esping-Andersen, Gosta, 1999. "Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198742005.
    3. Peter Baldwin, 1996. "Can We Define a European Welfare State Model?," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Bent Greve (ed.), Comparative Welfare Systems, chapter 2, pages 29-44, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Eikemo, Terje Andreas & Bambra, Clare & Judge, Ken & Ringdal, Kristen, 2008. "Welfare state regimes and differences in self-perceived health in Europe: A multilevel analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(11), pages 2281-2295, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lauren Newmyer & Ashton M. Verdery & Haowei Wang & Rachel Margolis, 2022. "Population Aging, Demographic Metabolism, and the Rising Tide of Late Middle Age to Older Adult Loneliness Around the World," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(3), pages 829-862, September.
    2. Barjaková, Martina & Garnero, Andrea & d’Hombres, Béatrice, 2023. "Risk factors for loneliness: A literature review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    3. Bruno Arpino & Christine A. Mair & Nekehia T. Quashie & Radoslaw Antczak, 2022. "Loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic—are unpartnered and childless older adults at higher risk?," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1327-1338, December.
    4. Lena Dahlberg & Kevin J. McKee & Carin Lennartsson & Johan Rehnberg, 2022. "A social exclusion perspective on loneliness in older adults in the Nordic countries," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 175-188, June.

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