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The role of socio-economic status and neighborhood social capital on loneliness among older adults: evidence from the Sant Boi Aging Study

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the present study is to analyze the role of age in the association between socio-economic status (SES) and loneliness as well as the role of neighborhood social capital (NSC) in the association between individual social capital and loneliness.

Methods

Data include a representative population-based sample from Sant Boi de Llobregat (a suburb of Barcelona) of 1124 adults aged 50 and over. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the survey data. Interactions between SES and age, and NSC and individual social capital were explored.

Results

Among the poorest older adults, older individuals showed a lower likelihood of loneliness (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.02, 0.30, p < 0.05) compared with the youngest cohort after adjusting for covariates, while among the richest individuals there were no significant differences among age cohorts. Individuals living in an area with high NSC and high individual social capital showed a lower likelihood of loneliness (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.17, 0.73, p < 0.05) compared with those with low individual social capital after adjusting for covariates. The effect of individual social capital was not significant among individuals living in an area with low NSC.

Conclusion

Interventions focusing on low SES middle-aged (50–59 years old) individuals and those aiming to increase NSC could be effective strategies to reduce the prevalence of loneliness in older people.

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Acknowledgements

Sant Boi Aging Study was financed by Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Ajuntament de Sant Boi de Llobregat and Clúster de Salut Mental de Catalunya. We thank Stephen Kelly for help in English language editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research, Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona, Fundació Sant Joan de Déu, Dr. Antoni Pujadas, 42, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan Domènech-Abella, Elvira Lara, Maria Victoria Moneta, Josep Maria Haro & Beatriz Olaya

  2. Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain

    Joan Domènech-Abella, Elvira Lara, Maria Victoria Moneta, Josep Maria Haro & Beatriz Olaya

  3. Department of Sociology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan Domènech-Abella & Jordi Mundó

  4. Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Elvira Lara

  5. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Princesa (IP), Madrid, Spain

    Josep Maria Haro

Authors
  1. Joan Domènech-Abella
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  2. Jordi Mundó
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  3. Elvira Lara
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Correspondence to Joan Domènech-Abella.

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Domènech-Abella, J., Mundó, J., Lara, E. et al. The role of socio-economic status and neighborhood social capital on loneliness among older adults: evidence from the Sant Boi Aging Study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 52, 1237–1246 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1406-9

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