ArticleBMC public health2021
Loneliness as a mediator of social relationships and health-related quality of life among refugees living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Loneliness as a mediator between family separation and life satisfaction among Ukrainian refugee women in Germany.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Reducing loneliness and promoting mental well-being among migrants and asylum seekers through social mentoring in Spain: insights from a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Assessment of Factors Associated with Health Literacy Among Afghan Refugees in Pakistan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impact of social isolation on mental health changes by socio-economic status: A moderated mediation analysis among non-migrant, migrant, and refugee subpopulations in Germany, 2016-2020.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Comparison of psychological distress, loneliness, and social network structure between Ukrainian war refugees and Polish citizens: a cross-sectional study in Wroclaw.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Trajectories of psychological distress and social integration in newly resettled refugees: findings from the Building a New Life in Australia longitudinal study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Article
- Prevalence, comorbidities, and factors associated with prolonged grief disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and complex posttraumatic stress disorder in refugees: a systematic review.Conflict and health · 2024Review
- Experiences and challenges of refugees from Ukraine in accessing healthcare and social services during their integration in Lithuania.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The moderating role of neighborhood social cohesion in the mediation effects of the loneliness between acculturation stress and post-traumatic growth among female North Korean defectors.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Mental health outcomes and quality of life of Ukrainian refugees in Germany.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2023Article
- The boundaries between complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters and post-migration living difficulties in traumatised Afghan refugees: a network analysis.Conflict and health · 2022Article
- Prolonged Grief in Refugees Seeking Treatment for PTSD: Comorbidity with Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Network Structure.Clinical psychology & psychotherapyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSince 2015, more than one million people fled to Germany - mainly from war-affected countries. Nevertheless, little is known about social determinants in refugees located in Germany. This study aims to test the mediation effect of loneliness between social relationships, comprising social integration and social support, and health-related quality of life among refugees living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
methodsThe investigation utilizes data from the FlueGe Health Study (N=326), a cross-sectional study conducted by Bielefeld University. The data was collected between February and November 2018 and included interviews and examinations. Participants were recruited from shared and private accommodation in several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. We first analyzed correlations between social integration, social support, loneliness, and physical and mental component of health-related quality of life. We then conducted mediation analyses using structural equation modeling.
resultsThe majority of respondents were socially isolated, perceiving a moderate degree of loneliness and social support. In addition, the physical and mental components of health-related quality of life indicate that participants predominantly experienced mental rather than physical impairments. Results from mediation analyses showed indirect effects of loneliness on the association between social integration and mental health (ß = 0.495, 95% bias-corrected and accelerated confidence interval (BCa CI) = [0.018, 0.972]), and between social support and both physical (ß = 0.022, 95% BCa CI = [0.004, 0.040]) and mental health (ß = 0.067, 95% BCa CI = [0.037, 0.097]).
conclusionsLoneliness played a mediating role in the association between social relationships and health-related quality of life among refugees living in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The results provide implications for both, health policy and the host society.
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