ArticleEuropean journal of ageing2022
Lonely societies: low trust societies? Further explanations for national variations in loneliness among older Europeans.
Article in European journal of ageing, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review of reviews on the psychometric properties of measures of older persons' ability to build and maintain social relationships.Age and ageing · 2023Pooled it
- Roles of Self-Stigma and Meaning in the Relationship Between Age and Loneliness: A Perspective From Gerotranscendence.PsyCh journal · 2026Article
- Interviewer gender and loneliness disclosure in survey research: evidence from the European Social Survey and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.Population health metrics · 2026Article
- Association of loneliness and perceived social exclusion with donation behavior among community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and over: longitudinal evidence from the nationally representative German Ageing Survey.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Observational
- Socioeconomic Status, Religiosity and Loneliness in the United States: Resource Substitution or Resource Multiplication?Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Social ties in old age: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.European journal of ageing · 2025Article
- The Relationship between Loneliness and Depression Symptoms in Adolescents: Network Analysis and Cross-lag Panel Model.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2025Article
- Association of childhood and adult socioeconomic status with adult social connection: a mediation analysis.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Psychosocial Well-Being Differences Between the Young Old, Old-Old, and Oldest Old: A Global Comparison.Journal of aging and health · 2025Article
- Assessing Social Interaction and Loneliness and Their Association With Frailty Among Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Decline or Mild Cognitive Impairment: Ecological Momentary Assessment Approach.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
- Do middle-aged and older people underreport loneliness? experimental evidence from the Netherlands.European journal of ageing · 2024Article
- The impact of eating alone on food intake and everyday eating routines: A cross-sectional study of community-living 70- to 75-year-olds in Sweden.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The unique and synergistic effects of social isolation and loneliness on 20-years mortality risks in older men and women.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Unraveling the dynamics of loneliness in the Baltic-Nordic region: a comparative analysis in the wake of COVID-19.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Risk factors for loneliness: A literature review.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2023Review
- Neighbourhood effects on loneliness among adolescents.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Patterns and correlates of old-age social exclusion in the Balkan states.European journal of ageing · 2023Article
- Loneliness and trust issues reshape mental stress of expatriates during early COVID-19: a structural equation modelling approach.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- The Psychological Network of Loneliness Symptoms Among Chinese Residents During the COVID-19 Outbreak.Psychology research and behavior management · 2023Article
- Loneliness before and during the COVID-19 pandemic-are unpartnered and childless older adults at higher risk?European journal of ageing · 2022Article
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Abstract
Cross-national studies in Europe reveal sharp regional differences in the prevalence of loneliness among older adults, with the highest prevalence of loneliness in Eastern European countries. In this study, we investigate an alternative explanation for differences in loneliness prevalence based on differences in trust. Many of the Eastern European countries were ruled by totalitarian regimes that undermined people's trust in other people and in the system, potentially leading to higher loneliness prevalence. Data are derived from the sixth round of the European Social Survey conducted in 2012, based on 12,042 respondents, of which 4827 live in post-totalitarian countries and 7215 in other European countries and Israel. We estimate a path model with trust in people, trust in the system, and social engagement included as latent variables and one dichotomous outcome (lonely or not). We control for age, gender, health limitations, marital status, income adequacy, and education. The results reveal that loneliness is partly constructed by the social-cultural and historical-political characteristics of the countries in which people live. The higher prevalence of loneliness in the Eastern-European post-totalitarian countries can be linked to a low level of trust in other people through social disengagement. Considering the role of trust in the creation of individuals feelings of loneliness contributes to the understanding of country variations in loneliness and opens a new perspective in loneliness research and the development of policies aimed at reducing loneliness.
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