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Eramian L, Mallory P, Herbert M. Friendlessness and loneliness: Cultural frames for making sense of disconnection. CANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY = REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE 2024. [PMID: 39231194 DOI: 10.1111/cars.12484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/06/2024]
Abstract
This article is based on 21 interviews in an Atlantic Canadian city with people who identified as having few or no friends. With all the talk of a modern loneliness epidemic, we might easily assume friendless people are lonely, yet here we take an interpretive approach to analyze how they alternately claim to experience and not experience loneliness. We argue that claims to loneliness or its absence are never merely personal stories or problems of individual health or wellbeing, but are shaped by larger cultural resources and meanings. We found that friendless people both lament and celebrate their disconnection, a duality that we theorize through competing views of the modern self as both autonomous/self-reliant and fundamentally in need of connection and community. We show how our interviewees struggle to find meaning in their disconnection and self-respect in a society where being friendless is open to stigma or pity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Eramian
- Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Peter Mallory
- Department of Sociology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Morgan Herbert
- Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Akhter-Khan SC, van Es W, Prina M, Lawrence V, Piri I, Rokach A, Heu LC, Mayston R. Experiences of loneliness in lower- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Soc Sci Med 2024; 340:116438. [PMID: 38016310 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Loneliness is understood as a subjective experience resulting from unmet social relationship expectations. As most loneliness research has been conducted in higher-income-countries, there is limited understanding of loneliness in relation to diverse cultural, economic, and socio-political factors. To address this gap, the present review systematically synthesises existing qualitative studies on the experience of loneliness and social relationship expectations in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Between June and July 2022, six online databases (Embase, Ovid Medline, APA PsycINFO, Global Health, Web of Science, Google Scholar) were searched for peer-reviewed studies from LMICs on loneliness using qualitative methods. There were no restrictions on publication date, language, or study setting. Studies that solely focused on social isolation or were conducted with children (<16 years) were excluded. Risk of bias was assessed with the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. After deduplication, a total of 7866 records were identified and screened for inclusion, resulting in 24 studies published between 2002 and 2022. The included studies represent data from 728 participants in 15 countries across West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Mali), East Africa (Uganda, Kenya), North Africa (Egypt), West Asia (Iran), South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines). Data were analysed combining inductive and deductive coding, summarised using narrative synthesis, and examined by geographical region. Common features of loneliness included rejection, overthinking, and pain. Loneliness was related to depression across regions. Whereas loneliness tended to be distinguished from social isolation in studies from Africa, it tended to be related with being alone in studies from Asia. Poverty and stigma were common barriers to fulfilling social relationship expectations. This review illustrates how loneliness and expectations are contextually embedded, with some expectations possibly being specific to a certain culture or life stage, having implications for assessment of and interventions for loneliness worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samia C Akhter-Khan
- Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Willemijn van Es
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Matthew Prina
- Population Health Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Vanessa Lawrence
- Department of Health Service & Population Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ilayda Piri
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Ami Rokach
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada
| | - Luzia C Heu
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Rosie Mayston
- Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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Oster C, Ali K, Iasiello M, Muir-Cochrane E, Fassnacht DB. The experience of individuals affected by Australia's international border closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Place 2022; 78:102928. [PMID: 36279757 PMCID: PMC9576689 DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
This study explored the experiences of individuals who reported being negatively affected by Australia's international border closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative data from 1930 adults who responded to a cross-sectional online survey exploring the mental health and wellbeing of individuals affected by border closure were analysed using theoretical thematic analysis, drawing on understandings of the relationship between place and wellbeing. Four themes were identified: 'Disconnection from family and social connections', 'Disconnection from a sense of home and belonging', 'Disconnection and sense of self', and 'A desire for reconnection'. Results provide a rich illustration of the relationship between disconnection from place and wellbeing during COVID-19 and highlight the need to support those affected and consider these adverse effects in future public health planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Candice Oster
- College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia; College of Nursing and Health Science, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
| | - Kathina Ali
- College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia; Órama Institute for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
| | - Matthew Iasiello
- Wellbeing and Resilience Centre, Lifelong Health Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia; College of Nursing and Health Science, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
| | - Eimear Muir-Cochrane
- College of Nursing and Health Science, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
| | - Daniel B Fassnacht
- College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia; Órama Institute for Mental Health & Wellbeing, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
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Jankovic-Rankovic J, Oka RC, Meyer JS, Snodgrass JJ, Eick GN, Gettler LT. Transient refugees' social support, mental health, and physiological markers: Evidence from Serbian asylum centers. Am J Hum Biol 2022; 34:e23747. [PMID: 35349201 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Refugees seeking safety across international borders are often exposed to a wide breadth of psychosocially stressful experiences that may fracture existing sources of social support and impair the generation of new social relationships, with implications for their long-term health and resilience. Using data from recently settled refugees in two asylum centers in Serbia, we examined the associations between social support, mental health, and physiological markers. METHODS In this mixed-method study of refugees (age 18-50 years, n = 76), we collected key socio-demographic information and conducted semi-structured interviews about refugees' journey and stay in Serbia, trauma/loss, and their sources of social support. We also collected self-reported measures of mental well-being as well as physiological markers relevant to repeated exposure to chronic psychosocial stress (fingernail cortisol and dried blood spots for analysis of Epstein-Barr virus [EBV] antibody titers). RESULTS We found that refugees with longer journeys reported lower social support than those with shorter journeys. Refugees with lower social support reported poorer mental well-being, greater PTSD-related symptoms, and higher recent perceived stress than those with higher social support. We also observed that refugees with lower social support and higher recent stress, respectively, tended to exhibit higher fingernail cortisol levels. However, we did not observe comparable patterns linking EBV antibodies with psychosocial functioning. CONCLUSION Our cross-sectional findings are consistent with the notion that social support is likely to be a critical component in effective interventions aimed at mitigating the adverse health effects of relocation-related illnesses and poor social functioning as they await resettlement.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rahul C Oka
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Jerrold S Meyer
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - J Josh Snodgrass
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Geeta N Eick
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Lee T Gettler
- Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.,Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
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Harris RA, Chen D, Santos HP. Which roads lead to depression in Latinas? A network analysis of prenatal depressive symptoms, discrimination, acculturative stress, and low birth weight. Res Nurs Health 2022; 45:350-363. [PMID: 35088896 PMCID: PMC9064940 DOI: 10.1002/nur.22210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Although immigrant mothers from some Latinx subgroups initially achieve healthy birth outcomes despite lower socioeconomic status, this advantage deteriorates across generations in the United States. Interpersonal discrimination and acculturative stress may interact with economic hardship to predict an intergenerational cascade of emotional and biological vulnerabilities, particularly perinatal depression. Network analyses may elucidate not only how and which psychosocial experiences relate to depressive symptoms, but which symptom-to-symptom relationships emerge. This study aims to understand (1) how economic, acculturative, and discrimination stressors relate to prenatal depression and low birth weight and (2) how Latinas may respond to and cope with stressors by exploring symptom-symptom and symptom-experience relationships. A sample of 151 pregnant Latinas (predominantly foreign-born and Mexican and Central American descent) completed the EPDS and psychosocial questionnaires (discrimination, acculturation, acculturative stress, economic hardship) during pregnancy (24-32 weeks). Birth weights were recorded from postpartum medical records. We created network models using the Extended Bayesian Information Criterion Graphical Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator to estimate the relationship between variables. Discrimination exposure connected psychosocial stressors to depressive symptoms, particularly worry, crying, sadness, and self-blame. Discrimination also revealed a connection between acculturation and low birth weight. Furthermore, younger age of migration and greater acculturation levels were correlated to greater discrimination stress and low birth weights. Perinatal research in Latinas must account not only for measures of cultural adaptation but recognize how developmental exposures across the life span, including discrimination, may be associated with adverse health trajectories for a mother and her child.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca Alvarado Harris
- Biobehavioral Laboratory, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Daqi Chen
- Statistics and Operational Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Hudson P Santos
- Biobehavioral Laboratory, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
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