Association between social exclusion and loneliness among older adults in Europe

Mercan M. A., Cebeci A. F.

AGING & MENTAL HEALTH, sa.Online First, ss.1-10, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/13607863.2025.2521732
  • Dergi Adı: AGING & MENTAL HEALTH
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ASSIA, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, AgeLine, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Psycinfo, Social services abstracts, Sociological abstracts
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-10
  • Marmara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Objectives

This study explores how five domains of social exclusion relate to loneliness among older adults across four geopolitical regions in Europe.

Method

Employing European Social Survey (ESS) rounds 5, 6, 7, and 11, the final dataset includes 37,127 individuals aged 60+ from 29 European countries which are categorized into four geopolitical regions. Empirical estimation is based on logistic regression.

Results

Level of income concern, infrequent social contact, and lower neighborhood safety significantly positively associated with loneliness in all five instances; the full sample and the four geopolitical regions. The relationship between level of income concern and loneliness is strongest in Western Europe, whereas associations with infrequent social contact and lower neighborhood safety are most pronounced in Southern Europe. Exclusion from basic services is a weaker but significant predictor, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. However, civic exclusion does not show a significant relationship with loneliness among older adults.