IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/tec/journl/v9y2020i1p364-376.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Integration and Psychological Wellbeing in a Sample of the Swedish-speaking Minority of Western Finland

Author

Listed:
  • Ingrida Grigaityte

    (Abo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland)

  • Karin Osterman

    (Abo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland)

  • Kaj Bjorkqvist

    (Abo Akademi University, Vasa, Finland)

Abstract

The role of social integration in determining subjective psychological wellbeing in a sample of Swedish-speaking Finns in Ostrobothnia was investigated. A questionnaire was completed by 298 respondents (208 females, 90 males). The mean age was 32.7 years (SD 13.4) for females and 28.9 years (SD 13.4) for males. The age span was between 16 and 90 years. The questionnaire consisted of four scales measuring social integration. Females scored significantly higher on access to social benefits, positive social relations, and trust in the Finnish judiciary system. No sex difference was found for satisfaction with the neighbourhood. The mean values were overall high for both females and males. Respondents over 30 years of age reported significantly more positive social relations and more satisfaction with the neighbourhood compared to respondents under the age of 30. Respondents belonging to a group with high scores of social integration scored significantly lower on anxiety, depression, and somatisation. Conclusively, social integration can be regarded as a resource for psychological health.

Suggested Citation

  • Ingrida Grigaityte & Karin Osterman & Kaj Bjorkqvist, 2020. "Social Integration and Psychological Wellbeing in a Sample of the Swedish-speaking Minority of Western Finland," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 9(1), pages 364-376, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:tec:journl:v:9:y:2020:i:1:p:364-376
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/download/954/375
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/view/954/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fothergill, Kate E. & Ensminger, Margaret E. & Robertson, Judy & Green, Kerry M. & Thorpe, Roland J. & Juon, Hee-Soon, 2011. "Effects of social integration on health: A prospective study of community engagement among African American women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 291-298, January.
    2. Berkman, Lisa F. & Glass, Thomas & Brissette, Ian & Seeman, Teresa E., 2000. "From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 843-857, September.
    3. Julianne Holt-Lunstad & Timothy B Smith & J Bradley Layton, 2010. "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-1, July.
    4. Kira S. Birditt & Karen L. Fingerman, 2003. "Age and Gender Differences in Adults' Descriptions of Emotional Reactions to Interpersonal Problems," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(4), pages 237-245.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:thr:techub:1009:y:2020:i:1:p:364-376 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Sarah Gibney & Mark E. McGovern & Erika Sabbath, 2013. "Social Relationships in Later Life: The Role of Childhood Circumstances," Working Papers 201319, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    3. Min-Ah Lee, 2016. "Social relationships, depressive symptoms and suicidality in Korea: Examining mediating and moderating effects in men and women," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 62(1), pages 67-75, February.
    4. Shor, Eran & Roelfs, David J., 2015. "Social contact frequency and all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis and meta-regression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 76-86.
    5. David Matthew Doyle & Tom O. G. Lewis & Manuela Barreto, 2023. "A systematic review of psychosocial functioning changes after gender-affirming hormone therapy among transgender people," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(8), pages 1320-1331, August.
    6. Qingsong Chang & Feng Sha & Chee Hon Chan & Paul S F Yip, 2018. "Validation of an abbreviated version of the Lubben Social Network Scale (“LSNS-6”) and its associations with suicidality among older adults in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-11, August.
    7. Schwaninger, Philipp & Berli, Corina & Lüscher, Janina & Scholz, Urte, 2021. "Cultivation or enabling? Day-to-day associations between self-efficacy and received support in couples," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    8. Stein, Elizabeth R. & Smith, Bruce W., 2015. "Social support attenuates the harmful effects of stress in healthy adult women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 129-136.
    9. Alison Dias & Nicholas Geard & Patricia Therese Campbell & Deborah Warr & Jodie McVernon, 2018. "Quantity or quality? Assessing relationships between perceived social connectedness and recorded encounters," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-11, November.
    10. Haslam, S. Alexander & McMahon, Charlotte & Cruwys, Tegan & Haslam, Catherine & Jetten, Jolanda & Steffens, Niklas K., 2018. "Social cure, what social cure? The propensity to underestimate the importance of social factors for health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 14-21.
    11. Conklin, Annalijn I. & Forouhi, Nita G. & Surtees, Paul & Khaw, Kay-Tee & Wareham, Nicholas J. & Monsivais, Pablo, 2014. "Social relationships and healthful dietary behaviour: Evidence from over-50s in the EPIC cohort, UK," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 167-175.
    12. Jianye Liu & Roderic Beaujot & Zenaida Ravanera, 2018. "Measuring the Effects of Stress and Social Networks on the Health of Canadians," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 891-908, December.
    13. Andrea Fleisch Marcus & Alex H Illescas & Bernadette C Hohl & Adana A M Llanos, 2017. "Relationships between social isolation, neighborhood poverty, and cancer mortality in a population-based study of US adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(3), pages 1-13, March.
    14. Li, Ting & Yang, Yang Claire & Zhang, Yanlong, 2018. "Culture, economic development, social-network type, and mortality: Evidence from Chinese older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 23-30.
    15. Chang, Qingsong & Chan, Chee Hon & Yip, Paul S.F., 2017. "A meta-analytic review on social relationships and suicidal ideation among older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 65-76.
    16. Dingle, Genevieve A. & Haslam, Catherine & Best, David & Chan, Gary & Staiger, Petra K. & Savic, Michael & Beckwith, Melinda & Mackenzie, Jock & Bathish, Ramez & Lubman, Dan I., 2019. "Social identity differentiation predicts commitment to sobriety and wellbeing in residents of therapeutic communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Jude Stansfield & Ruth Bell, 2019. "Applying a psychosocial pathways model to improving mental health and reducing health inequalities: Practical approaches," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 65(2), pages 107-113, March.
    18. Krug, Gerhard & Prechsl, Sebastian, 2022. "Do changes in network structure explain why unemployment damages health? Evidence from German panel data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    19. Haiyang Lu & Ivan T. Kandilov & Rong Zhu, 2022. "Does social integration matter for cohort differences in the political participation of internal migrants in China?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1555-1573, August.
    20. Ivaylo Vassilev & Anne Rogers & Anne Kennedy & Michel Wensing & Jan Koetsenruijter & Rosanna Orlando & Maria Carmen Portillo & David Culliford, 2016. "Social Network Type and Long-Term Condition Management Support: A Cross-Sectional Study in Six European Countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, August.
    21. Lane, Anna P. & Hou, Yuting & Hooi Wong, Chek & Yuen, Belinda, 2020. "Cross-sectional associations of neighborhood third places with social health among community-dwelling older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    social integration; psychological wellbeing; sex differences; Finland; Swedish-speakers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tec:journl:v:9:y:2020:i:1:p:364-376. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tasente Tanase (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.