IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0291341.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Estimating the prevalence and characteristics of people in severe social isolation in 29 European countries: A secondary analysis of data from the European Social Survey round 9 (2018–2020)

Author

Listed:
  • Simone Amendola
  • Rita Cerutti
  • Agnes von Wyl

Abstract

The main aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of people in severe social isolation as a proxy for high risk of hikikomori using data from 29 European countries. The relationship between the presence/absence of severe social isolation and demographic and psychosocial variables was also investigated. Publicly available data from the European Social Survey (ESS) round 9 collected between August 2018 and January 2020 were used. Data from the ESS round 1 (September 2002 –December 2003) and round 10 (September 2020 –May 2022) were also examined to investigate changes in the prevalence of severe social isolation over time. Analyses were restricted to the working-age population (15–64 years). A complex sampling design to obtain weighted prevalence and results was used. The study protocol was preregistered online on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/6a7br/). The weighted prevalence of severe social isolation was 2.01% for the sample from the ESS 1, 1.77% for the sample from the ESS 9, and 1.71% for the sample from the ESS 10, indicating a decrease over time, mainly in males. Logistic regression models showed that different sociodemographic factors (e.g., being retired, being permanently sick or disabled, doing housework, living in Central and Eastern Europe, living uncomfortably on household income, having no income) were associated with severe social isolation. Further, feeling unsafe when walking alone in the neighbourhood after dark, low social trust, and support, decreased happiness and lack of future planning correlated with severe social isolation after adjustment for the effect of sociodemographic factors was made. In this study, the prevalence of severe social isolation as a proxy for hikikomori in European countries is in line with that found by previous representative studies conducted in Asian countries. The novelty of the findings as well as implications for hikikomori research are discussed according to recent scientific literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Simone Amendola & Rita Cerutti & Agnes von Wyl, 2023. "Estimating the prevalence and characteristics of people in severe social isolation in 29 European countries: A secondary analysis of data from the European Social Survey round 9 (2018–2020)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(9), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0291341
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291341
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291341
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291341&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0291341?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giovanni S F Bruno & Enrico Marelli & Marcello Signorelli, 2014. "The Rise of NEET and Youth Unemployment in EU Regions after the Crisis," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 56(4), pages 592-615, December.
    2. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Pudney, Stephen E. & Shields, Michael A., 2022. "Economic gradients in loneliness, social isolation and social support: Evidence from the UK Biobank," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    3. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Antonella Rocca & Paolo Mazzocchi & Claudio Quintano, 2020. "Being NEET in Europe Before and After the Economic Crisis: An Analysis of the Micro and Macro Determinants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 991-1024, June.
    4. d'Hombres, Beatrice & Barjaková, Martina & Schnepf, Sylke V., 2021. "Loneliness and Social Isolation: An Unequally Shared Burden in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 14245, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    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. Giovanni Luca & Paolo Mazzocchi & Claudio Quintano & Antonella Rocca, 2020. "Going Behind the High Rates of NEETs in Italy and Spain: The Role of Early School Leavers," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 345-363, August.
    2. Ruggero Cefalo & Rosario Scandurra & Yuri Kazepov, 2020. "Youth Labor Market Integration in European Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Jajati Keshari Parida & Shiba Shankar Pattayat, 2024. "Constraints on the Labour Market Trajectory of Youth and Growth of NEET in India," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 49(3), pages 477-503, August.
    4. Rosario Scandurra & Ruggero Cefalo & Yuri Kazepov, 2021. "Drivers of Youth Labour Market Integration Across European Regions," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 835-856, April.
    5. Ida Camminatiello & Rosaria Lombardo & Mario Musella & Gianmarco Borrata, 2024. "A Model for Evaluating Inequalities in Sustainability," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 879-898, December.
    6. Aina, Carmen & Brunetti, Irene & Mussida, Chiara & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "Even more discouraged? The NEET generation at the age of COVID-19," GLO Discussion Paper Series 863, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Luis René Cáceres, 2021. "Youth Unemployment and Underdevelopment in Honduras," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(2), pages 1-61, February.
    8. Vespignani, Joaquin & Yanotti, Maria, 2020. "COVID-19 and Tasmanian youth unemployment: a policy recommendation," Working Papers 2020-07, University of Tasmania, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics.
    9. Fusaro, Stefano & Scandurra, Rosario, 2023. "The impact of the European social fund on youth education and employment," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Chiara Mussida & Dario Sciulli, 2023. "Being poor and being NEET in Europe: Are these two sides of the same coin?," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(2), pages 463-482, June.
    11. Sven-Olov Daunfeldt & Anton Gidehag & Niklas Rudholm, 2021. "How Do Firms Respond to Reduced Labor Costs? Evidence from the 2007 Swedish Payroll Tax Reform," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 315-338, September.
    12. Lewis, Sophie & Willis, Karen & Smith, Lorraine & Dubbin, Leslie & Rogers, Anne & Moensted, Maja Lindegaard & Smallwood, Natasha, 2024. "There but not really involved: The meanings of loneliness for people with chronic illness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    13. Ruggero Cefalo & Rosario Scandurra & Yuri Kazepov, 2024. "Territorial Configurations of School‐To‐Work Outcomes in Europe," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    14. Masserini, Lucio & Bini, Matilde & Zeli, Alessandro & Forciniti, Alessia, 2024. "Measuring the impact of the 2008 and 2011 financial crises and the 2015 recovery on the unemployment rate in Italy," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    15. Wochowska Małgorzata, 2015. "Non-formal Learning And The Acquisition Of Skills – How Does The EU Support Youth Employment? / Edukacja Pozaformalna I Nabywanie Umiejętności – W Jaki Sposób Unia Europejska Wspiera Zatrudnienie Młod," Comparative Economic Research, Sciendo, vol. 18(2), pages 161-179, June.
    16. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Kunz, Johannes S. & Shields, Michael A., 2023. "COVID-19 lockdowns and changes in loneliness among young people in the U.K," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    17. Francesco Pastore & Luca Giuliani, 2015. "The determinants of youth unemployment. A panel data analysis," Discussion Papers 2_2015, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    18. Jeremy W Bray & Brooks Depro & Dorren McMahon & Marion Siegle & Lee Mobley, 2016. "Disconnected Geography: A Spatial Analysis of Disconnected Youth in the United States," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 317-342, September.
    19. Signorelli, Marcello & Choudhry, Misbah Tanveer, 2015. "Symposium: Youth labour market and the “Great Recession”," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-2.
    20. Minjong Youn & Chungseo Kang, 2023. "The Role of the Welfare State for NEETs: Exploring the Association Between Public Social Spending and NEET in European Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0291341. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.