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)

Amendola, Simone; Cerutti, Rita; von Wyl, Agnes

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0291341

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-29242

Full metadata record

DC Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Amendola, Simone	-
dc.contributor.author	Cerutti, Rita	-
dc.contributor.author	von Wyl, Agnes	-
dc.date.accessioned	2023-12-01T14:01:03Z	-
dc.date.available	2023-12-01T14:01:03Z	-
dc.date.issued	2023-09-12	-
dc.identifier.issn	1932-6203	de_CH
dc.identifier.uri	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/29242	-
dc.description.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.	de_CH
dc.language.iso	en	de_CH
dc.publisher	Public Library of Science	de_CH
dc.relation.ispartof	PLOS ONE	de_CH
dc.rights	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	de_CH
dc.subject	Europe	de_CH
dc.subject	Emotion	de_CH
dc.subject	Medical risk factor	de_CH
dc.subject	Social anxiety disorder	de_CH
dc.subject	Happiness	de_CH
dc.subject	Mental health	de_CH
dc.subject	Psychiatry	de_CH
dc.subject	Personality disorder	de_CH
dc.subject	Salary	de_CH
dc.subject.ddc	616.89: Psychische Störungen, klinische Psychologie und Psychiatrie	de_CH
dc.title	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)	de_CH
dc.type	Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift	de_CH
dcterms.type	Text	de_CH
zhaw.departement	Angewandte Psychologie	de_CH
zhaw.organisationalunit	Psychologisches Institut (PI)	de_CH
dc.identifier.doi	10.1371/journal.pone.0291341	de_CH
dc.identifier.doi	10.21256/zhaw-29242	-
zhaw.funding.eu	No	de_CH
zhaw.issue	9	de_CH
zhaw.originated.zhaw	Yes	de_CH
zhaw.pages.start	e0291341	de_CH
zhaw.publication.status	publishedVersion	de_CH
zhaw.volume	18	de_CH
zhaw.publication.review	Peer review (Publikation)	de_CH
zhaw.webfeed	Klinische Psychologie	de_CH
zhaw.author.additional	No	de_CH
zhaw.display.portrait	Yes	de_CH
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Angewandte Psychologie

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Amendola, S., Cerutti, R., & von Wyl, A. (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, 18(9), e0291341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291341

Amendola, S., Cerutti, R. and von Wyl, A. (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, 18(9), p. e0291341. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291341.

S. Amendola, R. Cerutti, and A. von Wyl, “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, vol. 18, no. 9, p. e0291341, Sep. 2023, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291341.

AMENDOLA, Simone, Rita CERUTTI und 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. 12 September 2023. Bd. 18, Nr. 9, S. e0291341. DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0291341

Amendola, Simone, Rita Cerutti, and 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 18 (9): e0291341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291341.

Amendola, Simone, et al. “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, vol. 18, no. 9, Sept. 2023, p. e0291341, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291341.