Measuring loneliness in the European Union скачать в хорошем качестве

Measuring loneliness in the European Union

Matija Kovacic, Joint Research Centre, delivered a survey methods webinar on Tuesday 22 October 2024. The event was part of our survey methods series, organised alongside City, University of London and National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). The main objective of the seminar was to present the first EU-wide survey measuring loneliness through established multi-item scales. This was launched by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) - the European Commission’s science and knowledge service - in cooperation with the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion in the context of a European Parliament pilot project on monitoring loneliness in Europe. The survey also included detailed information on social isolation, initiatives addressing loneliness, as well as individual views about loneliness and social isolation in society. Moreover, it covered relevant individual characteristics and behaviours, such as social media use, trust and civic engagement, health status, childhood experiences, and standard socio-demographic characteristics. The presentation included a discussion on the existing survey-elicited measures of loneliness, as well as their limitations. Furthermore, it presented an overview of the main results on the prevalence of loneliness in the European Union along several dimensions, exploring vulnerabilities within specific demographic groups and mitigating or triggering factors such as meaningful social connections and life events. Finally, the presentation covered results from research estimating the causal effect of loneliness on several physical and mental health issues in the European context. About the speaker Matija Kovacic is a research economist and policy analyst at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Matija holds a PhD in Economics from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. His research interests are in empirical microeconomics and population economics, with an emphasis on inequality, determinants of individual preferences, and social and cultural diversity. Matija’s research has been published in several journals, including Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Population Economics, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation, Social Choice and Welfare, Journal of Peace Research, among others.