Levels Of Social Integration Research Articles

Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students' social networks and mental health before and during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland.

This study investigates students’ social networks and mental health before and at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, using longitudinal data collected since 2018. We analyze change on multiple dimensions of social networks (interaction, friendship, social support, co-studying) and mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness) within two cohorts of Swiss undergraduate students experiencing the crisis (N = 212), and make additional comparisons to an earlier cohort which did not experience the crisis (N = 54). In within-person comparisons we find that interaction and co-studying networks had become sparser, and more students were studying alone. Furthermore, students’ levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms got worse, compared to measures before the crisis. Stressors shifted from fears of missing out on social life to worries about health, family, friends, and their future. Exploratory analyses suggest that COVID-19 specific worries, isolation in social networks, lack of interaction and emotional support, and physical isolation were associated with negative mental health trajectories. Female students appeared to have worse mental health trajectories when controlling for different levels of social integration and COVID-19 related stressors. As universities and researchers discuss future strategies on how to combine on-site teaching with online courses, our results indicate the importance of considering social contacts in students’ mental health and offer starting points to identify and support students at higher risk of social isolation and negative psychological effects during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Better Choice, Better Health? Social Integration and Health Inequality among International Migrants in Hangzhou, China.

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of social integration and socioeconomic status on immigrant health in China. Taking the framework of social determinants of health (SDH) as the theoretical starting point, this paper uses the Hangzhou sample of the 2018 Survey of Foreigners in China (SFRC2018) to explore two core factors affecting the health inequality of international migrants in China: the level of social integration following settlement, and socioeconomic status before and after coming to China. The results show that having a formal educational experience in China helped improve both the self-rated health status and self-assessed change in health of international migrants; that the socioeconomic status of an emigrant’s home country affected self-rated health; and that the self-assessed change in health of immigrants from developing countries was significantly higher than those from developed countries. This study concludes that the health inequalities of immigrant populations in China must be understood in the context of China’s specific healthcare system and treatment structure.

Implementing an integrated acute response service: professional perceptions of intermediate care

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the implementation, care processes and sustainability of an integrated, intermediate Acute Response Team (ART) service. The primary aims of the service are to enhance the level of health and social care integration across a range of organisations, to ensure a timelier and appropriate service for people in the community at risk of admission to hospital.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative methodology was employed in order to gain a deep understanding of the experiences of staff members within the ART service and external stakeholders. Twenty-one professionals took part in a focus group or one-to-one interviews. Data were analysed thematically.FindingsThe key to successful implementation was that the service was co-created from the “ground-up” with support from local provider organisations. The inclusion of general practitioners (GPs) as part of the team was instrumental in setting up and maintaining the service and seems to be unique in intermediate care settings. Referrals into the ART service were dependent on awareness of the service at the interface with mainstream services. Transitions out were sometimes delayed due lack of availability of social care packages. To ensure sustainability of the ART and other integrated intermediate care services, continued resources, especially skilled staff members, are necessary.Originality/valueThis study adds to the intermediate care and acute response service literature by offering insights into “what works” from a professional perspective in terms of service implementation, care processes and sustainability, in an integrated care system.

Kolob Runs on Domo: Mormon Secrets and Transhumanist Code

ABSTRACT Mormon religiosity is deeply marked both by a culture of secrecy and also by a culture that obliquely indexes secret religious material as a means of communication. This secrecy, though, can at times be an engine of disbelief, a process which has been exacerbated by the internet. Because of high levels of social integration in the community, Mormon disbelief can have high social costs. Some Mormons, however, have retained a ‘testimony’ by using the concept of transhumanism as a way to re-negotiate what ‘belief’ in Mormonism means. However, in part due to the very culture of secrecy that can fuel doubt, and also in part due to the technical codes that transhumanism as a community often relies on, this very shift can itself be difficult for Mormon non-transhumanists to discern.

Social integration of migrants across Chinese neighbourhoods

Existing studies on migrant social integration in China are often focused on urban villages. Very few have explored across different types of neighbourhood. Drawing on the 2014 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, we find that migrants who live in ‘commodity housing’ neighbourhoods have achieved a higher level of social integration in all the dimensions of socio-economic achievement, neighbourly interaction and social relationships with the city. Migrants living in urban and rural villages manage to achieve better economic integration than migrants living in factory dormitories and old neighbourhoods in the central city. However, migrants in these villages show a lower level of social integration. The findings reveal that urban and rural villages as migrant enclaves serve a stepping-stone for migrants to earn an income but do not support migrants to eventually progress into better social integration. By revealing different levels of social integration, the Chinese case seems to suggest a process of spatial assimilation through which migrants living in more mainstream and formal housing with the locals become better integrated. However, such a process does not really happen as many migrants are stuck in the informal housing of villages. That migrant enclaves demonstrate a lower level of integration suggests that a path of segmented assimilation did not exist. That is, migrants could not find a path to integrate into the city in these enclaves.

Access to Sport Facilities, Social and Intergenerational Integration: A Case Study

Purpose: The paper aims at analysing the effects of the introduction of the “Moje Boisko-Orlik 2012” program and its impact on the social and intergenerational integration of Polish residents. Design/Methodology/Approach: The implementation of “Moje Boisko-Orlik 2012” program was an opportunity to increase the level of social and intergenerational integration. The paper presents the main assumptions of the program, social and intergenerational integration defined through the prism of the participation of communities and different age groups in sporting activity. In addition, for the years 2009-2014, an analysis of the number of beneficiaries of Orliki and indicators of their use in the cross-section of voivodships were conducted. Findings: Intergenerational relations are constantly changing, and the aging of society have a major impact on them. Intergenerational integration occurs, e.g. in places such as Orliki”. The hypothesis on the positive impact of the program on the social and intergenerational integration of the population was verified on the basis of available data on the sporting activity of the population and the number of sports facilities created. Practical Implications: The authors’ observations point to address the subject of sporting activity of older people in a broader context. Sporting activity is an excellent platform for communication between generations. It should be used as often as possible for the benefit of the society. Originality/Value: The value added of this paper is to draw attention to the role of physical activity in shaping intergenerational relations and social integration. In addition, it seems interesting to use conditional formatting as a method of data analysis.

Community Integration of Persons with Mental Disorders Compared with the General Population

Aims: Community integration is the catalyst for recovery that is provided by mental health services to persons with mental disorders. This study explores the impact of socio-demographic variables on the level of community integration in persons with mental disorders compared to the general population living in the same communities and the difference in community integration level between the two groups. Methods: A total of 224 persons with mental disorders (M age = 45.0, SD = 12.84, male 51.8%, female 48.2%) in communities and 247 individuals (M age = 44.6, SD = 11.41, male 50.6%, female 49.4%) of the general population in the same communities participated in the evaluation of levels of physical, psychological, and social integration. The effects of socio-demographic variables on the three types of community integration on both groups were evaluated using multiple regression analyses. Differences in the three types of community integration between the two groups were tested using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) by controlling for socio-demographic variables as covariates. Results: The effects of socio-demographic variables on the three types of community integration differed between the two groups. In addition, the two groups differed significantly in terms of social rather than physical or psychological integration when the level of community integration was compared while controlling socio-demographic variables. The results also show that persons with mental disorders had smaller social networks and fewer social contacts than the general population. Conclusions: Based on the findings, we recommended that service providers provide incentives for consumers to strengthen social relationships and social skills training in order to maintain relationships.

Social Support and Subclinical Coronary Artery Disease in Middle-Aged Men and Women: Findings from the Pilot of Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study.

Social support has been associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), particularly in individuals who have sustained a cardiovascular event. This study investigated the relationship between social support and subclinical CAD among 1067 healthy middle-aged men and women. Social support was assessed with validated social integration and emotional attachment measures. Subclinical CAD was assessed as a coronary artery calcium score (CACS) using computed tomography. There was no association between social support and CACS in men. In women, low social support was strongly linked to cardiovascular risk factors, high levels of inflammatory markers, and CACS > 0. In a logistic regression model, after adjustment for 12 cardiovascular risk factors, the odds ratio (95% confidence intervals) for CACS > 0 in women with the lowest social integration, emotional attachment, and social support groups (reference: highest corresponding group) were 2.47 (1.23–5.12), 1.87 (0.93–3.59), and 4.28 (1.52–12.28), respectively. Using a machine learning approach (random forest), social integration was the fourth (out of 12) most important risk factor for CACS > 0 in women. Women with lower compared to higher or moderate social integration levels were about 14 years older in “vascular age”. This study showed an association between lack of social support and subclinical CAD in middle-aged women, but not in men. Lack of social support may affect the atherosclerotic process and identify individuals vulnerable to CAD events.

Prediagnosis social support, social integration, living status, and colorectal cancer mortality in postmenopausal women from the women's health initiative.

We evaluated associations between perceived social support, social integration, living alone, and colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes in postmenopausal women. The study included 1431 women from the Women's Health Initiative who were diagnosed from 1993 through 2017 with stage I through IV CRC and who responded to the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support survey before their CRC diagnosis. We used proportional hazards regression to evaluate associations of social support (tertiles) and types of support, assessed up to 6years before diagnosis, with overall and CRC-specific mortality. We also assessed associationsof social integration and living alone with outcomes also in a subset of 1141 women who had information available on social ties (marital/partner status, community and religious participation) and living situation. In multivariable analyses, women with low (hazard ratio [HR], 1.52; 95% CI, 1.23-1.88) and moderate (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.98-1.50) perceived social support had significantly higher overall mortality than those with high support (P [continuous]<.001). Similarly, women with low (HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.07-1.88) and moderate (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.96-1.70) perceived social support had higher CRC mortality than those with high social support (P [continuous]=.007). Emotional, informational, and tangible support and positive interaction were all significantly associated with outcomes, whereas affection was not. In main-effects analyses, the level of social integration was related to overall mortality (P for trend=.02), but not CRC mortality (P for trend=.25), and living alone was not associated with mortality outcomes. However, both the level of social integration and living alone were related to outcomes in patients with rectal cancer. Women with low perceived social support before diagnosis have higher overall and CRC-specific mortality.

Participatory Video at the UN Global Migration Film Festival: engaging displaced indigenous Venezuelans in filmmaking at a shelter in Brazil

From August 2017 to September 2018, IOM (International Organization for Migration) experimented for the first time, participatory video methodology integrated in the activities of its Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF). The main purpose was to innovate and enable communities in the frontlines of displacement and different humanitarian action settings into creating through film their own narratives with their own hands and style. Their videos would then integrate the film festival that traditionally curates professionally produced movies. Amongst the six countries and areas with displaced population reached by the project is Roraima, Brazil, that has been hosting thousands of Venezuelans that crossed the Brazilian border fleeing from degrading living conditions. In May 2018 the authors spent a week at Pintolândia Indigenous Shelter located in the capital Boa Vista, facilitating displaced Venezuelans of the ethical groups of Warao and Eñepas make their own films to be screened locally and around the world. Furthermore, the facilitators would observe the potential benefits of the method to generate some level of social cohesion and integration between the participating displaced communities that came from different regions of Venezuela.

The Discourse of Patriotism in the Political Process of Modern Russian

The article analyzes the discourse of patriotism in the context of influence of various conflict-­provoking factors in the development of modern Russian political process, with the aim to study technologies for maintaining civil harmony in ethno-­political diversity. A complex range of problems of patriotism as a value phenomenon in the political life of society is being actualized. The procedural nature of the discursive construction of political reality, as well as the axiological content of discourse analysis as a method of political science are substantiated. It is noted that it is the values of patriotism that give special meaning to social action aimed at protecting the interests of one’s country, one’s people and one’s large and small homeland. The aim of the article is to identify the main vectors of transformation of patriotic discourse and the factors that affect the diversity of interpretations of patriotism and the dynamics of conflicting interpretations in political rhetoric in the media space of modern Russia. The article presents the results of the research on the process of destruction and formation of semantic structures that are connected with the attitudes towards one’s country, depending on changes in the subjective factors of patriotic values in society. The object of empirical research is the political discourse of patriotism. The empirical results of the study show the way in which the basic parameters of the state of internal social environment influence the process of community integration and its internal conflicts with regard to patriotic values. In the course of the research, the methods of discourse analysis and of semantic measurement of the ideological and socio-­psychological component of political communication in diversity were tested. Different methods were resorted to analyze expert-­level statements on the Web. The discourse analysis has demonstrated that specific events in and attitudes to historical memory influence transformations in understanding patriotism. In other words, the level of social integration is ensured largely by the policy of historical memory, which determines the nature and level of tolerance in a multi-­ethnic environment and depends on the design of media policy. The conclusions highlight the prospects for such processes and the scientific guidance for further research on the topic.

Durkheim’s Sociological Analysis of Suicide

This effort will suggest that Durkheim argued that suicide is a function of the levels of Social Integration into the Conscience Collective of the social group. Consistent with his hypothesis, Durkheim identified four forms of suicide and their related levels (high/low) of social integration affecting the personal act of suicide. Lastly, this effort is not a traditional research project, as was mentioned above; rather is reevaluation of a classical sociological theory.

SPORDA SOSYAL BÜTÜNLEŞME DÜZEYİ İLE KİŞİLİK TİPLERİ ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİLER VE ETKİLEŞİMLER

Personality traits influence behavior and motivation related to social integration. For this reason, this research is important in terms of the fact that the sport which is thought to be a social environment and provides the socialization of individuals will contribute to the development of personality traits and as a tool to help psychologists. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships and interactions between the level of social integration in sports and personality types. In this study, relational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used. The research group of this study consists of 152 female and 148 male high school and university students who study in sports sciences in Niğde province, selected by convenience (accidental) sampling method and criteria sampling method from random sampling methods. Survey method was used as data collection tool. The first part of the three-part questionnaire contains the "social integration scale in sports" developed by Yilmaz et al. (2007), the second part contains the personality types scale adapted to Turkish by Sudak and Zehir (2013) developed by Goldberg (1990), and the third part contains the personal data form. In addition to descriptive statistics in the analysis of the data; normality tests, Pearson correlation analysis, multiple linear regression analysis were used. In addition, the Z score was calculated and the differences between the groups were examined in order to compare the r values that appeared in the binary correlation analysis by dividing them into groups. As a result of the analysis, significant positive correlations were found between the sub-dimensions of the two measurement instruments at low, medium and high levels in general. As a result, sports are a very important tool for the development of personality along with the social integration of individuals.

The virtues of collective gatherings: A study on the positive effects of a major scouting event

AbstractThe present study addresses, in a highly ecological setting, the short‐ and long‐term psychosocial consequences of participation in a major scouting event. Using a quasi‐longitudinal design comprising three measures taken over two‐and‐a‐half months (i.e., baseline level; within the 24 hr following the event; 10 weeks after the gathering), we show that participation in this collective gathering was followed by a series of positive effects at the psychosocial level. More precisely, we noticed an increase in the scout's levels of social integration, and individual and social well‐being after their participation in the gathering. Further, in line with a central tenet of the neo‐Durkheimian model of collective processes, the results stress the key role of perceived emotional synchrony in the prediction of the outcomes. Higher perceived emotional synchrony during the gathering was associated with stronger in‐group identification, identity fusion, pride, openness to experience, self‐esteem, positive affects, and adhesion to specific scouting values. Finally, we found that the effects of participation lasted more than a few days and were predicted by the level of perceived emotional synchrony. These findings are the first to show that positive effects of participation in a collective event last for at least ten weeks.

Hogares guatemaltecos y etnicidad en el sur de México: perfiles demográficos y socioeconómicos

El objetivo general de este artículo es analizar los perfiles demográficos y socioeconómicos de los hogares guatemaltecos por habla de lengua indígena en las entidades de la frontera sur de México. En particular, se explora cuántos hogares guatemaltecos están asentados, cómo se configuran y cómo se han integrado en términos estructurales, con base en la Encuesta Intercensal 2015. Para tal fin se emplea estadística descriptiva y un modelo de regresión logística multinomial. El análisis indica que los hogares guatemaltecos se concentran en áreas rurales, son numerosos y más jóvenes, y laboran principalmente en el sector primario. Su integración socioeconómica es desventajosa en rubros como las condiciones del empleo y de la vivienda y el acceso a servicios sociales. No obstante, los hogares guatemaltecos indígenas exhiben niveles más altos de integración social que sus contrapartes no indígenas en el acceso a la ciudadanía mexicana, vivienda y apoyos económicos gubernamentales.

Supplementary grandchild care, social integration, and depressive symptoms: longitudinal findings from Korea

Objectives Despite growing concerns about the heavy reliance on supplementary grandchild care in Korea, understanding of its longitudinal effects on the grandparents’ mental health has been limited. This study examined whether transition patterns of grandchild care among Korean grandparents were associated with changes in the grandparents’ depressive symptoms, directly or indirectly, through changes in two domains of social integration (intergenerational contact and social activities) after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and baseline levels of depressive symptoms and social integration. Method Using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (N = 4,362), a nationally representative multiwave survey, we examined four possible statuses of grandchild care over a three-year period: started (n = 64), continuous (n = 73), and discontinued (n = 103) caregiving, and non-caregiving (n = 4,121). The proposed mediation model was analyzed using structural equation modeling with non-caregivers as a reference group, and Wald tests were conducted to further examine differences in the effects across the three caregiving groups. Results The direct effects of grandchild care on depressive symptoms in Korean grandparents were not significant. Rather, those who started or continuously provided caregiving had significantly reduced depressive symptoms via increased intergenerational contact compared to the non-caregiving group. Conclusion These findings indicated beneficial effects of grandchild care on depressive symptoms in Korean grandparents through increased social integration within the family. Implications of the study findings were discussed.

The Prospective Association of Social Integration With Life Span and Exceptional Longevity in Women.

Although stronger social relationships have been associated with reduced mortality risk in prior research, their associations with favorable health outcomes are understudied. We evaluated whether higher social integration levels were associated with longer life span and greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity. Women from the Nurses' Health Study completed the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index in 1992 (N = 72,322; average age = 58.80 years), and were followed through 2014 with biennial questionnaires. Deaths were ascertained from participants' families, postal authorities, and death registries. Accelerated failure time models adjusting for relevant covariates estimated percent changes in life span associated with social integration levels; logistic regressions evaluated likelihood of surviving to age 85 years or older among women who could reach that age during follow-up (N = 16,818). After controlling for baseline demographics and chronic diseases, socially integrated versus isolated women had 10% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 8.80-11.42) longer life span and 41% (95% CI = 1.28-1.54) higher odds of surviving to age 85 years. All findings remained statistically significant after further adjusting for health behaviors and depression. Better social integration is related to longer life span and greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity among midlife women. Findings suggest social integration may be an important psychosocial asset to evaluate for promoting longer, healthier lives.

Integration of migrant workers: Differentiation among three rural migrant enclaves in Shenzhen

This study investigates three types of migrant enclaves in Shenzhen and focuses on social integration from the perspective of spatial differentiation. The villages are Luofang Village, a hometown-based enclave in its increasing stage; Gongle Village, a mixed, stable enclave; and Qinghu Village, an industry-dependent enclave whose scale of migrant workers has been gradually decreasing since 2008. The findings are as follows: Luofang Village has the highest social integration level, followed by Gongle Village and Qinghu Village. Luofang Village ranks first in community integration, social relations integration, and psychological integration. Gongle Village has the highest degree of economic integration, and Qinghu Village has the highest degree of cultural integration. Social integration in Luofang Village is mainly influenced by community support, community function, age, and marital status; that in Gongle Village is mainly influenced by vocational skills, marital status, and age; and that in Qinghu Village is mainly influenced by community support and length of residence in Shenzhen. This study extends the research on differentiation in relation to the social integration of migrant workers and supplements interdisciplinary discussions on social integration. The conclusions can serve as a reference for local governments with respect to the citizenization of migrant workers.

Do affordable housing programs facilitate migrants' social integration in Chinese cities?

Using the data from “China Migrants' Dynamic Survey” conducted by China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, we examine the impacts of affordable housing programs on migrants' social integration in Chinese cities. We measure social integration in terms of migrants' participation in local activities and sense of belonging. We find that, after controlling for individual characteristics, the social integration level of migrants living in affordable housing program communities is significantly higher than that of migrants living in other communities. Heterogeneous analyses show that the migrants living in the rental units in affordable housing program communities exhibit a much higher level of social integration than do similar migrants living in other rental units. However, owner-occupied affordable housing communities do not show a significant effect in improving social integration, compared to other owner-occupied housing communities. Further analysis suggests that the inclusiveness of the living environment and neighborhood helps explain the main difference.

Default Mode Network Connectivity Predicts Emotion Recognition and Social Integration After Traumatic Brain Injury

Moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may result in difficulty with emotion recognition, which has negative implications for social functioning. As aspects of social cognition have been linked to resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in the default mode network (DMN), we sought to determine whether DMN connectivity strength predicts emotion recognition and level of social integration in TBI. To this end, we examined emotion recognition ability of 21 individuals with TBI and 27 healthy controls in relation to RSFC between DMN regions. Across all participants, decreased emotion recognition ability was related to increased connectivity between dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and temporal regions (temporal pole and parahippocampal gyrus). Furthermore, within the TBI group, connectivity between dmPFC and parahippocampal gyrus predicted level of social integration on the Community Integration Questionnaire, an important index of post-injury social functioning in TBI. This finding was not explained by emotion recognition ability, indicating that DMN connectivity predicts social functioning independent of emotion recognition. These results advance our understanding of the neural underpinnings of emotional and social processes in both healthy and injured brains, and suggest that RSFC may be an important marker of social outcomes in individuals with TBI.