Does unemployment lead to isolation? The consequences of unemployment for social networks
Publication year
2020Number of pages
12 p.
Source
Social Networks, 63, (2020), pp. 100-111ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
Display more detailsDisplay less details
Organization
SW OZ RSCR SOC
Journal title
Social Networks
Volume
vol. 63
Languages used
English (eng)
Page start
p. 100
Page end
p. 111
Subject
Inequality, cohesion and modernization; Ongelijkheid, cohesie en moderniseringAbstract
Popular accounts in both social science and society claim that unemployment goes together with social withdrawal. However, empirical support for this conclusion is largely derived from cross-sectional studies or indirect measurements of social contacts. In this study, we argue that consequences of unemployment for personal networks differ across social groups and by length of unemployment. Using longitudinal data from the Swiss Household Panel (1999-2010), we focus on three frequently employed social network statistics: network size, contact frequency, and perceived support by friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances. We estimate how short (<1 year) and long term (>1 year) unemployment relates to these network characteristics for men and women, people below and above 50 years of age, and lower and higher educated individuals. Our results provide a more-nuanced perspective on the commonly assumed social withdrawal following unemployment.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [245263]
- Electronic publications [132514]
- Faculty of Social Sciences [30345]
- Open Access publications [106154]
Upload full text
Use your RU credentials (u/z-number and password) to log in with SURFconext to upload a file for processing by the repository team.