scholarly journals Social Cohesion and Its Correlates: A Comparison of Western and Asian Societies

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 426-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Delhey ◽  
Klaus Boehnke ◽  
Georgi Dragolov ◽  
Zsófia S. Ignácz ◽  
Mandi Larsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Political Freedom ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
World Region ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
Trust In Institutions ◽  
Practical Conclusion ◽  
Open Question

AbstractTrust can either be conceived of as a social glue in its own right, or as a constitutive element of a larger societal syndrome, termed social cohesion. This contribution takes the latter perspective, analyzing social trust and trust in institutions as integral parts of social cohesion more generally. Despite ongoing worries about the state of social cohesion in contemporary societies, surprisingly little is known as to which macro-level conditions actually weaken social cohesion, and which foster it. It remains an open question whether social cohesion is shaped by universal social forces that work similarly in various world regions, or by region-specific ones (the same holds true for outcomes of social cohesion). Against this background, the present paper seeks to advance our understanding of correlates of social cohesion by systematically comparing Western and Asian societies. The empirical analysis is based on the most comprehensive index of social cohesion currently available, the Bertelsmann Social Cohesion Radar. In separate analyses of 34 Western and 22 Asian societies, the authors explore the associations of economic, social, political, and cultural conditions with cohesion, as well as the associations between cohesion and population well-being. The results suggest that while some correlates (such as economic prosperity) can indeed be considered universal, others (e.g. income inequality, political freedom) work differently in Western and Asian societies. The authors link these findings to sociological and cross-cultural psychological theories on Asian modernization and Asian values. The practical conclusion is that not all policy recommendations for strengthening social cohesion can easily travel from one world region to another.

Sentencing Policy as a Force for Social Cohesion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sentencing Policy

This chapter sets out the case for adopting a normative approach to conceptualizing the social reality of sentencing. It argues that policy-makers need to comprehend how sentencing is implicated in realizing state values and take greater account of the social forces that diminish the moral credibility of state sponsored punishment. The chapter reflects on the problems of relating social values to legal processes such as sentencing and argues that crude notions of ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’ approaches to policy-making should be replaced by a process of contextualized policy-making. Finally, the chapter stresses the need for sentencing policy to reflect those moral attachments that bind citizens together in a relational or communitarian sense. It concludes by exploring these assertions in the light of the sentencing approach taken by the courts following the English riots of 2011.

Do National Service Programs Improve Subjective Well-Being in Communities?

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristopher Velasco ◽  
Pamela Paxton ◽  
Robert W. Ressler ◽  
Inbar Weiss ◽  
Lilla Pivnick
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Change Score ◽  
National Service ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Community Effects ◽  
Service Programs ◽  
Open Question ◽  
New Evidence

Since the creation of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) in 1964 and AmeriCorps in 1993, a stated goal of national service programs has been to strengthen the overall health of communities across the United States. But whether national service programs have such community effects remains an open question. Using longitudinal cross-lagged panel and change-score models from 2005 to 2013, this study explores whether communities with national service programs exhibit greater subjective well-being. We use novel measures of subjective well-being derived from tweeted expressions of emotions, engagement, and relationships in 1,347 U.S. counties. Results show that national service programs improve subjective well-being primarily by mitigating threats to well-being and communities that exhibit more engagement are better able to attract national service programs. Although limited in size, these persistent effects are robust to multiple threats to inference and provide important new evidence on how national service improves communities in the United States.

scholarly journals Pulling us apart? The association between fear of crime and social cohesion in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Roberts ◽  
Steven L. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Perceptions Of Safety ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Adverse Influence

Fear of crime, like crime itself, is thought to be a factor that constrains efforts by government and non-state actors at promoting socially cohesive communities and a caring society. As concern  over South Africa's social fabric have mounted, increasing policy attention has been directed at perceptions of safety and nation-building. In this study, we use nationally representative survey data to examine recent theoretical models on the link between fear of crime and social cohesion within communities. The results do not offer strong support for the hypothesis that higher fear of crime is associated with lower levels of social trust, neighbouthood ties and civic cohesion, although fear does have a moderate, adverse influence on attitudes towards law enforcement.

scholarly journals Trust in Institutions, Not in Political Leaders, Determines Covid-19 Public Health Compliance in Societies across the Globe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Badman ◽  
Ace X. Wang ◽  
Martin Skrodzki ◽  
Hengchin Cho ◽  
David Aguilar-Lleyda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Trust In Institutions ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Public Health Institutions ◽  
Health Discourse

A core assumption often heard in public health discourse is that increasing trust in national political leaders is essential for securing public health compliance during crises like the Covid-19 pandemic (2019-ongoing). However, studies of national government trust typically are too coarse-grained to differentiate between the trust in institutions versus more interpersonal trust in political leaders. Here, we present multiscale trust measurements for twelve countries and territories across the West, Oceania and East Asia. These trust results are used to identify which specific domains of government and social trust were most crucial for securing public health compliance (frequency of mask wearing and social distancing), and understanding the reasons for following the health measures (belief in effectiveness of public health measures). Our cross-cultural survey-based analysis (12 countries/territories, N=3369 subjects) reveals that higher trust in national and local public health institutions were a universally consistent predictor of public health compliance, while trust in national political leaders was actually not predictive of compliance across cultures and geographical regions. Institutional trust was mediated by multiple types of transparency, including providing rationale, securing public feedback, and honestly expressing uncertainty. These measures of transparency in public health communications, in turn, influence the public’s compliance behavior and beliefs. In total, these results highlight the importance of distinguishing between components of government trust, to better understand which entities the public give the most attention to during crises. Our findings may contribute to better planning and improvement of society-level cooperation, especially under highly uncertain disaster contexts.

scholarly journals Proximal versus distal ecological stress: Socio-ecological influences on political freedom, well-being, and societal confidence in 159 nations

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 306-320
Author(s):  
Lucian Gideon Conway ◽  
Linus Chan ◽  
Shailee R. Woodard ◽  
Mohsen Joshanloo
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Political Freedom ◽  
Ecological Perspective ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Stress Measurements ◽  
Ecological Stress ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
Gallup World Poll

Previous work from a socio-ecological perspective reveals that ecological stress has important effects on political, cultural, and psychological outcomes. However, that work has been limited by (1) a focus on distal forms of ecological stress that are hard for societies to control, and (2) a lack of large-scale conceptual replications. The present study aims to fill in these gaps by simultaneously testing the effects of both more distal ecological stress (e.g., climate) and more proximal ecological stress (e.g., water quality) on political restriction, political freedom, well-being, and societal confidence measurements. In a sample from the Gallup World Poll spanning over one and a half million participants and 159 nations, we found that while both kinds of ecological stress measurements predicted greater vertical political restriction, reduced horizontal political restriction, reduced well-being, and reduced freedom, only proximal forms of ecological stress predicted a loss in societal confidence. These results not only provide key conceptual replications of prior studies on new data, they also add previously unstudied outcomes and new ecological stressors. As a result, they help us better understand contributing factors to key societal issues such as freedom, well-being, and societal confidence.

scholarly journals Predictors of Seeking Health Information and Mental Health Support in U.S. Prisons: A Study Using 2014 PIAAC Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 337-337
Author(s):  
Candidus Nwakasi ◽  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Janardan Subedi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Population ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Literacy Skill ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

Abstract Being in prison increases the vulnerability to poor health, especially mental illnesses. This is evident in the documented health disparities between prison inmates and the general population. For example, suicide rates among inmates are higher than in the general population. There is an urgent need to understand how inmates experience mental well-being. This is important as some inmates serve long/life sentences and some will need to successfully re-integrate into the society. Although they have a constitutional right to health care access through the Eight Amendment, little is known of the health information and mental health support seeking patterns among inmates. The current study examined factors associated with the amount of health information accessed, and participation in mental health support groups in US prisons. Data (N= 645) from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (2014) were analyzed using linear and logistic regressions. Sample weights were applied in the analyses. Results show statistically significant relationships between amount of health information acquired and age (66 years and above), race, health-status, readiness to learn, literacy skill, and numeracy skill. Social trust moderated the effect of education on the odds of participating in mental health support groups. Also, gender, work duration, attending substance abuse support and life skills groups were significant predictors. Our study may provide insight for stakeholders (e.g., policymakers, clinicians, social workers, and wardens, etc.) working in partnership to deliver a more tailored health interventions for inmates, by highlighting key contextual issues predicting mental health and well-being within prison settings.

scholarly journals ASSESSMENT OF THE FINANCIAL PROVISION OF SOCIAL PROTECTION ОF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN UKRAINE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergiy Kandiba ◽  
Natalia Safonik
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Insurance Fund ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Social

The article analyses the main sources of financial provision for the social protection of persons with disabilities in Ukraine, including their own resources, budget resources at all levels and resources of enterprises of all forms of ownership; social trust funds, funds of charitable and social organizations and other sources. It is justified that socially oriented objects of expenditure are growing and account for a significant share in the structure of expenditure of the state budget. An analysis of the expenditure of local budgets on the social protection of persons with disabilities showed that expenditure in this area has been increasing since 2015, owing to the reform of decentralization. An evaluation of the activities of civil society organizations of persons with disabilities showed a decrease in the number of persons with disabilities who are employed and in the proportion of expenditures allocated to the social needs of persons with disabilities. Measures to improve the social protection and welfare of persons with disabilities in Ukraine are also financed from social welfare funds. Analysis of the provision of medical and social services by the Social Insurance Fund of Ukraine shows an increase in the number of persons with disabilities as a result of an industrial accident and an increase in the cost of medical and social services. It has been established that financial provision for the social protection of persons with disabilities from charitable organizations is provided in most cases in the form of targeted charitable assistance. The structure of the recipients of charitable assistance by category showed that the proportion of people with special needs among the recipients of charitable assistance was about 10 per cent. On the basis of the study, a number of problems affecting the well-being of persons with disabilities have been identified. Priorities have been set for the development of financial provision for the social protection of persons with disabilities. These include improving the targeting of social assistance, development of locally funded social protection programs, enhancing the social and labour integration of persons with disabilities, gender mainstreaming in the financial provision of social protection for persons with disabilities.

scholarly journals If, Why, and When Subjective Well-Being Influences Health, and Future Needed Research

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Francis Diener
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Do So

We review evidence on whether subjective well-being (SWB) can influence health, why it might do so, and what we know about the conditions where this is more or less likely to occur. This review also explores how various methodological approaches inform the study of the connections between subjective well-being and health and longevity outcomes. Our review of this growing literature indicates areas where data are substantial and where much more research is needed. We conclude that SWB can sometimes influence health, and review a number of reasons why it does so. A key open question is when it does and does not do so – in terms of populations likely to be affected, types of SWB that are most influential (including which might be harmful), and types of health and illnesses that are most likely to be affected. We also describe additional types of research that are now much needed in this burgeoning area of interest, for example, cross-cultural studies, animal research, and experimental interventions designed to raise long-term SWB and assess the effects on physical health. This research area is characterized both by potentially extremely important findings, and also by pivotal research issues and questions.

scholarly journals Social trust and emotional health in rural older adults in China: The mediating and moderating role of subjective well-being and subjective social status

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongsheng Chen ◽  
Zhenjun Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Subjective Social Status ◽  
Rural Elderly ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
The Impact

Abstract BackgroundChina is becoming an aging society. The emotional health of the elderly is gaining importance. Social trust is an important factor affecting emotional health, but existing studies have rarely considered the various effects of different types of social trust on rural elderly emotional health. Few studies have analysed the role of subjective well-being and subjective social status in the relationship between social trust and elderly emotional health.MethodsUsing the data of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016 (CLDS 2016) and regression models, this study selected 2084 rural respondents aged 60 years and above to analyse the impact of social trust on their emotional health. Social trust was divided into three categories: trust in family members, trust in friends, and trust in neighbours. This study also examined the mediating and moderating effects of subjective well-being and subjective social status on the relationship between social trust and emotional health.ResultsTrust in family members was significantly and positively associated with emotional health (coefficient=0.194, P<0.01) and subjective well-being (coefficient=0.177, P<0.01). Trust in friends was significantly and positively associated with emotional health and subjective well-being (coefficient=0.097, P<0.01; coefficient=0.174, P<0.01, respectively). Trust in neighbours was significantly and positively associated with emotional health and subjective well-being (coefficient=0.088, P<0.01; coefficient=0.177, P<0.01; respectively). Subjective well-being effectively reduced the impact of social trust in family, friends, and neighbours on the emotional health of the elderly by 0.023, 0.022, and 0.023, respectively. Trust in friends and neighbours significantly and positively affected respondents’ subjective social status (coefficient=0.120, P<0.05; coefficient=0.090, P<0.10; respectively). Subjective social status effectively reduced the impact of social trust in friends and neighbours on the emotional health of the elderly both by 0.004. The positive relationship between trust in family members and emotional health is weakened by subjective well-being.ConclusionsSocial trust, especially family relationships, play an important role in maintaining the emotional health of the rural elderly. In response to population ageing, more social policies must be introduced to care for the rural elderly and help them lead a happy and satisfactory life.

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