Social Cohesion in the Western World

Acceptance of Insect-Based Food Products in Western Societies: A Systematic Review

“…Firstly, Huntington ( 27 ) proposed a theory that the modern world is divided into nine civilizations based on cultural affinities, one of which is the Western civilization. Secondly, Dragolov et al ( 28 ) allocated European Union (EU) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states with a comparable social, political, and economic status to the West. Thirdly, the UN regional group of Western European and other States ( 29 ) was considered.…”

The longitudinal effect of COVID-19 infections and lockdown on mental health and the protective effect of neighbourhood social relations

“…Neighbourhood social relations is conceived as a constituent component of social cohesion ( Bernard, 2009 ; Chan et al, 2006 ). It is measured using 11 items adapted from Dragolov et al (2016) and Sampson et al (1997) (see also Cárdenas et al, 2021 ). Participants were asked to indicate to what extent they agreed with a series of statements that described whether people in their neighbourhood i) are willing to help each other, ii) trust each other, iii) get along well, iv) form a close knit community, v) feel safe walking alone at night, vi) get along with people from different national or ethnic backgrounds, vii) work together to solve community problems, viii) have civil conversations with people who have different views, ix) respect practices from different national or ethnic groups, x) respect local rules and laws, and xi) usually get what they deserve.…”

“…In this research, we focus on the social cohesion dimension that has been most widely studied in the context of health research: the quality of social relations within the group or the extent to which people see others in the community getting along. This quality is reflected and assessed in terms of trust, safety and altruism within the group ( Alcalá et al, 2016 ) and is considered a component of the broader and multidimensional concept of social cohesion, which also includes aspects of societal-level attitudes and behaviours in social and political domains ( Bernard, 2009 ; Chan et al, 2006 ; Dragolov et al, 2016 ). Positive social relations, and social cohesion, are important for health outcomes because they offer the collective resources necessary to manage health challenges ( Fiori et al, 2016 ; Thoits, 2010 ), while also facilitating self-efficacy ( Samuel et al, 2014 ).…”

Editorial: Social Belongingness and Well-Being: International Perspectives

“…Based on Schiefel and van der Noll, an SCo index was created, including social participation, the strength of social networks, social trust (people and institutions), respect for rules, solidarity-the first components are similar to SC (see Table 2 for items). Controlling GDP and Gini Index, the national mean of SCo predicts B = 0.17 individual WB in 34 nations (Dragolov et al, 2016).…”