This study examines the impact welfare regimes might have on the individual’s social network – more specifically, the study investigates the individuals' number of social contacts and the diversity in their social networks. Are there differences in the individual's social network between the different welfare regimes? Does this correlate with the social safety nets provided by the different regimes? The study also aims to compare the strength of this correlation with other variables such as gender, age, educational level, partnership, and employment. This study is based on research theories of social capital, social contacts, and social welfare regimes. The study is quantitative in its nature and uses secondary data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 2017. The method used are two different binary multiple logistic regression models. The first regression model examines the number of social contacts and the second one network diversity. The results indicate that there is a correlation between the number of social contacts, network diversity and welfare regimes. According to this study the stronger the social safety net is, the less diversified the individual’s social network is - and the lower the number of social contacts. This is particularly evident among older individuals in the population. Furthermore, this study suggests that partnership, education,and employment are influential variables for network diversity and the number of social contacts. The study contributes to an understanding on how the social security of welfare regimes tends to reduce individuals' need of creating and maintaining their own social networks. This area, separate from social capital, can contribute to better understanding on how, for example, social isolation can emerge from a macro perspective. However, we recommend further research in this area to provide deeper insight on the effects that may arise.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-121960 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Kraus, Frida, Gullstrand, Jesper |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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