Social connectedness in Argentinean adults. Descriptive study by sociodemographic variables
Abstract
Social connectedness refers to the bond that people feel in relation to the individuals and social groups that surround them. This feeling is built from relational experiences and provides a sense of identity and place in society. Various sociodemographic variables influence the social circle of people and how these links are experienced. The aim of this research was to describe social connectedness according to gender, marital status, educational level and occupation in Argentine adults. The sample consisted of 399 people (56.6% women, 41.9% men, 1.5% other) between 18 and 79 years old (M = 39.46, SD = 12.09), who answered the Social Connection Scale (Lee et al., 2001). The sample method was self-selected, non-probabilistic. Difference tests between means were performed using the t test for independent samples and ANOVA. Significant differences were found according to marital status (F = 4.02, p < .05), specifically singles have lower scores than people who are in a relationship; according to educational level (F = 8.33, p < .001), indicating that the differences are manifested between people with university studies and those with secondary education; according to occupation (F = 5.04, p < .001) indicating that unemployed people and students present significantly lower scores than business owners and professionals. New lines of research are discussed based on these findings.
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