KMID : 0904520160410010005
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Health and Medical Sociology 2016 Volume.41 No. 1 p.5 ~ p.32
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The Effects of Social Networks Properties on Loneliness
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Jeong Young-Tak
Kim Seok-Ho Lee Min-Ah
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Abstract
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The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the loneliness of foreign workers currently residing in Korea by focusing on their ego-centric network, a tool which can measure specific ties of social network. In analyzing loneliness in terms of relationships, prior studies of loneliness have mainly concentrated on the effects of network size and the attachment figure. Going one step further from the previous existing studies, however, this study examines not only factors dealt in the previous studies, but also the properties of relations that foreign workers substantially make. In particular, the study explores a level of effects towards loneliness that of homogeneity and heterogeneity in terms of sex, age, ethnic group, education, and party affiliation between ego and alters, and also the density between alters which one¡¯s ego possess. ¡ºThe research on the actual condition and employment of foreign workers¡» which the survey held on 2010 was used from Human Resources Development Service of Korea. Two dimensions of loneliness, emotional loneliness and social loneliness, was derived from the factor analysis and have used in this study. First, dense network of alters has positively effects on decreasing emotional loneliness of foreign workers as well as the homogeneity of degree of education. Second, social loneliness is positively affected by the numbers of alters who participate in the same affiliation such as friend/kin party and social/religious organization, but not the size of network. Sex heterogeneity has significant effects on both emotional and social loneliness respectively. The results of the study vindicate that the specific properties of network structure has to be considered as well as the network size and attachment figures while investigating the factors of loneliness. Furthermore, while the study of social psychological factors can be worthwhile in foreign workers research, it has to be undertaken in conjunction with an even greater effort to examine about the relation precisely in terms of how they are connected and arranged with the magnitude of network.
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KEYWORD
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Loneliness, Foreign workers, Ego-centric network, homogeneity, Density
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