Background: We aimed to examine the association between social capital and loneliness in Anhui Province, China.
Methods: Data were collected from a cross-sectional study using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling strategy. Data on demographic characteristics, socioeconomic factors, social capital, and loneliness in 1810 older adults (aged 60 years and older) were used for analysis. Binary logistic regression models and a classification and regression tree model were performed to assess the association of social capital and loneliness.
Results: Our results indicated that social capital in terms of lower level of social participation (AOR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.10-1.74), social connection (AOR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.18-1.93), and reciprocity (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.13-1.90) were associated with higher odds of developing loneliness. We noted the interactive effect of different social capital dimensions on loneliness, suggesting that the risk for suffering loneliness was greatest in older people limited in functional ability, with less trust, less social connection, and less social participation.
Conclusions: Our findings show that social capital is associated with loneliness in older adults. This implies that social capital, especially in terms of trust, social connection, and social participation may be significant for alleviating loneliness in later life.

Figure 1
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
Additional file 1, The location of sampling areas (Red areas) in Anhui province, China.
Additional file 2, Questionnaire of this study (English version).
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On 24 Dec, 2020
On 16 Dec, 2020
Posted 15 Dec, 2020
On 15 Dec, 2020
On 14 Dec, 2020
Posted 05 Nov, 2020
Received 13 Nov, 2020
Received 13 Nov, 2020
Received 06 Nov, 2020
On 31 Oct, 2020
On 28 Oct, 2020
On 28 Oct, 2020
Invitations sent on 28 Oct, 2020
On 28 Oct, 2020
On 28 Oct, 2020
On 28 Oct, 2020
Received 03 Oct, 2020
Received 30 Sep, 2020
Received 28 Sep, 2020
On 11 Sep, 2020
On 11 Sep, 2020
Invitations sent on 10 Sep, 2020
On 10 Sep, 2020
On 07 Sep, 2020
On 06 Sep, 2020
On 06 Sep, 2020
Background: We aimed to examine the association between social capital and loneliness in Anhui Province, China.
Methods: Data were collected from a cross-sectional study using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling strategy. Data on demographic characteristics, socioeconomic factors, social capital, and loneliness in 1810 older adults (aged 60 years and older) were used for analysis. Binary logistic regression models and a classification and regression tree model were performed to assess the association of social capital and loneliness.
Results: Our results indicated that social capital in terms of lower level of social participation (AOR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.10-1.74), social connection (AOR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.18-1.93), and reciprocity (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI: 1.13-1.90) were associated with higher odds of developing loneliness. We noted the interactive effect of different social capital dimensions on loneliness, suggesting that the risk for suffering loneliness was greatest in older people limited in functional ability, with less trust, less social connection, and less social participation.
Conclusions: Our findings show that social capital is associated with loneliness in older adults. This implies that social capital, especially in terms of trust, social connection, and social participation may be significant for alleviating loneliness in later life.

Figure 1
This is a list of supplementary files associated with this preprint. Click to download.
Additional file 1, The location of sampling areas (Red areas) in Anhui province, China.
Additional file 2, Questionnaire of this study (English version).
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