Sense of belonging to neighbourhood has a bearing on circle of friends

The feeling of not having enough friends or acquaintances is more commonly reported by people who do not feel a strong sense of belonging in their neighbourhood

Not having enough friends and acquaintances was reported by 13% of those who consider their neighbourhood belonging to be ‘not very strong’, and the figure was 18% of those with a ‘not at all strong’ sense of neighbourhood belonging
Not having enough friends and acquaintances was reported by 13% of those who consider their neighbourhood belonging to be ‘not very strong’, and the figure was 18% of those with a ‘not at all strong’ sense of neighbourhood belonging

Having a sense of belonging to the community where you live is likely to translate into more friends and acquaintances, a study on loneliness shows.

The research shows that 79% of Maltese people aged 11 and over feel they have enough friends and acquaintances but just over 9% (equivalent to 34,000 people) find their circle of friends and acquaintances too limited.

Carried out by the Faculty for Social Wellbeing, the research shows that the feeling of not having enough friends or acquaintances is more commonly reported by people who do not feel a strong sense of belonging in their neighbourhood.

Only 5.3% of those with a very strong sense of belonging and 6.3% of those with a fairly strong sense of belonging, feel that they do not have enough friends and acquaintances. But the figures are more than double among those who experience less belonging to their neighbourhood.

Not having enough friends and acquaintances was reported by 13% of those who consider their neighbourhood belonging to be ‘not very strong’, and the figure was 18% of those with a ‘not at all strong’ sense of neighbourhood belonging.

These figures are a detail in the second survey on loneliness conducted by the faculty. The first survey was done in 2019.

Researchers Marilyn Clark, Andrew Azzopardi, Jamie Bonnici and Annabel Cuff collected the data in July and focussed on Maltese residents aged 11 and over, excluding those who live in institutions. Foreigners were not polled.

Asked about their ability to cope with stressful situations or unpleasant emotions, 91% felt they had very good, good, or fair coping skills. But 7%, an average of 27,000 people, rated their coping ability as ‘not so good’ and 2% as ‘poor’.

Other key findings show that just over a tenth of respondents do not feel positive about their life while two out of 10 (21%) experience a ‘general sense of emptiness’.

Almost 10% of respondents revealed that they ‘do not feel there are plenty of people they can lean on’ when they experience problems as opposed to 78%, who feel they have a ro-bust support network on which to rely on.

As for friends, 14% of respondents reported that they do not have a close friend, something that is more common among those aged over 51.

However, 78% of people reported having a close friend.

In their remarks, the researchers said the data from the survey provided a clear indicator of “a serious problem to contend with”. “We urgently need tangible actions to respond to this growing and complex phenomenon [of loneliness],” they said.