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The core sociological subject of ‘social cohesion’ (hereafter SC) has re-emerged as a key concept in the social sciences. On the one hand, SC is thought to be influenced by a society’s degree of inequalities and the quality of its welfare state. On the other hand, SC is thought to be instrumental in its own right to other factors such as economic growth, institutional quality, and individual well-being. In recent years, a few attempts have been made to measure SC empirically. Many current indices have not been sufficiently theoretically substantiated, and do not consider the importance of different ‘social levels’ when explaining and measuring SC as both cause and effect of other correlates. Very often, SC is simply defined as a ‘social quality’ or a quality of a collective. As a result, measures are often aggregate macro-indices leading to a loss of the information base of any social ‘units’ below the macro-societal-level. Contributing to this important methodological debate, this paper provides a conceptual reformulation of SC. Hence, when assessing SC based on a multi-dimensional index, it is insightful and feasible to evaluate both its internal variation as well as its holistic validity. In fact, it is proposed that these two aspects of measurement stand in direct relationship to one-another. The paper starts out with a discussion of SC as a ‘social fact’ in the Durkheimian sense. In addition, three bridging propositions on the measurement of SC are advanced: (a) SC as outcome or consequence at the level of individual attitudes and orientations (‘micro’); (b) SC as degree of dissimilarity and presence of latent conflict within a society at the level of salient social categories (‘meso’), and (c) SC as predictor, social determinant and hence antecedent at the societal-level (‘macro’). Using all rounds of the European Social Survey with a very large sample size, the advantages of this approach are illustrated by singling-out the important link between socio-economic inequalities, social cohesion and individual subjective well-being in a path of action.

Although social integration has always been a central sociological issue, there has never been a consensus how to approach the topic empirically. In the new millennium, social cohesion has emerged as a lead concept for measuring how integrated societies are—not the least, because many observers see the social fabric of modern-day societies in deep crisis. Consequently, scholars and think tanks have intensified their efforts to chart how strong the social glue of contemporary societies is, as well as which conditions strengthen or weaken it. The main goal of our article is to provide an overview of measures of social cohesion that have been specifically designed for cross-national comparisons. To this end, we compare selected measures with respect to what they measure, how, and for what purpose. We then highlight key empirical insights gained by these measures, touching upon the issues of levels, regimes, as well as determinants and outcomes of social cohesion. The review concludes that one of the measures, the Bertelsmann Social Cohesion Radar, stands out in terms of conceptual clarity, methodological sophistication, and richness of empirical findings.

This quantitative study examines the effects of Public Open Space (POS) on older people’s well-being and examines the roles of neighborhood social cohesion (NSC) and place dependence (PD) as series buffers. A questionnaire survey of 501 people aged 65 and over was conducted in various communities of Hong Kong. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the pathways connecting POS and well-being. A multigroup analysis examined differences in the POS–well-being associations between the young-old (aged 65 to 75, n = 166) and old-old group (aged 76 to 95, n = 166). Results show that the association between POS and emotional well-being was stronger than social and psychological well-being. POS promotes three facets of well-being through developing NSC and, subsequently, PD. Multigroup analysis results suggest that the pathway from POS to emotional well-being via NSC is stronger for the old-old group; POS is more important for psychological well-being for the young-old group. This study highlights that the quality of POS, including attractive natural elements, various amenities, and sufficient space for social interactions, is essential for making relationship-rich and health-promotive urban environments.

PurposeAlthough research on how the downstream calculations of a patent’s profit potential influence invention renewal decisions is extensive, the impact of the upstream knowledge creation stages is overlooked. The purpose of this study is to address this theoretical vacuum by examining the intra-organizational configuration of knowledge networks and collaboration networks.Design/methodology/approachThe data consist of 491 global pharmaceutical firms that patent in the USA. Drawing on patent records, the authors simultaneously construct intra-organizational knowledge networks and collaboration networks and identify network cohesion features (i.e. local and global). The authors employ panel fixed-effects models to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that local knowledge cohesion and local social cohesion decrease invention renewals, while global knowledge cohesion and global social cohesion increase renewals. Moreover, the marginal effects of local and global social cohesion are stronger than those of local and global knowledge cohesion, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThe hypotheses are tested using the pharmaceutical industry as a research setting, which limits the generalizability of our findings. In addition, potential formal and informal contingencies are not considered.Practical implicationsDespite its limitations, this study provides valuable implications. First, managers are cautioned against the adverse effects of local cohesion structures on invention renewal. Second, firms can dynamically adjust their local and global network configuration strategies to harmonize the generation of valuable inventions and the retention of good ideas.Originality/valueComplementary to previous research that focused on inventions’ performance feedback, this study delves into upstream knowledge creation stages to understand invention renewals.

The aim of the current study is to test how psychological distress mediates the associations between neighborhood social cohesion (NSC) and cognitive performance including episodic memory, semantic verbal fluency, fluid reasoning, and numeracy in older adults. Nine multiple regressions were used to analyze the associations between NSC and cognitive performance, NSC and psychological distress, and psychological distress and cognitive performance respectively based on data from 4922 older adults with a mean age of 66.51 (S.D. = 8.27) years old and 47.01% males from Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). Moreover, a mediation analysis was conducted by the mediation toolbox on MATLAB 2018a ( https://github.com/canlab/MediationToolbox ). The current study found that NSC is positively related to all cognitive measures but negatively related to psychological distress, whereas psychological distress is negatively associated with all cognitive performance. Moreover, there was a complete mediation effect of psychological distress on the positive association between NSC and semantic verbal fluency and the association between NSC and fluid reasoning. However, NSC only partially mediated the positive associations between NSC and episodic memory and numeracy respectively. From a policy standpoint, findings from the current study contribute evidence that reinforces the need for program designers and policymakers to join the WHO’s global efforts to build age-friendly communities, which promotes NSC, then leads to reduced psychological distress, and thus better cognitive functions among the elderly. Preserving cognitive functions may in turn reduce health care burdens.

With China's rapid urbanisation, many residents, especially older adults, are suffering from psychological problems induced by rural-to-urban relocation. This study examines the association between older adults’ rural place attachment and their depression after relocation, as well as the protective roles of neighbourhood social cohesion and sense of community in the relocation place. Chinese older adults (N = 224) who relocated from rural villages to urban communities completed a survey for this study. The results showed that older adults with stronger rural place attachment experienced more depressive symptoms and a lesser sense of community in the relocation place. In addition, the association between rural place attachment and depression was weakened by neighbourhood social cohesion. That is, compared with older adults perceiving low neighbourhood social cohesion, the positive association between rural place attachment and depression was weaker for older adults perceiving high neighbourhood social cohesion. Furthermore, neighbourhood social cohesion's protective role depended on sense of community. In particular, neighbourhood social cohesion buffered the association between rural place attachment and depression for older adults with a strong sense of community but not for older adults with a weak sense of community. These results have implications for developing resources within neighbourhoods and communities to promote relocation adjustment for older adults.

The structure and interpersonal interactions of traditional residential communities have also been impacted and recreated as a result of the fast development of urban space and related communities. This study explores the interrelationship between neighborhood social cohesion and the life satisfaction of urban adult residents through the mediating effect of place attachment. A comprehensive theoretical model was constructed to analyze the action mechanism among these variables. Data were collected through an online questionnaire platform (n = 301), and structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for analysis. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between neighborhood social cohesion and residents’ place attachment. Place attachment appeared to play a mediating role between neighborhood social cohesion and life satisfaction, in which place dependence was also a potential effective mediator between the three dimensions of neighborhood social cohesion (neighborliness, sense of community, and neighborhood attractiveness) and life satisfaction. The results suggest that enhancing community cohesion may contribute to urban adult residents’ well-being by strengthening their functional dependence on the community.

Urban green-blue spaces (UGBS) can benefit residents’ well-being through multiple pathways. Previous studies have confirmed that the quantity and composition of UGBS can promote neighborhood social cohesion, which subsequently contributes to residents’ physical and mental health. However, there has been little attention paid to the spatial patterns of UGBS in such relationships. This study adopted landscape pattern indexes to characterize the spatial patterns of UGBS and explored the mediation effect of neighborhood social cohesion between the spatial patterns of UGBS and residents’ well-being, measured by self-rated health (SRH) and happiness. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used for analyses with data obtained from the 2018 Shandong Provincial Social Survey Questionnaire (SGSS), which included 773 selected residents in urban areas. The results indicated that (1) there was a mediation effect of neighborhood social cohesion between the spatial patterns of UGBS and residents’ SRH and happiness; (2) the aggregation and diversity of UGBS had greater impacts on enhancing neighborhood social cohesion than the size, complexity, and fragmentation; (3) the aggregation and diversity of UGBS had indirect effects on improving happiness and SRH, and the aggregation of UGBS had a direct positive effect on SRH. By focusing on the spatial patterns of UGBS and neighborhood social cohesion, this study extends current debates on the pathways among UGBS, social cohesion, and public health. Urban planning strategies were proposed to increase the benefits of UGBS in urban areas.

Common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety are prevalent globally, and rates are especially high in New York City (NYC) since the COVID-19 pandemic. Neighborhood social and physical environments have been found to influence mental health. We investigated the impact of neighborhood social cohesion and neighborhood rodent sightings (as an indicator of neighborhood cleanliness) on nonspecific serious psychological distress (NSPD) status using 2020 NYC Community Health Survey data from 8781 NYC residents. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationships among social cohesion, rodent sightings, and NSPD adjusted for confounders and complex sampling and weighted to the NYC population. Effect measure modification of rodent sightings on the effect of social cohesion on NSPD was evaluated on the multiplicative scale by adding the interaction term to the multivariable model and, if significant, stratifying on the effect modifier, and on the additive scale using the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). Social cohesion was found to decrease the odds of NSPD, and rodent sightings were found to increase the odds of NSPD. We found significant evidence of effect measure modification on the multiplicative scale. In the stratified models, there was a protective effect of social cohesion against NSPD among those not reporting rodent sightings, but no effect among those reporting rodent sightings. Our findings suggest that both neighborhood social cohesion and rodent sightings impact the mental health of New Yorkers and that rodent infestations may diminish the benefit of neighborhood social cohesion.

Neighborhood social cohesion is strongly associated with health and well-being, especially among families with children. However, there is a widespread perception in the media, policy circles, and prominent research traditions that neighborhood social cohesion has decreased in recent decades for the United States as a whole and among certain subpopulations. Unfortunately, the empirical evidence for such trends is thin. In this study, we use data on families with children from two studies, the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, to explore trends in neighborhood social cohesion and how individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics pattern disparities in the experience of neighborhood social cohesion. Counter to popular perceptions, our results show increases in neighborhood social cohesion over recent decades, at least for families with children. However, our results reveal persistent disparities in the experience of neighborhood social cohesion by individual and neighborhood characteristics.