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R. Pagan
Within this context, the participation in leisure activities has been traditionally
considered as a strong predictor of well-being (e.g. Sirgy et al. 2011; Becchettiet al.
2012; Toepoel 2013; Pagan 2015). Leisure activities contribute to satisfying and
enhancing some ‘basic needs’ (benefits related to safety, health, economic, sensory,
escape, and/or sensation/stimulation needs), and ‘growth needs’ (benefits related to
symbolic, aesthetic, moral, mastery, relatedness, and/or distinctiveness needs) (Sirgy
et al. 2017). According to McCormick and McGuire (1996), social leisure engagement can become an essential means to integrate individuals (e.g. the elderly, people
with disabilities and immigrants) into new groups and networks, providing new
opportunities for interaction through which shared symbols, identities and meanings are created. However, in many cases the participation in leisure activities for
certain groups, as for example with people with disabilities, still remains very low as
compared to people without disabilities (Rimmer et al. 2004; Rimmer and Rowland
2008; Darcy and Dowse 2013; Pagan 2015).
The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between loneliness and a
set of leisure activities (e.g. social gatherings, cultural events, taking part in sports,
volunteer work, etc.) for people without disabilities and with moderate and severe
disabilities in Germany. In particular, we are interested in identifying and comparing
the contribution of different leisure activities to reducing the levels of loneliness
reported by individuals according to their disability status. For this purpose, we
have drawn data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years
2013 and 2017, because the loneliness measure (a revised version of the UCLA
Loneliness Scale) is only available for those years. Similar to Pagan (2019), the SOEP
allows us to differentiate three different groups of individuals: (a) People without
disabilities; (b) People who have a moderate disability that limits their daily activities;
and (c) People with a severe disability limiting their daily activities. This disability
scale is consistent with the concept of the ‘social model of disability’ (wherein the
discriminatory barriers in society and disability are seen as an outcome of social
attitudes and structures, and the interaction between personal and environmental
factors), and allows us to control the heterogeneity of the disabled population in a
better way (Gannon and Munley 2009). To our knowledge, this study is the first
one to analyse the impact of a set of leisure activities on loneliness scores by those
of disability status, and contributes to increasing the existing literature on leisure
activities and loneliness, as well as the debate on the particular situation of people
with disabilities within society.
2 Data and Methods
As noted earlier, to carry out this study we have taken data from the German SocioEconomic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2013 and 2017, which provides information
each year from 1984 for nearly 15,000 households and more than 25,000 individuals
on household composition, employment, earnings, education, health status, living
conditions, social capital and satisfaction indicators, among others (see, for example,
R. Pagan
Within this context, the participation in leisure activities has been traditionally
considered as a strong predictor of well-being (e.g. Sirgy et al. 2011; Becchettiet al.
2012; Toepoel 2013; Pagan 2015). Leisure activities contribute to satisfying and
enhancing some ‘basic needs’ (benefits related to safety, health, economic, sensory,
escape, and/or sensation/stimulation needs), and ‘growth needs’ (benefits related to
symbolic, aesthetic, moral, mastery, relatedness, and/or distinctiveness needs) (Sirgy
et al. 2017). According to McCormick and McGuire (1996), social leisure engagement can become an essential means to integrate individuals (e.g. the elderly, people
with disabilities and immigrants) into new groups and networks, providing new
opportunities for interaction through which shared symbols, identities and meanings are created. However, in many cases the participation in leisure activities for
certain groups, as for example with people with disabilities, still remains very low as
compared to people without disabilities (Rimmer et al. 2004; Rimmer and Rowland
2008; Darcy and Dowse 2013; Pagan 2015).
The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between loneliness and a
set of leisure activities (e.g. social gatherings, cultural events, taking part in sports,
volunteer work, etc.) for people without disabilities and with moderate and severe
disabilities in Germany. In particular, we are interested in identifying and comparing
the contribution of different leisure activities to reducing the levels of loneliness
reported by individuals according to their disability status. For this purpose, we
have drawn data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years
2013 and 2017, because the loneliness measure (a revised version of the UCLA
Loneliness Scale) is only available for those years. Similar to Pagan (2019), the SOEP
allows us to differentiate three different groups of individuals: (a) People without
disabilities; (b) People who have a moderate disability that limits their daily activities;
and (c) People with a severe disability limiting their daily activities. This disability
scale is consistent with the concept of the ‘social model of disability’ (wherein the
discriminatory barriers in society and disability are seen as an outcome of social
attitudes and structures, and the interaction between personal and environmental
factors), and allows us to control the heterogeneity of the disabled population in a
better way (Gannon and Munley 2009). To our knowledge, this study is the first
one to analyse the impact of a set of leisure activities on loneliness scores by those
of disability status, and contributes to increasing the existing literature on leisure
activities and loneliness, as well as the debate on the particular situation of people
with disabilities within society.
2 Data and Methods
As noted earlier, to carry out this study we have taken data from the German SocioEconomic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2013 and 2017, which provides information
each year from 1984 for nearly 15,000 households and more than 25,000 individuals
on household composition, employment, earnings, education, health status, living
conditions, social capital and satisfaction indicators, among others (see, for example,