Social Capital

The figure shows the proportion of respondents aged 18 years and over who reported feeling lonely or isolated, always or most of the time, over the time period from 2017 to 2020, for Christchurch City, Selwyn District, and Waimakariri District (8.5%, 6.3%, and 6.9%, respectively, in 2020). A higher proportion of Christchurch City respondents have reported being socially isolated between 2017 and 2020 (although statistically significantly higher than Selwyn District in 2018, only).

The figure shows the proportion of respondents who reported feeling lonely or isolated, always or most of the time, 2017 to 2020, for European respondents, Māori respondents, and for Pacific/Asian/Indian respondents (7.8%, 10.8%, and 8.9%, respectively, in 2020). Generally, a lower proportion of European respondents reported being socially isolated compared with Māori and Pacific/Asian/Indian respondents over the time series shown, however the differences are not statistically significant (except for Māori respondents compared with European respondents, in 2018). Note that these comparisons do not take into account possible confounders such as income or age.

The figure shows the proportion of respondents reporting feeling lonely or isolated, always or most of the time, by age group, from 2017 to 2020. The figure shows a clear pattern of higher levels of social isolation for young people. For respondents in the 18 to 24 years group, in particular, the self-reported level of social isolation has averaged approximately 10 percentage points above the other age groups (18-24 years 22.4%, compared with approximately 5% for the middle age groups, in 2020).

The difference between the 18 to 24 years age group and all other age groups increased further from 2019 to 2020, and is statistically significant at all four time-points. The difference between the 25 to 34 years age group and the older age groups also increased from 2019 to 2020 and is statistically significant in 2020 (25-34 years 11.5%, compared with approximately 4-5% for the older age groups).

The figure shows a pattern of generally similar levels of social isolation (proportion of respondents reporting feeling lonely or isolated, always or most of the time) for female and male respondents in greater Christchurch, from 2017 to 2020 (no statistically significant differences by gender or over time).

The figure shows the proportion of respondents reporting feeling lonely or isolated, always or most of the time, by annual household income, 2017 to 2020. The figure shows a pattern of higher levels of social isolation for those in the lowest income groups. For respondents in the <$30,000 group, in particular, the levels of self-reported social isolation averaged approximately 6 percentage points above the other income groups over the time series shown. The difference between the lowest income group and all other income groups was statistically significant in 2017 and 2018. However, the differences at the 2020 timepoint are not statistically different (with the exception of the $100,000+ group compared with all of the other groups, 2019 and 2020). These data are not adjusted and do not take age into account - which is an important factor associated with both income and loneliness.

The figure shows statistically significantly higher levels of social isolation (the proportion of those respondents reporting feeling lonely or isolated, always or most of the time) for those respondents aged under 65 years, with a long-term health condition or disability, compared with those without, in greater Christchurch, 2018 to 2020. However, for the over 65 years group, the proportion reporting feeling lonely or isolated, always or most of the time is similar to those without a disability, over the time series shown.