Exploring community connections: neighborhood amenities and loneliness among Chinese immigrants

Very little work has investigated built environment effects on loneliness. This study examined the relationship between neighborhood amenities and changes in loneliness among immigrants. Person-level cohort data were obtained from first-generation Chinese immigrants (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; baseline October 2018 – January 2020 and follow-up 3 years later, N = 346). Loneliness was assessed using the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. Amenity locations for grocery shopping, health care, places of worship, and leisure activity were crowd-sourced from the cohort. Amenity counts were measured within 400, 800, and 1600 meters (m) of participants’ residences. Multivariable negative binomial regression models adjusted for age, sex, marital status, income, education, employment status, language proficiency, years in US, years in neighborhood, and neighborhood population density and percent of residents who were Chinese immigrants. Mean participant age was 52.2, mean years in the US was 18, 66% spoke Mandarin (remainder spoke Cantonese), 84% were married, and nearly 50% lived in low-income households. At baseline, 25.1% reported at least one loneliness problem; at follow-up this had decreased to 4.6%. Loneliness scores decreased -21% per one additional amenity within 400 meters (95% confidence interval [CI]: -8%, -33%), decreased -16% per one additional amenity within 800 meters (95% CI: -5%, -25%), and decreased -13% per one additional amenity within 1600 meters (95% CI: -2%, -22%). In a cohort of Chinese immigrants living in an urbanized environment, results suggest that declines in loneliness over time were linked to having more amenities nearby. These places may serve to cultivate social bonds with other community members which over time may reduce loneliness.