Ethical loneliness and the undermining of social capital: how racism shapes loneliness in three UK Asian communities – a mixed methods study

Funding: This study is part of a PhD research grant [Reference number: ES/P000681/1], funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom. Loneliness can have severe health impacts, and ethnic minority groups may face heightened risks due to structural barriers like racism. This study explores the relationship between racism, social capital and loneliness among Chinese, Indian, and Pakistani communities in Britain. Using mixed methods, we analyse secondary data from the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) and data from qualitative interviews with 20 older adults and 8 key informants. Our findings show that racism not only exacerbates loneliness but also appears to undermine the positive effects of social capital in reducing loneliness. Ethnic bonding does not consistently protect against loneliness; instead, participating rarely in ethnic activity is associated with less loneliness for Chinese and Pakistani people. We find that marginalisation and isolation within ethnic communities, particularly due to socio-economic status, can exacerbate loneliness and, together with limited English proficiency, hinder the building of bridging ties. Furthermore, although a sense of belonging to British society (bridging capital) lowers loneliness, institutional racism undermines this benefit, leading to ethical loneliness – a profound sense of isolation and abandonment. The findings emphasise the need for policies that enhance both ethnic bonding and bridging capital while addressing structural racism and social inequalities.