Social identity makes group-based social connection possible: Implications for loneliness and mental health
Open accessAbstract
This review argues that a distinctly positive form of social connection is made possible by the social identities that people derive from psychologically meaningful group memberships. These connections have important implications for mental health by virtue of their distinct capacity to furnish people with a sense of collective meaning, purpose, support, and efficacy. This analysis suggests that loneliness and its toxic effects arise in part from the challenges of achieving this distinct form of social connection in contemporary society. However, it also suggests that a good way to tackle loneliness and support mental health is by building, restoring, and sustaining social identities through meaningful group-based connections. We conclude by reflecting on the success of interventions that do precisely this - most notably Groups 4 Health.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Group-based solutions are theoretically aligned with the social identity approach to health, which conceptualizes loneliness as secondary to the loss or lack of group memberships and the social identities that arise from them.
“These group-based solutions are theoretically aligned with the social identity approach to health, which conceptualizes loneliness as secondary to the loss or lack of group memberships and the social identities that arise from them (Cruwys et al., 2014;Haslam et al., 2022).”
From Acceptability and Feasibility of an Intervention to Enhance Social Group Belonging: Evidence From Three Trials of Groups 4 Health (2022) · cites this paper as Haslam et al., 2022
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
This paper’s reference list could not be split into single entries.
An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (2000) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780199269464.003.0005 · Cited by 12,620 · see citing works
The Social psychology of intergroup relations
Austin, W. G., & Worchel, S. (1979) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 11,577 · see citing works
Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self‐Categorization Theory
REID, F. J. M. (1987) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8309.1987.tb00799.x · Cited by 8,139 · see citing works
Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316 · Cited by 7,272 · see citing works
Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory.
Willer, D., Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., Oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. D., & Wetherell, M. S. (1989) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2073157 · Cited by 7,189 · see citing works
Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response
Bavel, J. J. V., Baicker, K., Boggio, P. S., Capraro, V., Cichocka, A., Cikara, M., Crockett, M. J., Crum, A. J., Douglas, K. M., Druckman, J. N., et al. (2020) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z · Cited by 4,964 · see citing works
Self-citationTowards a cognitive redefinition of the social group.
Turner, J. C. (1981) · Cahiers De Psychologie Cognitive-current Psychology of Cognition · Cited by 1,501 · see citing works
The trajectory of loneliness in response to COVID-19
Luchetti, M., Lee, J. H., Aschwanden, D., Sesker, A., Strickhouser, J. E., Terracciano, A., & Sutin, A. R. (2020) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/amp0000690 · Cited by 903 · see citing works
Loneliness around the world: age, gender, and cultural differences in loneliness
Barreto, M., Victor, C., Hammond, C., Eccles, A., Richins, M. T., & Qualter, P. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110066 · Cited by 828 · see citing works
The New Psychology of Health: Unlocking the Social Cure
Haslam, C., Jetten, J., Cruwys, T., Dingle, G. A., & Haslam, S. A. (2018) · doi:10.4324/9781315648569 · Cited by 748 · see citing works
Self-citationHolt-Lunstad, J. (2017) · Public Policy & Aging Report · doi:10.1093/ppar/prx030 · Cited by 569 · see citing works
Jetten, J., Haslam, S. A., Cruwys, T., Greenaway, K. H., Haslam, C., & Steffens, N. K. (2017) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2333 · Cited by 542 · see citing works
Self-citationGreenaway, K. H., Haslam, S. A., Cruwys, T., Branscombe, N. R., Ysseldyk, R., & Heldreth, C. M. (2015) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspi0000019 · Cited by 525 · see citing works
Self-citationLoneliness in the Modern Age: An Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (ETL)
Cacioppo, J. T., & Cacioppo, S. (2018) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/bs.aesp.2018.03.003 · Cited by 481 · see citing works
Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., Dingle, G., & Chang, M. X.-L. (2016) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.01.010 · Cited by 458 · see citing works
Self-citationLim, M. H., Eres, R., & Vasan, S. (2020) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-020-01889-7 · Cited by 438 · see citing works
Cacioppo, J. T., Hawkley, L. C., & Berntson, G. G. (2003) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-8721.01232 · Cited by 397 · see citing works
Social identities promote well‐being because they satisfy global psychological needs
Greenaway, K. H., Cruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., & Jetten, J. (2015) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2169 · Cited by 392 · see citing works
Self-citationTogether Apart: The Psychology of COVID-19
Jetten, J., Reicher, S. D., Haslam, S. A., & Cruwys, T. (2020) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781529751680 · Cited by 344 · see citing works
Self-citationA Meta-Analytic Review of Social Identification and Health in Organizational Contexts
Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Schuh, S. C., Jetten, J., & van Dick, R. (2017) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868316656701 · Cited by 311 · see citing works
Self-citationHaving a Lot of a Good Thing: Multiple Important Group Memberships as a Source of Self-Esteem
Jetten, J., Branscombe, N. R., Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Jones, J. M., Cui, L., Dingle, G., Liu, J., Murphy, S., et al. (2015) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124609 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Self-citationThe New Psychology of Leadership
Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Platow, M. J. (2010) · doi:10.4324/9780203833896 · Cited by 272 · see citing works
Self-citationHaslam, S. A., McMahon, C., Cruwys, T., Haslam, C., Jetten, J., & Steffens, N. K. (2017) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.12.020 · Cited by 265 · see citing works
Self-citationMcIntyre, J. C., Worsley, J. D., Corcoran, R., Woods, P. H., & Bentall, R. P. (2018) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/09638237.2018.1437608 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Steffens, N. K., LaRue, C. J., Haslam, C., Walter, Z. C., Cruwys, T., Munt, K. A., Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., & Tarrant, M. (2021) · Health Psychology Review · doi:10.1080/17437199.2019.1669481 · Cited by 259 · see citing works
Self-citationCruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., Dingle, G. A., Jetten, J., Hornsey, M. J., Chong, E. M. D., & Oei, T. P. S. (2014) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.02.019 · Cited by 256 · see citing works
Self-citationMuldoon, O. T., Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Kearns, M. L., & Jetten, J. (2019) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2020.1711628 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Self-citationLife change, social identity, and health
Haslam, C., Haslam, S. A., Jetten, J., Cruwys, T., & Steffens, N. K. (2021) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-060120-111721 · Cited by 222 · see citing works
Self-citationHaslam, C., Cruwys, T., Chang, M. X. L., Bentley, S. V., Haslam, S. A., Dingle, G. A., & Jetten, J. (2019) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/ccp0000427 · Cited by 207 · see citing works
Self-citationBecker, J. C., Hartwich, L., & Haslam, S. A. (2021) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12438 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Self-citationThe New Psychology of Health: Unlocking the Social Cure
Haslam, C., Jetten, J., Cruwys, T., Dingle, G. A., Haslam, S. A., & Mahmood, L. (2018) · Clinical Psychology Forum · doi:10.53841/bpscpf.2018.1.311.50 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Self-citationHaslam, C., Steffens, N. K., Branscombe, N. R., Haslam, S. A., Cruwys, T., Lam, B. C. P., Pachana, N. A., & Yang, J. (2018) · Social Issues and Policy Review · doi:10.1111/sipr.12049 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial identity and cooperation in cultural evolution
Smaldino, P. E. (2017) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2017.11.015 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
Loss of group memberships predicts depression in postpartum mothers
Seymour‐Smith, M., Cruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., & Brodribb, W. E. (2016) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1315-3 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Self-citationLongitudinal associations between family identification, loneliness, depression, and sleep quality
Wakefield, J. R. H., Bowe, M., Këllezi, B., Butcher, A. T., & Groeger, J. A. (2019) · British Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjhp.12391 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Wakefield, J. R. H., Këllezi, B., Stevenson, C., McNamara, N., Bowe, M., Wilson, I., Halder, M., & Mair, E. (2020) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105320944991 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Bowe, M., Gray, D., Stevenson, C., McNamara, N., Wakefield, J. R. H., Këllezi, B., Wilson, I., Cleveland, M., Mair, E., Halder, M., et al. (2020) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2706 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
An Agenda for Best Practice Research on Group Singing, Health, and Well-Being
Dingle, G. A., Clift, S. M., Finn, S., Gilbert, R., Groarke, J. M., Irons, J. Y., Bartoli, A. J., Lamont, A. M., Launay, J., Martin, E. S., et al. (2019) · Music & Science · doi:10.1177/2059204319861719 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Häusser, J. A., Junker, N. M., & van Dick, R. (2020) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2668 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Junker, N. M., van Dick, R., Avanzi, L., Häusser, J. A., & Mojzisch, A. (2018) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12308 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Predictors of social identification in group therapy
Cruwys, T., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Hornsey, M. J., McGarty, C., & Skorich, D. P. (2020) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503307.2019.1587193 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Self-citationFong, P., Cruwys, T., Robinson, S. L., Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Mance, P. L., & Fisher, C. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113909 · Cited by 88 · see citing works
Self-citationRevisiting the social stigma of loneliness
Kerr, N. A., & Stanley, T. B. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110482 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Bound, F. (2018) · Emotion Review · doi:10.1177/1754073918768876 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Cruwys, T., Ng, N. W. K., Haslam, S. A., & Haslam, C. (2020) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12254 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Self-citationFong, P., Cruwys, T., Haslam, C., & Haslam, S. A. (2019) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.12.006 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Self-citationJetten, J., Branscombe, N. R., Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Jones, J. M., Cui, L., Dingle, G. A., Liu, J. H.-F., Murphy, S. C., et al. (2015) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131035 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial Isolation Predicts Frequent Attendance in Primary Care
Cruwys, T., Wakefield, J. R. H., Sani, F., Dingle, G. A., & Jetten, J. (2018) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kax054 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Self-citationHaslam, C., Lam, B. C. P., Branscombe, N. R., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Cruwys, T., Fong, P., & Ball, T. C. (2018) · European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1080/1359432x.2018.1538127 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Self-citationGroup identities benefit well-being by satisfying needs
Kyprianides, A., Easterbrook, M. J., & Brown, R. J. (2019) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103836 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Fong, P., Cruwys, T., Haslam, C., & Haslam, S. A. (2019) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.013 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Self-citationCruwys, T., Haslam, C., Steffens, N. K., Haslam, S. A., Fong, P., & Lam, B. C. P. (2019) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-019-1281-1 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citationLampraki, C., Jopp, D. S., Spini, D., & Morselli, D. (2019) · Gerontology · doi:10.1159/000494112 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Social categorization and fit detection under cognitive load: efficient or effortful?
Klauer, K. C., & Ehrenberg, K. (2005) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.266 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Cruwys, T., Haslam, C., Walter, Z. C., Rathbone, J. A., & Williams, E. (2019) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7011-y · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial identity and intergroup relations.
Abrams, D. (2015) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/14342-008 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
How Social Identity Influences Social and Emotional Loneliness
Peterson, C. N. (2018) · ScholarWorks (Walden University) · doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.30038.50241 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Cruwys, T., Haslam, C., Haslam, S. A., Rathbone, J. A., & Donaldson, J. L. (2022) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2022.06.011 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Jetten, J., Bentley, S. V., Fong, P., & Steffens, N. K.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Australian National University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Haslam, S.Alexander
- ORCID
- Venue
- Current Opinion in Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-02
- Volume
- 43
- Pages
- 161-165
- ISSN
- 2352-250X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3186864615
- Cited by
- 211
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 62 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 4.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Opinion in Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- social identity, group membership, social connectedness, loneliness, mental health, collective meaning, social support, sense of efficacy, group intervention
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Loneliness, Mental Health, Social Identification
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
