The Impact of Stigmatised Deprivation on Loneliness

The Impact of Stigmatised Deprivation on Loneliness | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Impact of Stigmatised Deprivation on Loneliness Gregor Milligan, Elvira Perez Vallejos, Liz Dowthwaite, Georgiana Nica-Avram, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9279557/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Loneliness and social isolation are a cause and symptom of poor psychological health, while they also have secondary impacts on physical health, employability and educational outcomes. For a multitude of reasons, these phenomena are challenging to evaluate and understand in tandem; this can be attributed to the latent nature of loneliness and the wider sensitivity and stigma surrounding mental health. Comparatively less is known about the relationship between stigmatised deprivation (i.e., various forms of deprivation that can lead to social exclusion) and loneliness. To address this gap, the current study examines the impact of stigmatised deprivation on the prevalence of loneliness across London, UK. Specifically, we consider two increasingly prevalent forms of stigmatised deprivation: food insecurity and energy insecurity. We develop a hierarchical machine learning model to evaluate the relationship between a wide range of health and socioeconomic features and loneliness among a large sample of London residents (n=2886). Model results indicate that including stigmatised forms of deprivation increases loneliness prediction accuracy. In practice, this corresponds to potential improvements in understanding the drivers of loneliness, as well as how the condition might be remedied. Finally, we suggest policy recommendations in terms of how reducing stigmatised deprivation could also lead to broader mental health benefits. Health sciences/Health care Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Loneliness Social Isolation Stigmatised Deprivation Machine Learning Hierarchical Modelling Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 11 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 09 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 08 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 08 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9279557","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629571694,"identity":"4d44d08a-1158-4273-9a86-ed6373b58303","order_by":0,"name":"Gregor 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