This study aims to contribute to the growing interest in the consequences of migration for loneliness by investigating the role of generational status across various age groups in countries with differing integration policies and attitudes towards immigrants. Using data from rounds 5, 6 and 7 of the European Social Survey, I conducted logistic multilevel models on a sample of 121,835 respondents aged 18 years and older, residing in 26 countries. Loneliness was assessed based on a single-item item question from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression scale. The findings suggest that individuals with a migration background are more likely to experience loneliness than those without. Within this group, I found that first-generation immigrants who arrived after the age of 18 are more vulnerable to loneliness than those who arrived earlier, although the latter still reported more loneliness than second-generation immigrants. Furthermore, migration-related inequalities in loneliness were greater among the youngest age group (18–34 years) and in countries with a more positive public stance towards immigrants. In sum, this study highlights the persistent challenges that migration poses for loneliness across generations and age groups, and emphasizes the need to extend research in this area beyond older adults. Moreover, it suggests that promoting a welcoming culture towards immigrants may have unintended consequences for loneliness gaps, but further research is needed to explain this observation.

本研究旨在通过调查不同融合政策和对移民态度不同的国家中不同年龄组的代际地位的作用，促进人们对移民对孤独造成的后果日益关注。我利用欧洲社会调查第 5、6 和 7 轮的数据，对居住在 26 个国家的 121,835 名 18 岁及以上受访者进行了逻辑多层次模型分析。孤独感是根据抑郁症流行病学研究中心量表的单项问题进行评估的。研究结果表明，有移民背景的人比没有移民背景的人更容易感到孤独。在这个群体中，我发现18岁之后到达的第一代移民比那些更早到达的人更容易感到孤独，尽管后者仍然比第二代移民更孤独。此外，在最年轻的年龄组（18-34 岁）和对移民持更积极的公众立场的国家中，与移民相关的孤独不平等现象更为严重。总之，这项研究强调了移民对跨代和跨年龄组的孤独带来的持续挑战，并强调需要将这一领域的研究扩展到老年人以外的地区。此外，它表明促进对移民的欢迎文化可能会对孤独差距产生意想不到的后果，但需要进一步的研究来解释这一观察结果。