A typology of social network interactions in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from a rural population in Senegal

Abstract

Social isolation/marginalization in sub-Saharan Africa is under-researched, despite increasing evidence of weakening traditional community-based social support. This paper aims to develop a typology of social networks capable of accounting for social marginalization in a rural community in Western Senegal and to describe the socio-demographic characteristics of network profiles. Building on prior qualitative work, we carry out a latent profile analysis using a unique and extensive social network data set, identifying four different network profiles: Locally integrated, Constrained relationships, Locally marginalized, and Local elites. This paper provides the first empirically supported classification of social integration and marginalization in social networks in rural sub-Saharan Africa. In doing so, it can serve as a reference for future research seeking to understand both the broader scope of social integration and marginalization and the consequences of differential access to social capital through social networks on access to health resources and well-being.

Keywords:

• social integration
• social capital
• solidarity society
• latent profile analysis
• social networks
• Senegal

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Please direct all correspondence to Véronique Deslauriers, Département de démographie, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Lionel-Groulx, C. P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal QC H3C 3J7, Canada; or by E-mail: [email protected].

2 Funding: This work was supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec—Société et Culture, under grant number 257178; and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, under grant number R01GM096999.

3 Data availability statement: Raw data were generated at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Senegal. These are available conditional on approval of a formal request to that institution. To protect confidentiality, derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author Véronique Deslauriers, pending approval of a formal request to the IRD, Senegal.