Social isolation and loneliness are significant risks to health among older adults. Previous studies have found a significant association between social isolation and loneliness; however, few studies examined the association between social isolation and loneliness in a multivariate context and how specific types of social isolation influence loneliness. This study fills this gap by examining social isolation’s overall influence on loneliness and how specific social isolation indicators influence loneliness. Data comes from 2014 Wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study of adults aged 50 and older. Social isolation was operationalized using seven indicators as social isolation from: (1) adult–children, (2) other family members, (3) friends, (4) living alone, (5) being unmarried, and (6) not participating in social groups or (7) religious activities. Loneliness was operationalized by the Hughes 3-item loneliness scale. Loneliness was regressed on social isolation and key socio-demographic factors. Results found when social isolation indicators were combined into an index, every unit increase in overall social isolation was associated with an increase in loneliness. Furthermore older adults who were isolated from other family members and from friends, lived alone, were single, and did not participate in social groups or religious activities reported greater loneliness. Study findings demonstrate that greater overall social isolation and specific social isolation indicators are associated with greater loneliness. Clinical practice with older adults can be enhanced by understanding the connections between social isolation and loneliness and which forms of social isolation are more meaningful for perceived loneliness.

中文翻译：

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社会孤立对老年人孤独感的影响

社会孤立和孤独是老年人健康的重大风险。此前的研究发现，社交孤立与孤独感之间存在显着关联。然而，很少有研究在多元背景下探讨社会孤立与孤独之间的关联，以及特定类型的社会孤立如何影响孤独。这项研究通过考察社会隔离对孤独感的总体影响以及特定的社会隔离指标如何影响孤独感来填补这一空白。数据来自 2014 年健康与退休研究浪潮，这是一项针对 50 岁及以上成年人的全国代表性研究。社会隔离使用七个指标作为社会隔离：（1）成人-儿童，（2）其他家庭成员，（3）朋友，（4）独居，（5）未婚，（6）不参与社会团体或者（七）宗教活动。孤独感通过休斯三项孤独量表进行操作。孤独感随着社会孤立和关键的社会人口因素而回归。结果发现，当社会隔离指标合并为一个指数时，总体社会隔离度每增加一个单位，孤独感就会增加。此外，与其他家庭成员和朋友隔离、独居、单身、不参加社交团体或宗教活动的老年人报告了更大的孤独感。研究结果表明，整体社会孤立程度和特定社会孤立指标的程度越高，孤独感就越强烈。通过了解社会隔离和孤独感之间的联系以及哪种形式的社会隔离对感知孤独感更有意义，可以加强老年人的临床实践。