Interaction and Loneliness: A Dimensional Analysis of the Social Isolation of a Sample of Older Southern Adults

Abstract

This study, using data drawn from a sample of 1,879 older Mississippians, demonstrates that social isolation is both complex and multidimensional in nature. Interaction with relatives, feelings of loneliness, and interaction with friends and neighbors composed the three primary dimensions underlying the varying patterns of social isolation found among study respondents. Study findings suggest that certain groups of older people are at greater risk than others of experiencing the potentially harmful effects of social isolation and that human service practitioners must consider the various dimensions of social isolation when designing interventive strategies that attempt to combat the causes or consequences of this psychosocial phenomenon. Social IsolationResearchers who have examined the phenomenon of social isolation have demonstrated its complexity and multidimensionality (Bennett). Such researchers have generally focused their studies on one or more of the following three areas: structural attributes of individuals' social networks; interactional patterns existing between individuals and members of their social networks; and psychological consequences of the varying structural and interactional qualities of individuals' social network relations.In reviewing the literature on this subject, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a general lack of agreement among researchers at UNIVERSITE DE MONTREAL on June 7, 2015 jag.sagepub.com Downloaded from

Social isolation and loneliness among older people: issues and future challenges in community and residential settings

“…Similarly, evidence for an association between level of education, geographical location (eg, rural versus urban) or material circumstances (eg, limited income) and loneliness/isolation is equivocal. 5,25,34,[38][39][40][41][42][43] Another group of risk factors relate to health, both physical (eg, poor self-assessed physical health status, chronic illness 21,25,42,44 ) and mental health (eg, reported depression, elevated mental morbidity 25 ). Although deteriorating physical health (or perceived poor health) is one of the most consistently identified factors, the direction of causation is still not well understood.…”