loneliness is a hot topic recently, attracting a lot of media and academic attention. Research shows that loneliness is an important health risk factor for both young and old adults. Additionally, loneliness seems to be on the rise lately, to the point where talk of an “autism epidemic” has become commonplace. Enforced social distancing during the pandemic has likely exacerbated the problem.
Recently, I have turned my attention to the related but less studied phenomenon of "social isolation," a common phenomenon associated with loneliness but which is nonetheless a separate and unique state. Loneliness is often defined as "the discrepancy between a person's preferred level of social contact and the actual level of social contact." This is a subjective and qualitative self-perception.
Social isolation, on the other hand, is defined as “an objective state of minimal social contact with other people.” Social isolation is typically assessed using quantitative measures such as marital status, living alone, religious affiliation, group membership, and frequency of contact with children, family, and friends.
Untangling the effects of social isolation and loneliness is useful not only because it improves our understanding of each, but also because it addresses the more general question of the impact of subjective experience versus objective conditions.
This question is very helpful in understanding the conditions that affect our health. If subjective perceptions are found to have a greater impact on health than objective facts, then we might be wise to focus our interventions on people's subjective experiences. Conversely, if we find that objective facts are more important, then we can tailor our interventions accordingly, targeting environmental and behavioral variables.
It's not how you feel but your age that matters, which exemplifies the latter "facts first" perspective. However, subjective factors are more important than objective conditions.
More objective/structural aspects of relationships (e.g., social isolation, network size, group membership, living alone) are often considered rough indicators of "more important" relationship factors, including the functioning and quality of the relationship.
In general, this view is not entirely unfounded. Empirical evidence shows the importance of subjective perceptions in all areas of life. For example, research on trauma shows whether an adverse event such as abuse affects you, Depends more on your subjective interpretation and memory than what actually happened. Likewise, research on sexual satisfaction has found that our level of happiness depends largely on our subjective beliefs about how much sex other people have. Rather than the number of times we (or they) actually have sex, subjective perceptions often matter.
However, the results for loneliness and social isolation go in the opposite direction, with longitudinal studies of aging monitored simultaneously. Mortality rates were higher among participants who were more isolated and lonely. After statistically adjusting for demographic factors and baseline health status, social isolation remained significantly associated with mortality...but loneliness did not. Conclusions: Both social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality. However, the effects of loneliness are not independent of demographic characteristics or health problems, nor do they increase the risks associated with social isolation, although both isolation and loneliness impair quality of life and well-being. , but reduced incidence of isolation may be more relevant to mortality
