IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0182145.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social isolation, loneliness and their relationships with depressive symptoms: A population-based study

Author

Listed:
  • Lixia Ge
  • Chun Wei Yap
  • Reuben Ong
  • Bee Hoon Heng

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the relationship between various social isolation indicators and loneliness, and to examine the differential associations that social isolation indicators, loneliness have with depressive symptoms. Methods: Baseline data for 1,919 adults (aged 21 years and above) from a representative health survey in the Central region of Singapore was used for this study. The association between social isolation indicators (marital status, living arrangement, social connectedness with relatives and friends) and loneliness (the three-item UCLA Loneliness) were assessed, and their differential associations with depressive symptoms (the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) were examined using multiple linear regression, controling for relevant covariates. Results: There was significant overlap between loneliness and social isolation. Social connectedness with relatives and friends were mildly correlated with loneliness score (|r| = 0.14~0.16). Social isolation in terms of weak connectedness with relatives and with friends and loneliness were associated with depressive symptoms even after controling for age, gender, employment status and other covariates. The association of loneliness with depressive symptoms (β = 0.33) was independent of and stronger than that of any social isolation indicators (|β| = 0.00~0.07). Conclusions: The results of the study establishes a significant and unique association of different social isolation indicators and loneliness with depressive symptoms in community-dwelling adults aged 21 and above.

Suggested Citation

  • Lixia Ge & Chun Wei Yap & Reuben Ong & Bee Hoon Heng, 2017. "Social isolation, loneliness and their relationships with depressive symptoms: A population-based study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-13, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0182145
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182145
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182145
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182145&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0182145?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alan R Teo & HwaJung Choi & Marcia Valenstein, 2013. "Social Relationships and Depression: Ten-Year Follow-Up from a Nationally Representative Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-8, April.
    2. Ferdinand A. Gul & Judy S. L. Tsui, 2004. "Introduction and overview," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Governance of East Asian Corporations, chapter 1, pages 1-26, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Angelique Chan & Prassanna Raman & Rahul Malhotra & Stefan Ma, 2015. "Loneliness and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling elderly Singaporeans," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(49), pages 1361-1382.
    4. Frances K. Barg & Rebecca Huss-Ashmore & Marsha N. Wittink & Genevra F. Murray & Hillary R. Bogner & Joseph J. Gallo, 2006. "A Mixed-Methods Approach to Understanding Loneliness and Depression in Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(6), pages 329-339.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Felix Müller & Susanne Röhr & Ulrich Reininghaus & Steffi G. Riedel-Heller, 2021. "Social Isolation and Loneliness during COVID-19 Lockdown: Associations with Depressive Symptoms in the German Old-Age Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-11, March.
    2. Claryn S. J. Kung & Johannes S. Kunz & Michael A. Shields, 2021. "Economic Aspects of Loneliness in Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(1), pages 147-163, March.
    3. Lixia Ge & Reuben Ong & Chun Wei Yap & Bee Hoon Heng, 2019. "Effects of chronic diseases on health‐related quality of life and self‐rated health among three adult age groups," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(2), pages 214-222, June.
    4. Kung, Claryn S.J. & Pudney, Stephen E. & Shields, Michael A., 2022. "Economic gradients in loneliness, social isolation and social support: Evidence from the UK Biobank," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    5. De Jesus, Maria & Ware, Deanna & Brown, Andre L. & Egan, James E. & Haberlen, Sabina A. & Palella, Frank Joseph & Detels, Roger & Friedman, M. Reuel & Plankey, Michael W., 2021. "Social-environmental resiliencies protect against loneliness among HIV-Positive and HIV- negative older men who have sex with men: Results from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    6. Wallace, Lacey N., 2023. "Parenting practices and adolescent delinquency: COVID-19 impact in the United States," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    7. R. Gordon Rinderknecht & Daniela V. Negraia & Sophie Lohmann & Emilio Zagheni, 2023. "Understanding the growth of solitary leisure in the U.S., 1965 – 2018," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-025, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    8. Kong, Nancy & Lam, Jack, 2024. "Physical isolation and loneliness: Evidence from COVID lock-downs in Australia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 598-623.
    9. Katharina Dost & Fabian Heinrich & Wiebke Graf & Anna Brennecke & Veronika Kowalski & Anna Leider & Anika Kraus & Victoria van Rüth & Benjamin Ondruschka & Klaus Püschel & Hans-Helmut König & Franzisk, 2022. "Predictors of Loneliness among Homeless Individuals in Germany during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-11, October.
    10. Fox, Samara D. & Griffin, Randi H. & Pachankis, John E., 2020. "Minority stress, social integration, and the mental health needs of LGBTQ asylum seekers in North America," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    11. Hwanseok Choi & Michelle Brazeal & Likhitha Duggirala & Joohee Lee, 2022. "Loneliness and depression among adults living on MS Gulf Coast: Individual, interpersonal and community predictors," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(1), pages 108-117, February.
    12. Emma Min Shuen Toh & Aloysius Wei-Yan Chia & John P. Ansah, 2024. "Mapping the Dynamic Complexity of Social Isolation Among Older Adults in Singapore," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, April.
    13. Ruth S Ogden, 2020. "The passage of time during the UK Covid-19 lockdown," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-16, July.
    14. Liang En Wee & Tammy Yun Ying Tsang & Huso Yi & Sue Anne Toh & Geok Ling Lee & Jaime Yee & Shannon Lee & Kellynn Oen & Gerald Choon Huat Koh, 2019. "Loneliness amongst Low-Socioeconomic Status Elderly Singaporeans and its Association with Perceptions of the Neighbourhood Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-9, March.
    15. Keisuke Fujii & Yuya Fujii & Yuta Kubo & Korin Tateoka & Jue Liu & Koki Nagata & Shuichi Wakayama & Tomohiro Okura, 2021. "Association between Occupational Dysfunction and Social Isolation in Japanese Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-9, June.
    16. Lígia Passos & Filipe Prazeres & Andreia Teixeira & Carlos Martins, 2020. "Impact on Mental Health Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study in Portugal and Brazil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-13, September.
    17. Dr. Priyanga Anuradha Senadheera & Prof. Romesh Jayasinghe, 2023. "The Effects of Social Support on Depression," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(11), pages 1759-1765, November.
    18. Bárbara Caetano & Mariana Branquinho & Maria Cristina Canavarro & Ana Fonseca, 2022. "Mattering and Depressive Symptoms in Portuguese Postpartum Women: The Indirect Effect of Loneliness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-11, September.
    19. Lilly, Jenn M., 2022. "“It doesn’t matter how good the school is if you don’t learn to socialize”: Latinx immigrant students’ testimonios of coping with social isolation in high school," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hyun Jin Lee & Dong Kun Lee, 2019. "Do Sociodemographic Factors and Urban Green Space Affect Mental Health Outcomes Among the Urban Elderly Population?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-13, March.
    2. Dai, Hancheng & Mischke, Peggy & Xie, Xuxuan & Xie, Yang & Masui, Toshihiko, 2016. "Closing the gap? Top-down versus bottom-up projections of China’s regional energy use and CO2 emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1355-1373.
    3. Luca Gerotto & Paolo Pellizzari, 2021. "A replication of Pindyck’s willingness to pay: on the efforts required to obtain results," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(5), pages 1-25, May.
    4. Chun-Chu Yeh & Cheng-Shen Lin & Chin-Huang Huang, 2018. "The Total Economic Value of Sport Tourism in Belt and Road Development—An Environmental Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, April.
    5. Justina GineikienÄ—, 2013. "Consumer Nostalgia Literature Review And An Alternative Measurement Perspective," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 4(2).
    6. Masooma Munir & Muhammad Nadeem & Barkat Ali & Muhammad Sultan & Rabia Kanwal & Huda Abdalrahman Al-Jumayi & Eman Hassan Ahmed Algarni & Maged B. Alnofeai & Samy F. Mahmoud, 2022. "Investigating the Impact of Ultrasound, Microwave, and High-Pressure Processing of Milk on the Volatile Compounds and Sensory Properties of Cheddar Cheese," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Wissema, Wiepke & Dellink, Rob, 2007. "AGE analysis of the impact of a carbon energy tax on the Irish economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 671-683, March.
    8. Evelina Landstedt & Per Gustafsson & Klara Johansson & Anne Hammarström, 2016. "Longitudinal associations between social relationships at age 30 and internalising symptoms at age 42: findings from the Northern Swedish Cohort," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(1), pages 75-81, January.
    9. Renaud Coulomb & Oskar Lecuyer & Adrien Vogt-Schilb, 2019. "Optimal Transition from Coal to Gas and Renewable Power Under Capacity Constraints and Adjustment Costs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(2), pages 557-590, June.
    10. Yen Sin Koh & Gerald Choon-Huat Koh & David Bruce Matchar & Song-Iee Hong & Bee Choo Tai, 2021. "Examining the Influence of Social Interactions and Community Resources on Caregivers’ Burden in Stroke Settings: A Prospective Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, November.
    11. Larson, Donald F. & Breustedt, Gunnar, 2007. "Will markets direct investments under the Kyoto Protocol ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4131, The World Bank.
    12. Tangian, Andranik S., 2004. "Constructing the composite indicator "Quality of work" from the third European survey on working conditions," WSI Working Papers 132, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    13. Shathees Baskaran & Ng Chun Howe & Nomahaza Mahadi & Salahuddin Ahmad Ayob, 2017. "Youth and Social Media Comportment: A Conceptual Perspective," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(11), pages 1260-1277, November.
    14. Muritala Taiwo Adewale & Awolaja Ayodeji Muyideen & James Olurotimi, 2013. "Impact of Climate Change on Employment in Nigeria," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 9(3), pages 153-161, June.
    15. Lianel Rosario-Ramos & Keishliany Suarez & Cristina Peña-Vargas & Yoamy Toro-Morales & Rosario Costas-Muñiz & Eida Castro & Stephanie Torres & Normarie Torres-Blasco, 2022. "Important End-of-Life Topics among Latino Patients and Caregivers Coping with Advanced Cancer," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-9, July.
    16. Min-Ah Lee, 2016. "Social relationships, depressive symptoms and suicidality in Korea: Examining mediating and moderating effects in men and women," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 62(1), pages 67-75, February.
    17. Jorge Martínez-Vázquez & Violeta Vulovic & Blanca Moreno Dodson, 2012. "The Impact of Tax and Expenditure Policies on Income Distribution: Evidence from a Large Panel of Countries," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 200(1), pages 95-130, March.
    18. Carmen Zürcher & Hannah Tough & Christine Fekete & for the SwiSCI Study Group, 2019. "Mental health in individuals with spinal cord injury: The role of socioeconomic conditions and social relationships," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-20, February.
    19. Corey L. M. Keyes & Malik Muhammad Sohail & Nneka Jebose Molokwu & Heather Parnell & Cyrilla Amanya & Venkata Gopala Krishna Kaza & Yohannes Benyam Saddo & Vanroth Vann & Senti Tzudier & Rae Jean Proe, 2021. "How Would You Describe a Mentally Healthy Person? A Cross-Cultural Qualitative Study of Caregivers of Orphans and Separated Children," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1719-1743, April.
    20. Neal S Grantham & Brian J Reich & Krishna Pacifici & Eric B Laber & Holly L Menninger & Jessica B Henley & Albert Barberán & Jonathan W Leff & Noah Fierer & Robert R Dunn, 2015. "Fungi Identify the Geographic Origin of Dust Samples," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-13, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0182145. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.