Is the association between social network types, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction mediated by the perceived availability of social support? A cross-sectional analysis using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Examining social isolation and loneliness in combination in relation to social support and psychological distress using Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA) data

“…Social isolation was defined based on a social isolation index that was derived based on individuals' contact with different social network groups. Including different social network groups is consistent with previous research that shows that a variety of social network members play an important role in people's lives, ranging from family members (spouses, children, siblings) to other relationships (friends, neighbors) [38,39], Similar to previous research [20,29,41,53,54], we allocated one point when each of the following conditions applied: 1) living alone and not married or in a common law relationship; 2) got together with friends or neighbours "within the past 6 months" or less frequently, or reported having no friends or neighbors; 3) got together with relatives/siblings "within the past 6 months" or less frequently, or reported having no relatives or siblings; 4) got PLOS ONE together with children "within the past 6 months" or less frequently, or had no children; 5) being retired and having participated in none, or only one of eight social activities at least once a month or more often (e.g., family or friendship based activities, church or religious activities, sports or physical activities, and educational and cultural activities) (for a more detailed description see 53 and 54). The resulting social isolation index ranged from 0-5, where higher scores reflect greater social isolation.…”

“…For example, in a recent study, we [38] showed that a restricted social network structure, reflective of social isolation, was negatively related to several types of social support, including instrumental or tangible support (e.g., help with activities of daily living), emotional/informational support (e.g., having somebody to talk to or confide in), positive interactions (e.g., having somebody to have a good time with), and affectionate support (e.g., having somebody who gives love or affection). Lower perceived availability of certain types of social support was, in turn, related to increased depressive symptoms [39], a finding that is consistent with numerous studies that show that perceptions of having social support available is protective against depression [25,40].…”

“…Second, we examined the relationship between the four social isolation/loneliness groups and different types of social support (tangible, emotional, affective, and positive social interactions) [38,39,56], given the importance of social support in people's mental health [40]. Given that both social isolation and loneliness have been linked to less social support [25,38,39], we expected that the neither socially isolated not lonely group would report the most social support availability and the socially isolated and lonely group the least. As such, the socially isolated and lonely group, was expected to be the most at risk, similar to previous research that shows that social isolation and loneliness have a synergistic effect [18,45].…”

Examining individual and geographic factors associated with social isolation and loneliness using Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) data

“…Social isolation is typically defined in terms of the objective availability of social contacts or frequency of contact with social network members [1]. In essence, social isolation relates to whether a person is alone or part of a social network [15], typically composed of family or friends, but also the broader community environment through engagement in social activities [16–20]. In contrast, loneliness, which is sometimes referred to as “perceived social isolation” [8], refers to the perception that intimate and social needs are not being met [1,21].…”

Predictors of multiple domains of functioning in Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Results from the Mind Your Heart Study

“…Furthermore, Tsai et al () showed that not feeling understood by others mediated the relationship between PTSD and lower life satisfaction, which they conclude may be due to a lack of support from other peers. Among older adults, perceived isolation is negatively associated with physical and mental health (Cornwell & Waite, ), whereas social support is protective against negative outcomes such as depression, dementia, and cardiovascular disease (Arthur, ; Harasemiw, Newall, Mackenzie, Shooshtari, & Menec, ; Pakstis, Kim, & Bhargava, ).…”