The Role of Solitary Activities in Moderating the Association between Social Isolation and Perceived Loneliness Among Adults Aged 50 and Older: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study

Background and Purpose: Social isolation and perceived loneliness are major issues as they may place older adults at greater risks for health problems. Even though social isolation and perceived loneliness are usually examined together in previous studies, these two constructs were demonstrated to be weakly or moderately correlated, indicating that the objective status of social isolation and the subjective perception of loneliness have distinct meanings. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between social isolation and loneliness among U.S. adults aged 50 and older and explore the moderating effect of solitary activities on social isolation and perceived loneliness.

Methods: This study analyzed the data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) that were collected in 2014. Ordinary least squares regression analyses were performed to examine the main effects of each indicator of social isolation on loneliness, and the moderating effect of solitary activities, after controlling for covariates of age, race, gender, education, and income. Social isolation was measured by four commonly used indicators, including marital status (currently unmarried vs. married status), the frequency of contact with children, relatives, and friends via face-to-face meetings, telephone, mail/email, and social media. Loneliness was assessed by using a summary score of eleven items ranging from 11 to 33. Solitary activities included thirteen different types of activities that have limited or no social interaction with others. The total score of solitary activities ranged from 13 to 91.

Results: The results of main effect regression models indicated that after controlling for covariates, the level of solitary activities was positively related to perceived loneliness. More frequent contact with children, relatives, and friends were all associated with more perceived loneliness, which indicated that fewer social isolation was related to more loneliness. Respondents who were currently unmarried were more likely to perceive more loneliness. The results of moderation tests indicated that solitary activities moderated that relationship of frequency of contact with children, relatives, and friends with perceived loneliness. Solitary activities also had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between marital status and perceived loneliness. As the respondents engaged in a higher level of solitary activities, the effects of social contact and marital status on perceived loneliness became less significant.

Conclusions and Implications: This study improves the understanding of the moderating effect of solitary activities on the association between social isolation and perceived loneliness among adults aged 50 and older. The finding of the positive relationship between social contacts and perceived loneliness indicates that the programs and interventions for people aged above 50 should not only focus on expanding their social interaction but also aim at improving the quality of social networks. The moderating effect of solitary activities implicates the importance of activity on enhancing the well-being among adults aged 50 and older. Moreover, future social work studies need to create more accurate measurements of social isolation and pay attention to the underlying mechanism or the moderating effects of other factors on social isolation and perceived loneliness.