Social isolation is a pervasive problem for older adults and interventions designed to reduce it have met with only limited success. The current research was designed to identify observable behaviors and qualitative aspects of emotional distress that differentiate socially active from socially isolated elderly nursing home residents. The investigation consisted of two parts: The first involved direct observation of subjects (n=51) and the second involved a structured interview with a subsample of subjects (n=23), including an assessment of social anxiety, social competence and depression. Results of a multiple regression analysis suggest that staff views of social isolation are related to rates of specific social behaviors, social anxiety, and mental status. Implications for treatment are discussed.
Deleterious effects of social isolation have been noted in both animal and human research. Harlow and Harlow (1966), in their classic studies of rhesus monkeys raised in isolation, found adult monkeys to exhibit abnormal social behavior. Greenough and Volkmar (1973) found a decrease in the complexity of dendritic branching in rats reared in isolation as compared to rats raised in enriched environments. Juraska, Greenough, Elliot, Mack, and Berkowitz (1980) also found this effect in animals isolated in early adulthood; and Green, Greenough, and Schlumpf (1 983) replicated the effect in middle-aged rats. These findings suggest that