ReviewSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2017
Social isolation in mental health: a conceptual and methodological review.
Review in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 190 papers, 20 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
190 citing papers in PubMed, 20 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Longitudinal associations between loneliness and outcomes of Common Mental Disorders (CMDs): A systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Association of Social Support With Oral Health in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Gerodontology · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of interventions addressing perinatal mental health on loneliness and/or satisfaction with social support: systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- The invisible wall: experiences of social isolation in colorectal cancer patients with ostomy-a qualitative meta-synthesis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Association of Indoor Temperature Level and Mental Health Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Systematic Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Pooled it
- The association between social connectedness and euthanasia and assisted suicide and related constructs: systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- The prevalence and severity of loneliness and deficits in perceived social support among who have received a 'personality disorder' diagnosis or have relevant traits: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- The social cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie social functioning in individuals with schizophrenia - a review.Translational psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Associations between constructs related to social relationships and mental health conditions and symptoms: an umbrella review.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Interventions to identify and manage depression delivered by 'nontraditional' providers to community-dwelling older adults: A realist review.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Pooled it
- Loneliness in autistic adults: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2022Pooled it
- Loneliness and the onset of new mental health problems in the general population.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2022Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Studies Describing the Effectiveness, Acceptability, and Potential Harms of Place-Based Interventions to Address Loneliness and Mental Health Problems.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- The experience of loneliness among young people with depression: a qualitative meta-synthesis of the literature.BMC psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- The effectiveness of interventions for reducing subjective and objective social isolation among people with mental health problems: a systematic review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2020Pooled it
- A systematic review of studies describing the influence of informal social support on psychological wellbeing in people bereaved by sudden or violent causes of death.BMC psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Not the story you want? Assessing the fit of a conceptual framework characterising mental health recovery narratives.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2020Pooled it
- Prevalence of Mental Health Problems During Virus Epidemics in the General Public, Health Care Workers and Survivors: A Rapid Review of the Evidence.Frontiers in public health · 2020Pooled it
- Associations between loneliness and perceived social support and outcomes of mental health problems: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2018Pooled it
130 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeSocial isolation and related concepts have been discussed increasingly in the field of mental health. Despite this, there is a lack of conceptual clarity and consistency in the definition and operationalisation of these terms. This review aimed to provide a clear framework for social isolation and related concepts, and to identify well-established measures in the field of mental health for each conceptual domain discussed.
methodsWe used an iterative strategy of expert consultation and literature searching. A multi-disciplinary group of senior academics was consulted both before and after the literature searching to identify relevant terms, conceptual papers, or recommended measures. Our conceptual framework was also validated through expert consultation. We searched the Web of Science database using terms suggested by experts and subsequently identified further relevant studies through review articles and by reading full texts and reference lists of included studies. A narrative synthesis was conducted.
resultsWe developed a model with five domains incorporating all the concepts relevant to social isolation in regular use in the mental health research literature. These five domains are: social network-quantity; social network-structure; social network-quality; appraisal of relationships-emotional; and appraisal of relationships-resources. We also identified well-developed measures suitable for assessing each of the five conceptual domains or covering multi-domains.
conclusionsOur review proposes a conceptual model to encompass and differentiate all terms relating to social isolation. Potential uses are in allowing researchers and intervention developers to identify precisely the intended outcomes of interventions, and to choose the most appropriate measures to use in mental health settings.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.