ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2023
Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Depressive Symptoms: A Twelve-Year Population Study of Temporal Dynamics.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- The relationship between autistic camouflaging and mental health: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Burden of psychological symptoms and disorders among individuals with hepatitis B: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Food insecurity, social isolation, and intrinsic capacity: An age-stratified analysis of US adults.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- Social Isolation in Adults Who Stutter: A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Risk and Correlates.American journal of speech-language pathology · 2026Article
- Social disconnection integrates genetic and proteomic risks in suicidal ideation and depression.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Psychosocial Pathways Between Physical Activity and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Mediation and Moderation Analyses.Journal of aging and health · 2026Article
- The dynamic association between loneliness and social participation among Chinese middle-aged and older adults.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- The relationship between depressive symptoms and instrumental activities of daily living among older adults in China and its associations with age, sex, and outdoor activity engagement.BMC geriatrics · 2026Observational
- Risk factors for Problematic Internet Use (PIU) among Polish students: the role of loneliness, depression, and health behaviours in a predictive analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Does alleviating depression reduce loneliness? A longitudinal study.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Independent and joint associations of depressive symptoms and social isolation on trajectories of functional disability among middle-aged and older adults.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Prolonged social isolation promotes depressive-like behavior in male and female mice, with sex-related differences in the stress response.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Stressful work experience over time and depression in late midlife: results from a longitudinal cohort study in Germany.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Development and Initial Validation of a Brief, Online Version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D): Psychometric Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Multilayer network analysis of mental health symptoms in UK University students: association patterns of depression, loneliness, and suicidal ideation.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Changes in mental health during participation in Art Pharmacy: a longitudinal study of a U.S. arts-based social prescribing program.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Association between loneliness and social isolation and health outcomes among cancer survivors and non-cancer controls.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Disconnection from social others: a RULS Loneliness Short Scale.Current issues in personality psychology · 2026Article
- Risk of depression after new-onset dementia or cognitive impairment: the Health and Retirement Study.Innovation in aging · 2026Article
- Loneliness as a sex-specific risk factor for cognitive aging.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
objectivesSocial isolation and loneliness are two different aspects of social connections. Whether social isolation and loneliness precede depressive symptoms, or depressive symptoms precede feelings of loneliness and social isolation, or both, has not been fully established. This study aims to examine the possible reciprocity in the relationship between the two aspects of social connections and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults.
methodThis study analyzed four waves of data (2008-2016) from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 5,393 individuals) and investigated within-person level cross-lagged associations of social isolation and loneliness with depressive symptoms using random intercept cross-lagged panel models.
resultsThis study revealed a unidirectional relationship between social isolation and depressive symptoms and a bidirectional relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms at the within-person level. Specifically, net of trait levels and prior states, earlier state depressive symptoms predicted future state social isolation. That is, when adults feel depressed more frequently than they usually do, they are more likely to be socially disconnected than usual at a later time. In the reverse direction, earlier state social isolation did not predict future state depressive symptoms. Within-person deviation in prior expected depressive symptoms predicted deviation in expected loneliness 4 years later and vice versa. Moreover, the strength of the two cross-lagged effects did not differ. DISCUSSION: Social isolation and loneliness are linked to depressive symptoms differently. Though depressive symptoms might be a potential antecedent of social isolation, they might be both a potential antecedent and an outcome of loneliness.
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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.