Social Isolation Index

The Social Isolation Index, in the form developed by Erin York Cornwell and Linda Waite in 2009, is a survey-based measurement pipeline that separates the objective and subjective sides of social isolation among older adults. Cornwell and Waite argued that being structurally cut off from social contact, which they called social disconnectedness, is conceptually distinct from feeling isolated or unsupported, which they called perceived isolation, and that the two should be measured separately rather than merged. The disconnectedness scale combines indicators such as small social network size, infrequent contact and social participation, and few social ties, while the perceived-isolation scale combines feelings of loneliness, a perceived lack of support, and a sense of being isolated. Each set of indicators is standardized and summed into its own scale, and the two scales are then entered jointly into models of health outcomes. Their analysis showed that disconnectedness and perceived isolation are correlated but have partly distinct associations with physical and mental health. The approach has become a template for studying social isolation as a multidimensional construct in ageing research.