This book is about the issue of social isolation in modern society.
It is a multidisciplinary study about the issue of social isolation in modern societies. The study integrates relevant research traditions in social sciences, the most important being sociological theories of social networks and psychological theories of feelings of loneliness. Both traditions are embedded in international research, and the present book is unique in its combination of these approaches, which is of utmost importance for the study of the phenomenon of social isolation. By means of a large-scale survey based on 3,000 interviews performed in urban and rural locations, the extent, nature and divergent manifestations of social isolation are described. A new typology of social contacts is developed in order to take into account the number of network members, as well as the quality of social contacts measured in terms of feelings of loneliness. Results of the study yield a typology containing four main groups: the socially competent (64%), the socially inhibited (8%), the lonely (22%), and the socially isolated (6%). On the basis of this typology many aspects of (the risk of) social isolation and an aggregation of problems observed within these groups are discussed.
This study provides clear insight into personal, social and socio-economic causes and consequences of social isolation. Extensive attention is paid to the interaction of social isolation and such factors as life events, personal competence, health, social climate of neighbourhoods, social participation, socio-economic position of individuals, and formal and informal support. The book also contains recommendations for studying social isolation from an interdisciplinary perspective and concrete policy recommendations.