Nguyen Nhan D, Lin Zhiyong
Department of Sociology and Demography, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2025 May 8;80(6). doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaf066.
Social isolation has emerged as a significant risk factor for psychological well-being in later life. However, our understanding of how this link varies across race/ethnicity and gender remains limited.
To address this gap, we utilized longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, 2008-2018) to investigate the longitudinal association between social isolation and the overall subjective well-being (SWB) using multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models. We further examined variations in this relationship across race/ethnicity (White, Black, U.S.-born Hispanic, foreign-born Hispanic) and gender subgroups.
Consistent with the stress process model, our results demonstrate that social isolation is closely linked to reduced SWB for older adults. However, our findings reveal nuances in the isolation-SWB link by race/ethnicity and gender. The association was weaker for Black and Hispanic (U.S.- and foreign-born) individuals than for Whites. Among women, Black women were less likely than White women to be affected by this relationship. Among men, the isolation-SWB association was less pronounced for U.S.-born Hispanic men compared to their White counterparts. Across all levels of social isolation, foreign-born Hispanic adults consistently exhibited higher SWB than others.
This study underscores the need for tailored interventions to address the impact of social isolation on SWB. Although Black and Hispanic older adults experience higher levels of isolation compared to their White counterparts, they demonstrate resilience that helps mitigate its negative effects. These findings highlight the importance of culturally relevant strategies to enhance the quality of life in diverse aging populations.
社会孤立已成为晚年心理健康的一个重要风险因素。然而，我们对这种联系在不同种族/族裔和性别之间如何变化的理解仍然有限。
为了填补这一空白，我们利用了健康与退休研究（HRS，2008 - 2018年）的纵向数据，使用多级混合效应线性回归模型来研究社会孤立与总体主观幸福感（SWB）之间的纵向关联。我们进一步考察了这种关系在种族/族裔（白人、黑人、美国出生的西班牙裔、外国出生的西班牙裔）和性别亚组中的差异。
与压力过程模型一致，我们的结果表明，社会孤立与老年人幸福感降低密切相关。然而，我们的研究结果揭示了孤立与幸福感联系在种族/族裔和性别方面的细微差别。黑人和西班牙裔（美国出生和外国出生）个体的这种关联比白人弱。在女性中，黑人女性比白人女性受这种关系影响的可能性更小。在男性中，与白人男性相比，美国出生的西班牙裔男性的孤立与幸福感关联不太明显。在所有社会孤立水平上，外国出生的西班牙裔成年人的幸福感始终高于其他人。
本研究强调了需要采取针对性干预措施来解决社会孤立对幸福感的影响。尽管与白人同龄人相比，黑人和西班牙裔老年人经历的孤立程度更高，但他们表现出了有助于减轻其负面影响的恢复力。这些发现凸显了文化相关策略对于提高不同老年人群生活质量的重要性。
