The Intersection of Pain Outcomes and Social Isolation Among African Americans

Abstract Social isolation is associated with a wide range of health problems, including early mortality. However, little is known about the risk factors for social isolation specifically among African Americans. This study examined 1) the associations between discrimination and objective and subjective social isolation and 2) how these associations vary by age in a nationally representative sample of African American adults from the National Survey of American Life (N=3570). Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicated that discrimination was positively associated with being subjectively isolated from friends only and family only. Discrimination did not predict objective isolation. A significant interaction revealed that the association between discrimination and subjective isolation from friends only varied by age, with older adults being most vulnerable to the effects of discrimination. These findings argue for a more nuanced and systematic investigation of the detrimental effects of discrimination on older African Americans’ social relationships, especially perceptions of relationships.

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Could Practices of Remembrance Reduce Social Isolation in Late Life? Ethnographic Evidence From Poland and Detroit

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2313 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 668-668

Author(s):

Jessica Robbins

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

African Americans ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Late Life ◽

Cultural Analysis ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Social Connection ◽

Negative Effects ◽

The Social ◽

Ethnographic Data

Abstract Because social isolation can have negative effects on older adults’ wellbeing, programs that reduce social isolation have potential to improve older adults’ wellbeing. One presumed aspect of these programs’ significance is the social connection occurring through the programs themselves. However, drawing on ethnographic data collected in Poland and Detroit, this presentation argues that practices of remembrance, in which older adults connect with deceased kin and loved ones, may offer possibilities for reducing social isolation. In Poland, older adults engage in practices of storytelling in which they remember deceased kin and lost homes and homelands. In Detroit, Michigan, older African Americans who garden remember their deceased kin and friends through the practice of gardening itself. This presentation presents a cross-cultural analysis of how older adults’ practices of remembrance may offer opportunities to reduce social isolation—even for older adults who live alone—by connecting to meaningful relations, times, and places.

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Race and Objective Social Isolation: Older African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and Non-Hispanic Whites

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gby114 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (8) ◽

pp. 1429-1440 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Robert Joseph Taylor ◽

Linda M Chatters ◽

Harry O Taylor

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

African Americans ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Older Americans ◽

Racial And Ethnic Differences ◽

Religious Congregation ◽

Older African Americans ◽

Socially Isolated ◽

Congregation Members

Abstract Objectives Social isolation is a major risk factor for poor physical and mental health among older adults. This study investigates the correlates of objective social isolation among older African Americans, Black Caribbean immigrants, and non-Hispanic Whites. Methods The analysis is based on the older subsample (n = 1,439) of the National Survey of American Life. There are eight indicators of objective social isolation: no contact with neighbors, neighborhood groups, friends, family members, religious congregation members, not being married and no romantic involvement, living alone, and not being a parent. Results Very few older Americans are socially isolated from family and friends. Non-Hispanic Whites are more likely than both African Americans and Black Caribbeans to live alone, to be childless, and have limited contact with religious congregation members. For both African Americans and Black Caribbeans, being female is protective against social isolation, but for both populations, men are more likely to be married or have a romantic partner. For African Americans, residing in the South is also protective against social isolation. Discussion This analysis provides greater clarity on racial and ethnic differences in social isolation among older adults, as well as within-group differences in objective social isolation among African Americans and Black Caribbeans.

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