Skip to main content

Social Integration

  • Living reference work entry
  • Latest version View entry history
  • First Online:
Book cover Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Avlund K, Lund R, Holstein BE, Due P (2004) Social relations as determinant of onset of disability in aging. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 38:85–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ballesteros S, Kraft E, Santana S, Tziraki C (2015) Maintaining older brain functionality: a targeted review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 55:453–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barger SD (2013) Social integration, social support and mortality in the US National Health Interview Survey. Psychosom Med 75:510–517

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes JA (1954) Class and committees in a Norwegian Island parish. Hum Relat 7(1):39–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Zeev D, Scherer EA, Wang R, Xie H, Campbell AT (2015) Next-generation psychiatric assessment: using smartphone sensors to monitor behavior and mental health. Psychiatr Rehabil J 38(3):218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkman LF, Syme SL (1979) Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: a nine-year follow-up study of Alameda County residents. Am J Epidemiol 109:186–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkman LF, Glass T, Brissette I, Seeman TE (2000) From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Soc Sci Med 51(6):843–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blazer DG (1982) Social support and mortality in an elderly community population. Am J Epidemiol 115(5):684–694. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bott E (1957) Family and social network. Tavistock Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Brissette I, Cohen S, Seeman TE (2000) Measuring social integration and social networks. In: Cohen S, Underwood LG, Gottlieb BH (eds) Social support measurement and intervention: a guide for health and social scientists. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 53–85. https://doi.org/10.1093/med:psych/9780195126709.003.0003

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bruggencate T, Luijkx KG, Sturm J (2018) Social needs of older people: a systematic literature review. Ageing Soc 38:1745–1770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerhan J, Wallace R (1997) Change in social ties and subsequent mortality in rural elders. Epidemiology 8(5):475–481. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3702675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang SC, Glymour M, Cornelis M, Walter S, Rimm EB, Tchetgen E, Kawachi I, Kubzansky LD (2017) Social integration and reduced risk of coronary heart disease in women: the role of lifestyle behaviors. Circ Res 120(12):1927–1937. https://doi.org/10.1161/circresaha.116.309443

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chihuri S, Mielenz TJ, DiMaggio CJ et al (2016) Driving cessation and health outcomes in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 64:332–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen S (1988) Psychosocial models of the role of social support in the etiology of physical disease. Health Psychol 7:269–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen S, Wills TA (1985) Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychol Bull 98(2):310–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen S, Doyle WJ, Skoner DP, Rabin BS, Gwaltney JM Jr (1997) Social ties and susceptibility to the common cold. JAMA 277:1940–1944

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen S, Brissette I, Skoner DP, Doyle WJ (2000) Social integration and health: the case of the common cold. J Soc Struct 1(3):1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornwell B, Laumann EO (2015) The health benefits of network growth: new evidence from a national survey of older adults. Soc Sci Med 125:94–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornwell EY, Waite LJ (2012) Social network resources and management of hypertension. J Health Soc Behav 53:215–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coser RL (1974) The family: its structures & functions. St. Martin’s Press, New York, 604 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Crittenden CN, Pressman SD, Cohen S et al (2014) Social integration and pulmonary function in the elderly. Health Psychol 33:535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deindl C, Brandt M, Hank K (2016) Social networks, social cohesion, and later-life health. Soc Indic Res 126:1175–1187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dissing AS, Lakon CM, Gerds TA, Rod NH, Lund R (2018) Measuring social integration and tie strength with smartphone and survey data. PLoS One 13(8):e0200678. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200678

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domènech-Abella J, Mundó J, Haro JM, Rubio-Valera M (2019) Anxiety, depression, loneliness and social network in the elderly: longitudinal associations from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). J Affect Disord 246:82–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.12.043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong XQ (2015) Elder abuse: systematic review and implications for practice. J Am Geriatr Soc 63(6):1214–1238. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnelly EA, Hinterlong JE (2010) Changes in social participation and volunteer activity among recently widowed older adults. The Gerontologist 50(2):158–169. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Due TD, Sandholdt H, Siersma VD, Waldorff FB (2018) How well do general practitioners know their elderly patients’ social relations and feelings of loneliness? BMC Fam Pract 19:34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim E (1897) Suicide. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberger NI, Moieni M, Inagaki TK, Muscatell KA, Irwin MR (2017) In sickness and in health: the co-regulation of inflammation and social behavior. Neuropsychopharmacol Rev 42:242–253. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2016.141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fratiglioni L, Paillard-Borg S, Winblad B (2004) An active and socially integrated lifestyle in late life might protect against dementia. Lancet Neurol 3:343–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glymour MM, Weuve J, Fay ME, Glass T, Berkman LF (2008) Social ties and cognitive recovery after stroke: does social integration promote cognitive resilience? Neuroepidemiology 31(1):10–20. https://doi.org/10.1159/000136646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goode W (1960) A theory of role strain. Am Sociol Rev 25(4):483–496. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2092933

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter MS (1973) The strength of weak ties. Am J Sociol 78(6):1360–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruenewald TL, Karlamangla AS, Greendale GA et al (2007) Feelings of usefulness to others, disability, and mortality in older adults: the MacArthur study of successful aging. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 62:P28–P37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanahan D, Weinberg RA (2011) Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell 144(5):P646–P674

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hao Y (2008) Productive activities and psychological well-being among older adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 63:S64–S72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haslam C, Cruwys T, Haslam SA (2014) “The we’s have it”: evidence for the distinctive benefits of group engagement in enhancing cognitive health in aging. Soc Sci Med 120:57–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heidrich SM, Ryff CD (1993) Physical and mental health in later life: the self-system as mediator. Psychol Aging 8:327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt-Lunstad J, Uchino BN (2015) Social support and health. In: Glanz K, Rimer BK, Viswanath KV (eds) Health behavior: theory, research, and practice. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, pp 183–204

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB (2010) Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Med 7:e1000316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Baker M et al (2015) Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: a meta-analytic review. Perspect Psychol Sci 10:227–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt-Lunstad J, Robles TF, Sbarra DA (2017) Advancing social connection as a public health priority in the United States. Am Psychol 72(6):517–530. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House JS, Robbins C, Metzner HL (1982) The association of social relationships and activities with mortality: prospective evidence from the Tecumseh community health study. Am J Epidemiol 116:123–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House JS, Landis KR, Umberson D (1988) Social relationships and health. Science 241:540–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isaac V, Stewart R, Artero S et al (2009) Social activity and improvement in depressive symptoms in older people: a prospective community cohort study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 17:688–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotwal AA, Kim J, Waite L, Dale W (2016) Social function and cognitive status: results from a US nationally representative survey of older adults. J Gen Intern Med 31:854–862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroenke CH, Kubzansky LD, Schernhammer ES, Holmes MD, Kawachi I (2006) Social networks, social support, and survival after breast cancer diagnosis. J Clin Oncol 24(7):1105–1111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane ND, Miluzzo E, Lu H, Peebles D, Choudhury T, Campbell AT (2010) A survey of mobile phone sensing. IEEE Commun Mag 48(9):140–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee HY, Jang S-N, Lee S et al (2008) The relationship between social participation and self-rated health by sex and age: a cross-sectional survey. Int J Nurs Stud 45:1042–1054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leigh-Hunt N, Bagguley D, Bash K, Turner V, Turnbull S, Valtorta N, Caan W (2017) An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Public Health 152:157–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li S, Hagan K, Grodstein F, VanderWeele TJ (2018) Social integration and healthy aging among US women. Prev Med Rep 9:144–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Libby P, Nahrendorf M, Swirski FK (2016) Leukocytes link local and systemic inflammation in ischemic cardiovascular disease: an expanded “Cardiovascular Continuum”. J Am Coll Cardiol 67(9):1091–1103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2015.12.048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liljas AE, Walters K, Jovicic A et al (2017) Strategies to improve engagement of ‘hard to reach’ older people in research on health promotion: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 17:349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maffei L, Picano E, Andreassi MG et al (2017) Randomized trial on the effects of a combined physical/cognitive training in aged MCI subjects: the Train the Brain study. Sci Rep 7:39471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Makizako H, Shimada H, Doi T et al (2018) Social frailty leads to the development of physical frailty among physically non-frail adults: a four-year follow-up longitudinal cohort study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15:490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marks S (1977) Multiple roles and role strain: some notes on human energy, time and commitment. Am Sociol Rev 42(6):921–936. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2094577

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsden PV, Campbell KE (1984) Measuring tie strength. Soc Forces 63(2):482–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mezuk B, Rebok GW (2008) Social integration and social support among older adults following driving cessation. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 63:S298–S303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller AH, Raison CL (2016) The role of inflammation in depression: from evolutionary imperative to modern treatment target. Nat Rev Immunol 16:22–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell JC (1969) The concept and use of social networks. Manchester University Press, Manchester

    Google Scholar 

  • Muscatell KA, Eisenberger NI, Dutcher JM, Cole SW, Bower JE (2016) Links between inflammation, amygdala reactivity, and social support in breast cancer survivors. Brain Behav Immun 53:34–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2015.09.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson NR, Dixon JK, McCorkle R (2013) Predictors of diminished levels of social integration in older adults. Res Gerontol Nurs 7:33–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Onnela J-P, Rauch SL (2016) Harnessing smartphone-based digital phenotyping to enhance behavioral and mental health. Neuropsychopharmacology 41(7):1691–1696. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pardasani M, Thompson P (2012) Senior centers: innovative and emerging models. J Appl Gerontol 31:52–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penninkilampi R, Casey A, Singh MF, Brodaty H (2018) The association between social engagement, loneliness, and risk of dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Alzheimers Dis 66(4):1619–1633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sieber SD (1974) Toward a theory of role accumulation. Am Sociol Rev 39(4):567–578. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slavich GM, Irwin MR (2014) From stress to inflammation and major depressive disorder: a social signal transduction theory of depression. Psychol Bull 140:774–815. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soysal P, Stubbs B, Lucato P, Luchini C, Solmi M et al (2016) Inflammation and frailty in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev 31:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soysal P, Stubbs B, Lucato P, Luchini C, Solmi M, Peluso R, … Veronese N (2017) Corrigendum to “inflammation and frailty in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis”. Ageing Res Rev 35:364–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2016.12.007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits PA (1983) Multiple identities and psychological well-being: a reformulation and test of the social isolation hypothesis. Am Sociol Rev 48(2):174–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoits PA (2011) Mechanisms linking social ties and support to physical and mental health. J Health Soc Behav 52(2):145–161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146510395592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torous J, Kiang MV, Lorme J, Onnela J-P (2015) New tools for new research in psychiatry: a scalable and customizable platform to empower data driven smartphone research. JMIR Ment Health 3(2):e16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai AC, Lucas M, Kawachi I (2015) Association between social integration and suicide among women in the United States. JAMA Psychiat 72:987–993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino BN (2006) Social support and health: a review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes. J Behav Med 29:377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-006-9056-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uchino BN, Trettevik R, Kent de Grey RG, Cronan S, Hogan J, Baucom BRW (2018) Social support, social integration, and inflammatory cytokines: a meta-analysis. Health Psychol 37(5):462–471. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valente TW, Pitts SR (2017) An appraisal of social network theory and analysis as applied to public health: challenges and opportunities. Annu Rev Public Health 38:103–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valtorta NK, Kanaan M, Gilbody S et al (2016) Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies. Heart 102:1009–1016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wahrendorf M, Siegrist J (2010) Are changes in productive activities of older people associated with changes in their well-being? Results of a longitudinal European study. Eur J Ageing 7:59–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Bao W, Liu J, Ouyang Y-Y, Wang D, Rong S et al (2013) Inflammatory markers and risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes Care 36:166–175. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc12-0702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welin L, Larsson B, Svardsudd TB, Tibblin G (1992) Social network and activities in relation to mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other causes: a 12 year follow up of the study of men born in 1913 and 1923. J Epidemiol Community Health 46:127–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winkler R (2013) Research note: segregated by age: are we becoming more divided? Popul Res Policy Rev 32:717–727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong YL, Matejkowski J, Lee S (2011) Social integration of people with serious mental illness: network transactions and satisfaction. J Behav Health Serv Res 38(1):51–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-009-9203-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang YC, Boen C, Mullan Harris K (2015) Social relationships and hypertension in late life: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study of older adults. J Aging Health 27:403–431

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julianne Holt-Lunstad .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Holt-Lunstad, J., Lefler, M. (2020). Social Integration. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_646-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_646-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Social Integration
    Published:
    30 October 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_646-2

  2. Original

    Social Integration
    Published:
    01 September 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_646-1