Social Isolation: A Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

Social Isolation is one of the central concepts in social sciences, and it is encumbered with a multiplicity of meanings. It can be defined as the loss of social relations in personal level or disengagement from essential social institutions from societal level. There are certain similarities in the operationalization of the overall notion of social isolation in the theoretical framework, nonetheless, empirical inquiries suggested by several researchers, exhibits inconsistency in affirming relevant indicators. A principal concern is whether to apply objective indicators to measure the socio-political condition and economic status of the target community or the center should be on the nature of the social relationships that they possess. With an attempt to single out the operational definition among the plethora of definitions, the research examines different scales of measuring Social Isolation.