Social Isolation Measures Research Articles

Social isolation in 4‐year‐olds

This paper is concerned with the heterogeneity and home correlates of social isolation in school. Three data sets, each involving 40–42 4‐year‐olds, were studied at home and preschool. Three observational measures of social isolation were used—time alone, time unoccupied and frequency of interaction. These social isolation variables showed few linear relations to measures of temperamental characteristics, other child characteristics or measures of mother‐child interaction. However, categorizing the children into four groups on their status of alone and unoccupied, or into eight groups on all three social isolation variables, yielded categories showing meaningful patterns of interactions in school and meaningful relations to home variables. The dangers of considering any categorization system as absolute are emphasized.

Psychosocial factors related to perceived compliance with cystic fibrosis treatment.

The present research was designed to investigate the adjustment of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and their families as well as the relationship between adjustment and physician perceptions of compliance with CF treatment. Patient and family adjustment was assessed by means of the Personality Inventory for Children as well as measures of marital adjustment, depression, and social isolation completed by mothers of CF patients. Results indicated no characteristic pattern of psychopathology or adjustment problems. However, higher levels of perceived compliance with CF treatment were found to be associated with less satisfactory marital relationships and with less frequent maternal social contacts. These findings are discussed in terms of achieving a balance between compliance and psychological adjustment.

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS EQUAL RIGHTS: AN MMPI STUDY

Women who answered with “True” item 101 (“I believe worn en ought to have as much sexual freedom as men”) of the MMPI differed from those responding with “False” in being younger, in having better visuospatial reasoning skills as shown by higher IQ equivalents on the Raven's Matrices, and in scoring in a less pathological direction on MMPI measures of depression, neurotic tendencies, ego strength, and social isolation. The participants were 86 alcohol and drug addicts tested on admission to addiction treatment: only 18.6% responded with “False” to the MMPI item 101. Influencing female psychotherapy clients to adopt more old fashioned attitudes in respect to equal rights in the area of sexual freedom might be a iatrogenic step.

The role of social isolation in suicide.

This paper reviews the literature which relates to the role of social isolation in suicide. Major areas include theories on suicide and social isolation, measures of social isolation, and empirical studies which concern the relationship of social isolation to suicide. Social isolation seems to be related to suicidal behaviors in a direct and fundamental way. Implications for helping contacts and the community are addressed.

Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children

GOTTMAN, JOHN M. Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 513-517. There are 2 separate definitions of social isolation in existing literature, 1 based on low frequencies of peer interaction and 1 based on low levels of peer acceptance using sociometric measures. 113 children in 8 Head Start classrooms were assessed using sociometric measures of acceptance and rejection and observational measures of behavior when alone, when interacting with peers, and when interacting with the teachers. There was no relationship between peer acceptance and the relative frequency of peer interaction, suggesting that these 2 measures of social isolation do not tap the same dimension. A direct cluster rotation analysis resulted in 5 orthogonal clusters of children which defined 5 pure types. These types were: (1) sociometric stars, (2) sociometric rejectees, (3) children who had highly negative interactions with the teacher, (4) children who interacted frequently with peers, and (5) children who were frequently "tuned out" or off task when alone. Of these 5 groups, the tuned-out children also had the lowest means on peer acceptance and were high on a set of shy, anxious, and fearful behaviors coded "hovering." This group seems to best fit the construct of the shy, socially anxious child who also is neither accepted nor rejected, but rather is ignored by peers.

Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children

GOTTMAN, JOHN M. Toward a Definition of Social Isolation in Children. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 513-517. There are 2 separate definitions of social isolation in existing literature, 1 based on low frequencies of peer interaction and 1 based on low levels of peer acceptance using sociometric measures. 113 children in 8 Head Start classrooms were assessed using sociometric measures of acceptance and rejection and observational measures of behavior when alone, when interacting with peers, and when interacting with the teachers. There was no relationship between peer acceptance and the relative frequency of peer interaction, suggesting that these 2 measures of social isolation do not tap the same dimension. A direct cluster rotation analysis resulted in 5 orthogonal clusters of children which defined 5 pure types. These types were: (1) sociometric stars, (2) sociometric rejectees, (3) children who had highly negative interactions with the teacher, (4) children who interacted frequently with peers, and (5) children who were frequently tuned out or off task when alone. Of these 5 groups, the tuned-out children also had the lowest means on peer acceptance and were high on a set of shy, anxious, and fearful behaviors coded hovering. This group seems to best fit the construct of the shy, socially anxious child who also is neither accepted nor rejected, but rather is ignored by peers.

Changing Alienations as Consequences of Imprisonment

Concentrating on inmates in a medium security institution, kinds and degrees of alienation were related to the duration of incarceration as well as to the extra-prison variables of race and marital status. In contrast to our a priori expectations, the results indicated that the amount of time in prison was inversely related, at statistically significant levels, to our measures of meaninglessness, powerlessness, normlessness, and social isolation. The implications of race and marital status for differentiating inmate alienations were explored in conjunction with the duration of imprisonment.

Anticipation of urban migration amongst young australian aborigines

Forty-nine rural Aborigines aged 11 to 14 years were interviewed in an attempt to relate biodata and sociodata to reasons for and anticipation of migration to urban areas. Results suggest that anticipated movement is related to general social and economic values and aspirations and to measures of geographical and social isolation. The part that planned exposure to urban life plays in anticipating migration and in forming expectations of the community is discussed.

Social Isolation and Illegitimacy

Certain characteristics, taken as indicators of social isolation, were used to test the general hypothesis that unwed women would be more socially isolated than wed women. The research, done on lower-class women in a large metropolitan city, made use of a typology of legitimacy status to test the hypothesis and subsidiary hypotheses. Social isolation indicators were divided into measures of objective and subjective isolation. The evidence clearly shows no differences in the predicted direction with respect to objective measures of social isolation. On the other hand, subjective measures of social isolation showed differences in the predicted direction but in an inconsistent manner. The clearest findings relating legitimacy status to social isolation in the predicted direction were those of anomie and the constructed Index of Social Isolation.

Alienation and Social Learning: A Study of Students in a Vocational Training Center

Persons in a vocational training center for the unemployed were the subjects of a study of alienation and social learning. The study related measures of meaninglessness, normlessness, social isolation, and powerlessness to control-relevant information about both the immediate training center and also future employment opportunities. The results supported the proposition that high alienation, in each of its major forms, is associated with low degrees of control-relevant knowledge at both the micro and the macro levels. Furthermore, data obtained from cumulative scaling of the alienation variables indicated an accentuation of the learning differentials.

Management of the nephrotic syndrome with particular reference to the use of triamcinolone

Summary Triamcinolone in doses of 40 to 50 mg. per square meter of body surface area per day appears to be an effective agent for the treatment of the idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. The status of the treated patients at the end of intensive steroid therapy and at the conclusion of a follow-up period is summarized in Table IV. Response to treatment is more consistent in patients whose proteinuria has been present for less than 4 months at the time treatment is instituted. In certain patients with proteinuria of greater duration, treatment may lead to a loss of edema and reduction in the degree of proteinuria without complete clearing of the urine of protein. The significance of the persistence of modest degrees of proteinuria in relation to the ultimate prognosis can be determined only by longer periods of observation. The urine of some patients has subsequently been cleared of protein with intermittent prophylactic therapy months after intensive steroid treatment has been completed. Periods of intensive steroid therapy beyond 28 days did not appear in these studies to lead to greater improvement in the degree of proteinuria. In the doses studied, the influence of triamcinolone on water and electrolyte excretion, arterial blood pressure, and body weight was not sufficient to interrupt the treatment plan. Prophylactic therapy in an interrupted fashion (3 consecutive days of each week) when coupled with social isolation and other anti-infection preventive measures appeared to be satisfactory in most patients in the prevention of recurrences.