SOCIAL-ISOLATION AND SOCIAL SUPPORT - AN APPLIED PERSPECTIVE

Considerable empirical evidence substantiates the importance of social networks and support to health and well-being among the elderly. But considerably more research is necessary before successful intervention s can be more generally implemented to positively alter an elder's net work. In this article, the authors discuss social support and isolatio n from an applied perspective. They have combined presentations origin ally made at a National Institute on Aging-sponsored symposium on appl ied gerontology held in August 1992. They make some general observatio ns concerning the field of applied social relations in later life, des cribe the mental health aspects of these relations, list some fundamen tal principles and existing technology for this field, describe the us e of a brief screening instrument for social isolation developed by on e of the authors (Lubben), and explore varying domains of knowledge co ncerning elder social relations. They conclude by outlining some areas that they see as requiring the attention of an applications perspecti ve to social support and isolation in the near future.