Loneliness and Its Relation to Health in People with Spinal Cord Injury
Abstract
Background/Rationale: Little is known about the experience and impact of loneliness among people with spinal cord injury (SCI). A small body of research suggests that loneliness may be greater in people with SCI than in the general population, but this research has predominantly relied on a very brief three question measure of loneliness. No one has yet comprehensively explored loneliness and its impact in people with SCI using the commonly used 20-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, Version 3 (UCLA-3). It is reasonable to expect loneliness levels to be high in people with SCI given the architectural, transportation, and other barriers that can limit one’s social network and opportunities for social interaction; however, research in the general literature has shown loneliness and social isolation to be very different things. In fact, loneliness and objective measures of social isolation or social network have been only weakly correlated. The limited research on loneliness and SCI has not yet identified the characteristics related to loneliness in people with SCI. This important information can help identify who is at greater risk of loneliness. Research has demonstrated the harmful effects of loneliness on psychological and physical health of people in general, but there is very little research on how loneliness affects the psychological health of people with SCI and no research on its physical health effects. There is clearly a need for research to address these important issues. Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, TIRR Memorial Herman, the University of Montana, more than 300 men and women with SCI, and other collaborators will contribute to the success of this proposed study, which is designed to increase the understanding of loneliness and how it affects the psychological and physical health of people with SCI. Objectives: The proposed study will explore the experience of loneliness in people with SCI; the relation between loneliness and a number of contextual variables (e.g., demographic, injury, disability, and social network variables); how loneliness relates to psychological and physical health; and the extent to which loneliness predicts psychological and physical health over and above contextual variables, including social isolation. The study proposed here will be the most comprehensive investigation of the impact of loneliness on the psychological and physical health of people with SCI conducted to date. We hypothesize that [1] the experience of loneliness (factor structure of the 20-item UCLA-3) will be the same as the general population in the U.S. (This means that the UCLA-3 is measuring the same thing in both populations, even if average loneliness scores are higher among people with SCI); [2] loneliness will only be weakly associated with social isolation; [3] loneliness will be associated with psychological and physical health; and [4] loneliness will be correlated with psychological and physical health even after accounting for demographics, disability characteristics, and social isolation. In addition, [5] we will explore whether loneliness predicts change over time in health outcomes. Procedure/Design: The project will consist of a national longitudinal study with surveys administered at baseline and 12 months later. We will partner with a community advisory board (CAB) of men and women with SCI, including Veterans with SCI, to provide input and guidance in all phases of the project. Clinical Implications: While the mainstream media has alerted us to the new loneliness epidemic, loneliness among people with SCI, a particularly vulnerable population, has been largely overlooked. Directly addressing fiscal year 2018 (FY18) Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP) Investigator-Initiated Research Award (IIRA) Focus Area Psychosocial Issues, this study will expand the understanding of loneliness and its effects on physical and psychological health outcomes in people with SCI. Findings have the
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 19, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910735
Entities
People
- Susan Robinson-whelen
Organizations
- Baylor College of Medicine
- United States Army