Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review
Abstract Background Poor social connectedness has been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health but there is a lack of standardisation in how it is measured. This systematic review aimed to identify suitable measures of social connectedness for use in UK adult general populations. Methods...
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2024-12-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20779-0 |
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| author | Ruth Plackett Joe Hulin Clara Mukuria Mark Clowes Sheena E. Ramsay Liam Spencer Emma A. Adams Jennifer Dykxhoorn Kate Walters David P. J. Osborn Victoria Zamperoni Oliver Jones Scott Weich |
| author_facet | Ruth Plackett Joe Hulin Clara Mukuria Mark Clowes Sheena E. Ramsay Liam Spencer Emma A. Adams Jennifer Dykxhoorn Kate Walters David P. J. Osborn Victoria Zamperoni Oliver Jones Scott Weich |
| author_sort | Ruth Plackett |
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| description | Abstract Background Poor social connectedness has been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health but there is a lack of standardisation in how it is measured. This systematic review aimed to identify suitable measures of social connectedness for use in UK adult general populations. Methods Searches were undertaken in two stages to identify: (1) measures of social connectedness from review articles and grey literature and (2) studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the identified measures. Grey literature and five databases were searched: MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO; CINAHL and Web of Science. Studies based on UK adult general populations (16–65 years) or other English language speaking countries with similar cultures (US, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand) were included. Psychometric evidence was extracted relating to six general domains: conceptual model, content validity, reliability, construct validity, scoring and interpretability, and respondent burden and presentation. A narrative synthesis summarised these psychometric properties. Results Stage (1) 2,396 studies were retrieved and, 24 possible measures of social connectedness were identified; stage (2) 6,218 studies were identified reporting on psychometrics of identified measures and 22 studies were included. These studies provided psychometric evidence for 10 measures, and we did not find psychometric studies for the other identified measures. Six measures (6/10, 60%) reported assessing loneliness and four (4/10, 40%) reported assessing social support but there was a degree of overlap between the assessments of each concept. There was good evidence of reliability across measures, 90% (9/10) had adequate internal consistency, but evidence of content validity was only available for one scale. Five measures (5/10, 50%) reported on at least half of the psychometric criteria, and these were: UCLA-3 (for loneliness), and MSPSS, F-SozU K-6, SPS-10 and SPS-5 (for social support). Conclusions This review identified ten social connectedness measures, and identified UCLA-3, MSPSS, F-SozUK-6, SPS-10, and SPS-5 as having the most robust psychometric properties for the UK adult population. Further testing is required to establish content validity, and to clarify the definition and conceptualisation of social connectedness, to enable standardisation in the approach to measuring social connectedness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7a12a36dc5ac4cc380c0597576acd193 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-7a12a36dc5ac4cc380c0597576acd1932025-01-12T12:43:29ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582024-12-0124111310.1186/s12889-024-20779-0Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic reviewRuth Plackett0Joe Hulin1Clara Mukuria2Mark Clowes3Sheena E. Ramsay4Liam Spencer5Emma A. Adams6Jennifer Dykxhoorn7Kate Walters8David P. J. Osborn9Victoria Zamperoni10Oliver Jones11Scott Weich12UCL Research Department of Primary Care & Population Health, Royal Free Hospital, University College LondonUniversity of SheffieldUniversity of SheffieldUniversity of SheffieldNewcastle UniversityNewcastle UniversityNewcastle UniversityUniversity College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College LondonMental Health FoundationMcPin FoundationUniversity of SheffieldAbstract Background Poor social connectedness has been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health but there is a lack of standardisation in how it is measured. This systematic review aimed to identify suitable measures of social connectedness for use in UK adult general populations. Methods Searches were undertaken in two stages to identify: (1) measures of social connectedness from review articles and grey literature and (2) studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the identified measures. Grey literature and five databases were searched: MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO; CINAHL and Web of Science. Studies based on UK adult general populations (16–65 years) or other English language speaking countries with similar cultures (US, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand) were included. Psychometric evidence was extracted relating to six general domains: conceptual model, content validity, reliability, construct validity, scoring and interpretability, and respondent burden and presentation. A narrative synthesis summarised these psychometric properties. Results Stage (1) 2,396 studies were retrieved and, 24 possible measures of social connectedness were identified; stage (2) 6,218 studies were identified reporting on psychometrics of identified measures and 22 studies were included. These studies provided psychometric evidence for 10 measures, and we did not find psychometric studies for the other identified measures. Six measures (6/10, 60%) reported assessing loneliness and four (4/10, 40%) reported assessing social support but there was a degree of overlap between the assessments of each concept. There was good evidence of reliability across measures, 90% (9/10) had adequate internal consistency, but evidence of content validity was only available for one scale. Five measures (5/10, 50%) reported on at least half of the psychometric criteria, and these were: UCLA-3 (for loneliness), and MSPSS, F-SozU K-6, SPS-10 and SPS-5 (for social support). Conclusions This review identified ten social connectedness measures, and identified UCLA-3, MSPSS, F-SozUK-6, SPS-10, and SPS-5 as having the most robust psychometric properties for the UK adult population. Further testing is required to establish content validity, and to clarify the definition and conceptualisation of social connectedness, to enable standardisation in the approach to measuring social connectedness.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20779-0ReviewSocial connectednessPublic healthLonelinessSocial supportPsychometric properties |
| spellingShingle | Ruth Plackett Joe Hulin Clara Mukuria Mark Clowes Sheena E. Ramsay Liam Spencer Emma A. Adams Jennifer Dykxhoorn Kate Walters David P. J. Osborn Victoria Zamperoni Oliver Jones Scott Weich Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review BMC Public Health Review Social connectedness Public health Loneliness Social support Psychometric properties |
| title | Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review |
| title_full | Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review |
| title_short | Measures of social connectedness in adult populations: a systematic review |
| title_sort | measures of social connectedness in adult populations a systematic review |
| topic | Review Social connectedness Public health Loneliness Social support Psychometric properties |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20779-0 |
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