Cornell University
Library
Cornell UniversityLibrary

eCommons

Help
Log In(current)
  1. Home
  2. Cornell University Graduate School
  3. Cornell Theses and Dissertations
  4. Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Inflammation: A Latent Profile Analysis

Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Inflammation: A Latent Profile Analysis

File(s)
Cheng_cornell_0058O_12077.pdf (707.83 KB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://doi.org/10.7298/vje2-pj45
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/115804
Collections
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Cheng, Xi
Abstract

Loneliness and social isolation are linked to a multitude of adverse health outcomes. One proposed mechanism in which loneliness and social isolation are hypothesized to influence adverse health outcomes is through their independent influences on inflammatory responses. However, as two overlapping but distinct concepts, research on their interactive effect on inflammation is lacking. The current analysis sought to identify profiles of loneliness and social isolation using latent profile analysis (LPA) with data from wave 2 of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (n=1255). The analysis identified four classes: ‘Majority’ (low loneliness and social isolation), ‘Resilience’ (low loneliness and high social isolation), ‘Vulnerable’ (high loneliness and low social isolation), and ‘Vulnerable Stable’ (high loneliness and social isolation) class. Following the identification of latent profiles or classes of loneliness and social isolation, we investigated the sociodemographic determinants of belonging to the different classes and looked at the association of class membership with three inflammatory cytokines (InterLeukin 6, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein). The odds of being in different classes vary with age and educational levels but not gender. Contrary to previous studies, our results did not find any statistically signification associations between the joint loneliness and social isolation classes and the inflammatory indicators. Overall, the findings illustrate the potential of person-centered approaches for identifying individuals for whom joint patterns of loneliness and social isolation may either promote or counteract well-being.

Description
47 pages
Date Issued
2024-05
Keywords
Inflammation
•
Loneliness
•
Social Isolation
Committee Chair
Ong, Anthony
Committee Member
Thoemmes, Felix
Degree Discipline
Human Development
Degree Name
M.A., Human Development
Degree Level
Master of Arts
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Type
dissertation or thesis
Link(s) to Catalog Record
https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/16575519

Site Statistics | Help

About eCommons | Policies | Terms of use | Contact Us

copyright © 2002-2026 Cornell University Library | Privacy | Web Accessibility Assistance