The Functions of Social Bonds: Perspectives From Research on Social Support, Loneliness and Social Isolation

Abstract

Social bonds have long been considered essential for healthy functioning (Durkheim, 1897/1951; Faris, 1934; Murray, 1938), but this idea has been elaborated and tested most extensively in the past decade. Why this topic has captured so much attention at this point in history is an interesting question (cf., Gottlieb, 1983a). What is most clear is that researchers from quite diverse disciplines are actively working to understand how social bonds affect well-being. Interest in this topic is reflected in three different lines of work: research on social support, loneliness and social isolation. Studies of social support suggest that social relationships facilitate adjustment to stressful life circumstances and thereby decrease vulnerability to stress-related disorders. Research on loneliness emphasizes basic human needs for satisfying social ties and suggests that the absence or disruption of social bonds is in itself a cause of emotional distress. Sociological analyses of social isolation suggest that social relationships serve to inhibit deviant behavior as well as to provide support and companionship. This research has linked social isolation to psychopathology and to increased mortality due to alcoholism and suicide.