Trends and Sociodemographic Correlates of Social Isolation in the United States, 2006-2024: Evidence from the General Social Survey.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Social isolation is a significant public health concern, yet trends across diverse demographic groups-including age-differentiated patterns across the adult life course-remain poorly characterized. This study examines the prevalence, temporal trends, and sociodemographic correlates of social isolation among U.S. adults of all ages. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Drawing on 10 waves of the General Social Survey (2006-2024; N = 28,269), this study constructs an adapted three-domain social isolation typology-living arrangement, social contact frequency, and religious attendance-benchmarked against the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index and Cornwell and Waite's (2009) framework. Weighted multinomial logistic regression and a counterfactual decomposition estimated sociodemographic correlates and the contribution of declining religious participation to the overall trend. RESULTS An estimated 19.3% of U.S. adults were socially isolated and 2.0% severely isolated. Social integration scores declined from 2006 to a nadir in 2010, with partial recovery by 2024. Young adults (18-34) showed the highest bivariate isolation prevalence (22.5%), but lower or comparable adjusted odds once marital status and living arrangement were accounted for. Male gender, unmarried status, lower income, and non-urban residence were independently associated with higher isolation odds, whereas Black and Hispanic respondents showed lower odds than White respondents. Religious participation declined steadily, accounting for approximately 60% of the overall decline in social integration. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Spanning two decades-including the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the opioid epidemic, and the COVID-19 pandemic-this study extends the predominantly older-adult focus of prior research and identifies sociodemographic risk profiles for intervention, with implications for public health policy.