Studying adolescent social isolation in school-based social networks: implications for health research

Journal article : Comment

In a systematic review by Collonnaz et al (2024) the authors provide a comprehensive overview of how social isolation has been defined and measured in adolescent health behaviour research. The review focuses on studies that use peer nomination data and social network analysis within school settings. They identify 14 different ways that social isolation has been defined in the literature and argue the need for future research to identify the “best measure of social isolation” and reach consensus on its meaning. However, we argue that there is no "best" measure, as social isolation is multifaceted. This is because peer nomination data can reflect different forms of social isolation - such as having no connections at all, receiving, but not sending nominations, or sending, but not receiving nominations. Evidence suggests these subtypes may reflect distinct social processes and relate to health outcomes differently. Therefore, these measures warrant separate consideration and research. We discuss how choosing only one measure would occlude important links to adolescent health and how inconsistent measures of isolation hinder our ability to synthesise and compare evidence across studies.

Authors: Crudgington, H; Andrews, JL

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Volume: 80
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 207-208
• Publication date: 2025-12-09
• Acceptance date: 2025-11-26
• DOI: 10.1136/jech-2025-225428
• EISSN: 1470-2738
• ISSN: 0143-005X
• Language: English
• Subtype: Comment