Validation of the Portuguese version of the social isolation scale with a sample of community-dwelling older adults.
João Tavares, Ana Faria, Delphine Gonçalves and 3 others
PMID 37128493WHAT IT FOUND
The Portuguese version of the Social Isolation Scale reliably measures both objective contact and subjective belonging in community-dwelling older adults.
Nurses working in community settings can use this brief tool to identify isolation risks more accurately than by assessing social networks alone.
Key findings
01The scale demonstrated adequate construct validity, with a two-factor model (connectedness and belongingness) showing good fit to the data.
02Internal consistency for the total scale was acceptable, though the belongingness subscale showed lower reliability than the connectedness subscale.
03The instrument showed strong temporal stability (test-retest) and excellent agreement between different raters.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample, predominantly rural, and excluded people living in long-term care facilities or those with cognitive impairment. Participants were generally active and autonomous, which may mean socially isolated individuals were underrepresented. The belongingness subscale had lower internal consistency, suggesting the subjective component of isolation is harder to measure reliably with just three items. Data collection occurred during the pandemic, which may have influenced recruitment and participation.
Declared interests
The study was funded by national Portuguese science funds (FCT). The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the scale is equally reliable for both components. The subjective 'belongingness' subscale had lower internal consistency than the objective 'connectedness' subscale, so interpretations based solely on the belongingness score should be made with more caution.