Healthy social connections: a multi-disciplinary exploration

This review provides a pragmatic exploration of the literature of social connection from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Based on a pragmatic review of literature, the review first defines social connection and then explores the relevance of social connection to contemporary discussions of social isolation and loneliness. It considers multiple avenues of literature relevant to social connection, including the concepts of ‘social capital’, ‘social ties’ and ‘social relationships’, and so on. The result of exploring the literature is a prototype or theoretical model that combines different disciplines’ perspectives and systematises these to produce a practical tool for considering social connectedness. The authors maintain that understanding social connections, the personal resources demanded to make and maintain these and the benefits therefrom is significant when considering interventions aiming to address social isolation and loneliness.