The Impact of Hearing and Vision Impairment on Objective and Subjective Social Isolation From Family, Friends, and Congregation Members

This study examined the association between hearing and vision sensory impairment and objective and subjective social isolation from extended family, friends, and congregation members. We used data from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative survey of African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non-Hispanic Whites. We conducted six multivariable logistic regression models to determine how hearing and vision impairment were associated with objective isolation and subjective isolation from family, friends, and congregational networks. Hearing impairment was associated with a greater likelihood of being subjectively and objectively isolated from friends. Vision impairment was associated with a greater likelihood of being subjectively isolated from family and friends, and greater likelihood of being objectively isolated from friends. Counterintuitively, vision impairment was also associated with a reduced likelihood of being objectively and subjectively isolated from congregational members. These findings highlight the complexities in the relationship between hearing and vision sensory impairments and social isolation. Additional research is warranted to further determine how and why hearing and vision impairment are associated with increased risk of objective and subjective isolation from family and friends, and how and why vision impairment is associated with reduced likelihood of objective and subjective isolation from congregational members.