ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Social Disconnectedness and Depressive Symptoms Across Age Groups: Findings from a Non-Probability Sample of Employed U.S. Adults
Provisionally accepted
Moka Yoo-Jeong1*
Lesley Elena Steinman2
Annie L. Nguyen3
Malinee Neelamegam4Ashley L. Merianos5Ali Boolani6
Marcia G Ory7Idorenyin Udoh7Matthew Lee Smith7- 1Northeastern University, Boston, United States
- 2University of Washington, Seattle, United States
- 3University of California San Diego, La Jolla, United States
- 4University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Fort Worth, United States
- 5University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, United States
- 6Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, United States
- 7Texas A&M University, College Station, United States
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Background: Rates of social disconnectedness and depression have intensified in recent years. Yet, little is known about how they relate to one another across different age groups. This study assessed the relationship between social disconnectedness and depressive symptoms among U.S. adults of varying ages using an internet-delivered survey data collected between November 2021 and January 2022 from a non-probabilistic national sample of 2,496 employed adults aged 18-89 years. Methods: Participants completed Upstream Social Interaction Risk Scale (U-SIRS-13) and the Patient Health Questionnaire short version (PHQ-2). Within each of five age groups (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60+), descriptive statistics and Pearson’s r correlations were calculated for U-SIRS-13 and PHQ-2. Subsequently, logistic regression models were fitted to assess the relationship between the U-SIRS-13 and PHQ-2 (a score of 3 or greater indicated possible depression), controlling for sociodemographic covariates. Results: The prevalence of possible depression among participants was 31.6%, which ranged from 46.8% (ages 18-29) to 10.5% (ages 60+). U-SIRS-13 and PHQ-2 had significant associations in all age groups (Pearson’s r range: 0.283-0.275, P<0.001). Holding sociodemographic covariates constant, higher U-SIRS-13 scores were consistently associated with increased odds of possible depression across age groups (Odds Ratio range: 1.24-1.50, P<0.001). While possible depression was more prevalent among younger age groups (18-29 and 30-39), the relationship between social disconnectedness and possible depression was stronger among older age groups (40-49, 50-59, and 60+). Conclusions: This finding supports that regardless of age, individuals who experience higher levels of social disconnectedness are more likely to have possible depression Coordinated efforts are needed to address depressive symptomology and facilitate meaningful interactions with others in all age groups.
Keywords: social disconnectedness, Loneliness, Depressive symptom, young adults, Midlife adults
Received: 30 Sep 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yoo-Jeong, Steinman, Nguyen, Neelamegam, Merianos, Boolani, Ory, Udoh and Smith. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Moka Yoo-Jeong, m.yoo-jeong@northeastern.edu
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