Trajectories of loneliness and objective social isolation and associations between persistent loneliness and self-reported personal recovery in a cohort of secondary mental health service users in the UK

BACKGROUND: Loneliness is a frequent and distressing experience among people with mental health problems. However, few longitudinal studies have so far investigated the trajectories of loneliness and objective social isolation, and the extent to which both issues may impact mental health outcomes among mental health service users. Therefore, this study aims to describe the trajectories of loneliness and objective social isolation and their associations with self-rated personal recovery among people leaving crisis resolution teams (CRTs). METHODS: A total of 224 participants receiving care from CRTs (recruited for a large multi-site randomised controlled trial) were included in this longitudinal cohort study. They completed the eight-item University of California at Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (ULS-8), Lubben-Social Network Scale (LNSN-6), and the Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery (QPR) (primary outcome) at baseline, 4- and 18-month follow-up, as well as baseline sociodemographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: We compared groups who were persistently lonely (at all time points), intermittently lonely (at one or two time points) and never lonely. After adjusting for all potential confounders and baseline predictive variables, persistent severe loneliness was associated with worse personal recovery at 18-month follow-up compared with the never lonely (reference group) (coef. = − 12.8, 95% CI -11.8, − 3.8, p < .001), as was being intermittently lonely (coef. = − 7.8, 95% CI -18.8, − 6.8, p < .001). The persistently objectively social isolated group (coef. = − 9.8, 95% CI -15.7, − 3.8, p = .001) also had poorer self-rated recovery at 18-month follow-up than those who were not socially isolated at any timepoint (i.e., reference category). CONCLUSION: Results suggest that both persistent loneliness and objective social isolation are associated with poorer self-rated recovery following a crisis, compatible with a causal relationship. These findings suggest a potential role for interventions aimed at alleviating loneliness and objective social isolation in improving recovery outcomes for people with mental health symptoms. Increased awareness of both issues among health practitioners is also warranted. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-021-03430-9.