Social scientists have studied several distinct features of social connection offered by relationships (Smith and Christakis 2008). Social isolation refers to the relative absence of social relationships. Social integration refers to overall level of involvement with informal social relationships, such as having a spouse, and with formal social relationships, such as those with religious institutions and volunteer organizations. Quality of relationships includes positive aspects of relationships, such as emotional support provided by significant others, and strained aspects of relationships, such as conflict and stress. Social networks refer to the web of social relationships surrounding an individual, in particular, structural features, such as the type and strength of each social relationship. Each of these aspects of social relationships affects health. We discuss the broad effects of these features of relationships for health, and, for ease of discussion, we use the terms “social relationships” and “social ties” interchangeably throughout this article.
