Feeling lonely and dissatisfied - understanding social network functioning in stroke survivors

Post-stroke social networks are associated with functional recovery. However, there is little information on the social networks of stroke survivors and whether institutionalised and community-dwelling stroke survivors view their social relationships differently. To i) examine social networks of stroke survivors and any influencing sociodemographic factors, as well as to ii) compare differences between institutionalised and community-dwelling stroke survivors. Stroke survivors were recruited from eight healthcare institutions in Singapore. Stroke Social Network Scale (SSNS) was administered to assess the social network functioning. Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) was used to evaluate state boredom levels. 160 stroke survivors completed the study. Stroke survivors reported a mean (SD) of 53.7(17.2) on the SSNS total score. Institutionalised stroke survivors reported significantly lower SSNS scores than community-dwelling stroke survivors, (U = 1856.5, z=-4.234, p