Ten questions. Five minutes. A clearer picture than months of guessing.
Score each 0 (not at all), 1 (sometimes), or 2 (often/always).
1. Does your parent eat most meals alone? Eating alone is one of the strongest isolation predictors.
2. Has your parent stopped activities they used to enjoy? Withdrawal from hobbies is a behavioral indicator of depression and isolation.
3. Does your parent mention the same TV shows repeatedly? When TV becomes primary conversational content, daily life has stopped providing it.
4. Does your parent call more often with less to say? Increased frequency with decreased content is contact-seeking behavior.
5. Has grooming or home maintenance declined? Self-care declines when there is no expected audience.
6. Does your parent live alone? Single largest risk factor for social isolation.
7. Has your parent lost a spouse or close friend in the past 2 years? 6–24 months after loss carries the highest isolation risk.
8. Does your parent still drive? Loss of driving eliminates independence and spontaneous social contact. Most underrecognized isolation trigger.
9. Does your parent mention feeling like a burden? "I do not want to bother you" is the loneliness equivalent of a fire alarm.
10. Fewer than 3 social contacts per week outside family? Below this threshold crosses into clinical isolation territory.
0–5: Low risk. Stay aware. 6–12: Moderate. Add structure and engagement. 13–20: High risk. Direct conversation and proactive intervention needed.