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Senior Citizens Who Master Computer Have Less
Depression
Aug. 18, 2005 – Senior citizens who become adept at
using a computer appear to have fewer depressive symptoms than those
older adults who aren’t so technologically connected.
That’s the finding of a research study, Depression
and Social Support Among Older Adult Computer Users, presented August 18
at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological
Association.
The data regarding computer use and depressive
symptoms was collected as part of the latest wave of an ongoing
longitudinal study that is designed to determine the changes over time
in physical health, mental health and social activity of older adults
living in lower Manhattan.
Called VOICES (Villagers Over 65 Independent Living
Challenges and Expectations), the research is being sponsored by Village
Care of New York, a not-for-profit long-term care provider. “Villagers”
refers to persons living in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and environs,
representing the core group of individuals being followed over the
course of the study, which began in 1998.
The computer use study was conducted by Edward
Cisek, PhD, and Kathleen Triche, DSW, CSW.
Triche, who presented the study’s findings at the
conference in Washington, D.C., said that the researchers decided to
look into the impact of the growing use of computers by seniors on the
hypothesis that those using computers would report fewer depressive
symptoms than non-users.
Through observations at one of Village Care’s
senior information centers in New York City, which Triche directs,
computer use there seemed to give older adults a greater connection with
the world around them.
“Given the social and informational nature of older
adults’ computer practices – e-mail, chat rooms and health information
gathering, for example, it seemed likely that this would be beneficial
to an individual’s overall mental health,” Triche said.
In the computer study, it was determined, after
controlling for a number of background characteristics, that seniors who
were computer users reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms
than their counterparts who do not use the computer.
Researchers also found that computer users tended
to be among the younger members of the study group and have higher
annual household incomes, while also reporting higher functioning in
activities of daily living than the rest of the seniors in the study
group.
“Clearly, those older adults in this study who use
computers report fewer depressive symptoms, regardless of how many hours
per week they use the computers,” Triche said, cautioning, however that
these findings are among a generally highly educated group residing in a
limited geographic area.
Future research in this area should include more
diverse populations and use other measures of social connectiveness.
Participants in the survey included an urban
community sample of 206 adults over the age of 65 (with a mean age of
80) that was randomly selected from three zip codes in lower Manhattan.
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