Computer Use by Seniors May Be Good for Their Mental Health

Newswise
— Seniors who become adept at and use 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.

Newsletter AgeEconomie

Laisser un commentaire