Department of Child and Family Studies.
Human Life Research Center, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2017 Sep 1;72(5):846-855. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbw163.
This study sought to examine the relationship between Internet use and suicidal ideation in Korean older adults and the mediating roles of social relationships and depressive symptoms.
A nationally representative sample of older adults aged 50 or older (N = 6,306), from four waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study, was used in the analyses. All analyses were conducted using generalized estimation equations, and the mediation effects of social relationship satisfaction and depression in the relationship between Internet use and suicidal ideation were calculated using the product-of-coefficients approach.
Internet use was linked with lower levels of suicidal ideation directly and indirectly via the protective effects of Internet use on lowering depression, which was partially mediated by the positive influence Internet use has on older adults' social relationship satisfaction.
The results support previous theories about the relationship between social relationships, depression, and suicidal behavior and prior results about how the Internet might confer mental and social health benefits to older adults. This suggests that the Internet is an important social and health activity that contributes to lowering suicidal ideation in older adults.
本研究旨在探讨韩国老年人上网与自杀意念之间的关系，以及社会关系和抑郁症状的中介作用。
本研究使用了来自韩国福利面板研究（Korean Welfare Panel Study）的四个波次中 50 岁及以上的具有全国代表性的老年人样本（N=6306）。所有分析均采用广义估计方程进行，使用乘积系数法计算了社会关系满意度和抑郁在上网与自杀意念之间的关系中的中介作用。
上网与自杀意念呈直接负相关，通过上网对降低抑郁的保护作用呈间接负相关，而上网对老年人社会关系满意度的积极影响部分中介了这种关系。
研究结果支持了关于社会关系、抑郁和自杀行为之间关系的先前理论，以及关于互联网如何为老年人带来心理和社会健康益处的先前结果。这表明，互联网是一种重要的社会和健康活动，有助于降低老年人的自杀意念。
