Ma Yiming, Liang Changyong, Yang Xuejie, Zhang Haitao, Zhao Shuping, Lu Liyan
The School of Management, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
The School of Management, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Oct 20;9(11):1403. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9111403.
Older people with hearing impairment are more likely to develop depressive symptoms due to physical disability and loss of social communication. This study investigated the effects of social media on social relations, subjective aging, and depressive symptoms in these older adults based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework. It provides new empirical evidence to support improving the mental health and rebuilding the social relations of older people. A formal questionnaire was designed using the Wenjuanxing platform and distributed online through WeChat; 643 valid questionnaires were received from older people with self-reported hearing impairments, and SmartPLS 3.28 was used to analyze the data. The results show that (1) social media significantly impacts the social relations of older people with hearing impairment (social networks, β = 0.132, T = 3.444; social support, β = 0.129, T = 2.95; social isolation, β = 0.107, T = 2.505). (2) For these older people, social isolation has the biggest impact on their psychosocial loss (β = 0.456, T = 10.458), followed by the impact of social support (β = 0.103, T = 2.014); a hypothesis about social network size was not confirmed (β = 0.007, T = 0.182). Both social media (β = 0.096, T = 2.249) and social support (β = 0.174, T = 4.434) significantly affect the self-efficacy of hearing-impaired older people. (3) Both subjective aging (psychosocial loss, β = 0.260, T = 6.036; self-efficacy, β = 0.106, T = 3.15) and social isolation (β = 0.268, T = 6.307) significantly affect depressive symptoms in older people with hearing impairment. This study expands the theories of social media aging cognition, social support, and social networks and can provide practical contributions to the social media use and mental health of special persons 60 years and older.
听力受损的老年人由于身体残疾和社交沟通的丧失，更有可能出现抑郁症状。本研究基于刺激-机体-反应（S-O-R）框架，调查了社交媒体对这些老年人的社会关系、主观衰老和抑郁症状的影响。它为改善老年人的心理健康和重建社会关系提供了新的实证证据。使用问卷星平台设计了一份正式问卷，并通过微信在线发放；共收到643份来自自述有听力障碍的老年人的有效问卷，并使用SmartPLS 3.28进行数据分析。结果表明：（1）社交媒体对听力受损老年人的社会关系有显著影响（社交网络，β = 0.132，T = 3.444；社会支持，β = 0.129，T = 2.95；社会隔离，β = 0.107，T = 2.505）。（2）对于这些老年人，社会隔离对其心理社会丧失的影响最大（β = 0.456，T = 10.458），其次是社会支持的影响（β = 0.103，T = 2.014）；关于社交网络规模的假设未得到证实（β = 0.007，T = 0.182）。社交媒体（β = 0.096，T = 2.249）和社会支持（β = 0.174，T = 4.434）均对听力受损老年人的自我效能感有显著影响。（3）主观衰老（心理社会丧失，β = 0.260，T = 6.036；自我效能感，β = 0.106，T = 3.15）和社会隔离（β = 0.268，T = 6.307）均对听力受损老年人的抑郁症状有显著影响。本研究扩展了社交媒体衰老认知、社会支持和社会网络的理论，并可为60岁及以上特殊人群的社交媒体使用和心理健康提供实际贡献。
