Department of Gerontology, McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Department of Sociology, Center for Healthy Aging and Development Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Gerontologist. 2024 Apr 1;64(4). doi: 10.1093/geront/gnad100.
This study investigated the association between information and communication technology (ICT) use and loneliness among community-dwelling older adults (aged 65+), as well as the mediating effects of social relations, perceived control, and purpose-in-life.
The study used data from the 2014 and 2018 Health and Retirement Study (N = 3,026), employing autoregressive path models with contemporaneous mediation to assess the association of 2 kinds of ICT use, social media communication and general computer use, with loneliness through the pathways of perceived social support, social contact, perceived constraints, and purpose-in-life.
Social media communication had a negative association with loneliness. Perceived social support and social contact mediated this association, but not perceived constraints, or purpose-in-life. General computer use did not have a significant total effect on loneliness; however, a significant indirect effect through perceived constraints, purpose-in-life, and social contact was found.
Our findings extended the existing literature regarding the important factors associated with variation in loneliness among older adults. Health programs and ICT solutions could be more effective in mitigating loneliness if they target the root causes of loneliness, including reducing perceptions of constraints and increasing a sense of purpose-in-life, along with strengthening social relationships.
本研究调查了社区居住的老年人（65 岁及以上）使用信息和通信技术（ICT）与孤独感之间的关系，以及社会关系、感知控制和生活目标感的中介作用。
该研究使用了 2014 年和 2018 年健康与退休研究（N=3026）的数据，采用同期中介的自回归路径模型，评估了两种 ICT 使用方式（社交媒体交流和一般计算机使用）通过感知社会支持、社会联系、感知约束和生活目标感与孤独感的关系。
社交媒体交流与孤独感呈负相关。感知社会支持和社会联系中介了这种关联，但感知约束和生活目标感没有中介作用。一般计算机使用对孤独感没有显著的总效应；然而，通过感知约束、生活目标感和社会联系发现了一个显著的间接效应。
我们的研究结果扩展了关于与老年人孤独感变化相关的重要因素的现有文献。如果健康计划和 ICT 解决方案能够针对孤独感的根本原因，包括减少感知约束和增强生活目标感，以及加强社会关系，那么它们在减轻孤独感方面可能会更加有效。
