Internet Use and Depression Among Retired Older Adults in the United States: A Longitudinal Analysis
Internet Use and Depression Among Retired Older Adults in the United States: A Longitudinal Analysis
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DOI：
10.1093/geronb/gbu018
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发表时间：
2014-09-01
影响因子：
6.2
通讯作者：
Hale, Timothy M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cotten, Shelia R.;Ford, George;Hale, Timothy M.
目标.本研究的目的是探讨美国退休老年人互联网使用与抑郁症常用预测因子（CES-D）变化之间的关系。从四波（2002-2008年）的健康和退休调查的数据分析，我们评估是否可用和常用的抑郁症状态的指数受到影响的指数和互联网使用的先验值。样本包括3，075名受访者，他们观察了4波数据，总共产生了12，300个观察结果。我们在一个完全样本和一个配对样本中分析了互联网使用和过去抑郁对抑郁的影响。我们还对混杂因素进行了非正式测试。最后，我们测试了一个基本的中介模型，以确定互联网使用是否通过其与孤独和社会孤立的关系影响抑郁症。通过各种方法，我们发现互联网使用对美国退休老年人的心理健康有积极的贡献，互联网使用使抑郁状态的概率降低了三分之一。我们没有发现混淆的证据。发现了一些调解的证据。我们的动态概率模型表明，对于美国退休的老年人，互联网的使用被发现可以减少约33%的抑郁状态的概率。家庭中的人数在一定程度上调节了这种关系，独居的人抑郁症的减少幅度最大。这提供了一些证据，表明将互联网使用与抑郁联系起来的机制是对社会孤立和孤独的补救。鼓励老年人使用互联网可能有助于减少孤独和抑郁。
Objectives. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between Internet use among retired older adults in the United States and changes in a commonly used predictor of depression (the CES-D).Method. Analyzing data from four waves (2002-2008) of the Health and Retirement Survey, we assess whether an available and commonly used index of a depression state was affected by prior values of the index and Internet use. The sample includes 3,075 respondents observed over 4 waves of data, yielding a total of 12,300 observations. We analyzed the effect on depression of Internet use and past depression in a full sample and a matched sample. We also conducted informal tests for confounders. Finally, we tested a basic mediation model to determine whether Internet use affected depression through its relationship with loneliness and social isolation.Results. Across methods, we found a positive contribution of Internet use to mental well-being of retired older adults in the United States, where Internet use reduced the probability of a depression state by one third. We found no evidence of confounding. Some evidence of mediation was found.Discussion. Our dynamic probit model indicates that for retired older adults in the United States, Internet use was found to reduce the probability of a depressed state by about 33%. Number of people in the household partially mediates this relationship, with the reduction in depression largest for people living alone. This provides some evidence that the mechanism linking Internet use to depression is the remediation of social isolation and loneliness. Encouraging older adults to use the Internet may help decrease isolation and depression.