Better Together: Social Contact and Loneliness Among U.S. Older Adults During COVID-19.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
; 78(2): 359-369, 2023 02 19.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36112389
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in older adults' greater reliance on technology to contact friends and families. However, less is known regarding the association between frequency of varying modes of communication and loneliness among older adults during COVID-19, and current findings are mixed. Therefore, this study aimed to advance this understanding.METHODS:
Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study COVID-19 supplement data, multinomial regression analyses assessed how the frequency of four modes of contact (i.e., phone calls; electronic and social messaging such as e-mails/texts/social media messages; video calls; and in-person visits) during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with feelings of loneliness among older adults compared to prepandemic (n = 2,564).RESULTS:
Compared to never/less than once a week in-person visits, daily in-person visits were associated with lower odds of reporting more frequent loneliness during COVID-19 versus "about the same" as pre-COVID-19 while controlling for demographics, access to information and communication technologies (ICTs), digital literacy, and health covariates. Compared to those who reported never/less than once a week contact by electronic and social messaging, more frequent contact was associated with higher odds of reporting more frequent loneliness during COVID-19 versus "about the same" as pre-COVID-19 while controlling for other variables in the model. Phone calls and video calls were not significantly related to loneliness.DISCUSSION:
Results suggest that ICTs may not decrease loneliness among older adults. This article discusses potential reasons and barriers, including digital exclusion, and provides recommendations to mitigate the negative effects of social isolation through technology for older adults.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Loneliness
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
Journal subject:
CIENCIAS SOCIAIS
/
GERIATRIA
/
PSICOLOGIA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Estados Unidos
Publication country:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
/
EUA
/
UNITED STATES
/
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
/
US
/
USA