One facet of the growing social media phenomenon is the opportunity to directly appeal to prospective research participants. An example of this is Facebook advertising to defined populations. In conjunction with online data collection, social media advertising can simplify and accelerate data collection, and it can do so at greatly reduced costs. Thanks to these contemporary tools, responses can be collected at the same time from participants living in Vancouver, Toronto, and St. John's. In this article, we describe how social media can be used for rapid and cost-effective data collection. Moreover, these methods allow researchers to directly access prospective study participants who may be otherwise difficult to reach (because of their low prevalence, their remote location, or organisational barriers). For illustrative purposes, we review methods from 2 studies: 1 of older adults with bipolar disorder and 1 of Canadian paramedics and their spouses. In both cases, participants clicked sociodemographically targeted Facebook advertisements and were directed to online study questionnaires. Based primarily on these 2 lines of research, we offer recommendations and best practices for researchers interested in utilizing social media for online recruitment and data collection. We contend that in many instances, social media may be the most effective means to recruit participants from low-prevalence and invisible populations. The majority of Canadians, and indeed much more of the world population than was previously accessible, can be reached via social media today. In addition to offering strategies to improve participant communication, we also review the limitations of social media advertising and online research.

This study addresses the adaptive value of functions of reminiscence with respect to physical and mental health in later life. A model examining the relationships between the functions of reminiscence and life satisfaction, psychiatric distress, and health is presented and tested. Self-positive (reminiscence for Identity, Death Preparation, and Problem Solving) and self-negative (reminiscence for Boredom Reduction, Bitterness Revival, and Intimacy Maintenance) functions have statistically significant and direct associations with the well-being of this sample of older adults, the first positively and the second negatively. Prosocial functions (reminiscence for Conversation, and to Teach-Inform Others) appear to have no direct link with health. Self-functions appear to have an important and lasting influence on physical and mental health, whereas prosocial functions may affect health by means of their role in emotional regulation.

This study examines the extent to which various forms of reminiscence predict life satisfaction and psychiatric distress with and without control for the contribution of personality traits (n=420). Among older adults, reminiscences to revive old problems and to fill a void of stimulation were associated with lower life satisfaction and greater psychiatric distress. Reminiscence to maintain connection with a departed person also predicted psychiatric distress. In contrast, reminiscences for death preparation and to foster conversation were linked with higher life satisfaction. Based on our proposed model of the functions of reminiscence, discussion focuses on adaptive and non-adaptive uses of reminiscence in later life.

The results of this study are discussed relative to theory and the operational definition of caregiver burden. Findings can be generalized with greater confidence given the representative and national composition of caregivers recruited for this study.

This study examines the three facets of psychological resilience (i.e., perceived control, commitment to living, challenge versus stability) as predictors of depressive symptoms over time among spousal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer disease; these resilience factors were considered over and above dementia-related and socio-demographic control variables. A sample of 105 cohabiting spouses of persons diagnosed with probable or possible Alzheimer disease was recruited for this study. Multilevel modeling enabled us to examine baseline resilience, and the direction and magnitude of change in resilience over time, as distinct predictors of depressive symptoms one year later, and change in depressive symptoms between points of measurement. Both Time 1 control and challenge predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms one year later; furthermore, an increase in challenge over this interval predicted lower Time 2 depressive symptoms. In contrast, commitment did not emerge as a statistically significant predictor of caregiver depression. Findings of this study provide general support for the stress process model of caregiving; in particular, the central role of intra-psychic factors as significant predictors of depressive symptoms over time.