Mechanisms of Social Interaction and Virtual Connections as Strong Predictors of Wellbeing of Older Adults

Sen, Keya; Prybutok, Victor R.; Prybutok, Gayle; Senn, William

doi:10.3390/healthcare10030553

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…The social support provided by students can foster emotional health for the isolated, frail, older adult who is no longer at the center of a network of friends and acquaintances. Older adults with social connections have a high quality of life under social support [ 11 ], are motivated to work and engage in social activities, and have an inclusive attitude that promotes a healthy lifestyle [ 12 ]. Hence, they have low risk of conditions such as depression, additive behaviors, or dementia [ 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Effect of Contactless Intergenerational Befriending Intervention on Social Isolation Among Older Adults and Students’ Attitude Toward Companionship: Content Analysis

Sen,

Laheji,

Ramamonjiarivelo

et al. 2024

JMIR Aging

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Background Intergenerational friendship, a mechanism of social support, is an effective intervention to reduce the increasing risk of social isolation (SI) and develop companionship in the older adult population. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine the psychosocial intervention of befriending via technology use as a primary form of contactless socialization. Objective The study aims to explore the effectiveness of the befriending intervention through a contactless, intergenerational service-learning project on older adult emotions, especially boredom and loneliness as the key attributes of SI, and on students’ attitude toward companionship. Methods During the months of January to April 2022 , undergraduate students enrolled in a health administration course with a special focus on culture were asked to be involved in a contactless, intergenerational service-learning project (n=46). In this study, contactless intervention meant communication using the telephone and apps such as FaceTime and Zoom. Students were paired with older adults to have at least a 30-minute weekly conversation, for 8 weeks, via telephone or an internet-based app such as FaceTime. Students were asked to write a half-page diary after each interaction and a 1-page reflection at the end of the fourth week and at the end of the service-learning project. At the completion of the project, the researchers also surveyed the older adults to assess the impact of the project using a 5-item open-ended questionnaire. Following a heuristic approach and content analysis, student artifacts (110,970 words; 118-page, single-spaced Microsoft Word document) and the older adult surveys were analyzed using MAXQDA, (VERBI GmbH). Qualitative data were extracted to assess the impact of service learning on SI by measuring the attributes of boredom and loneliness among 46 older adults. Students’ attitudes toward companionship were also assessed using data from their diaries and reflections. Results Overall, three major constructs were identified: (1) meaningful engagement, defined as feeling safe, having increased confidence, and having reduced boredom; (2) internal motivation to participate in the weekly interaction, defined as discussion about daily life experience, level of happiness, and ability to exert personal control over the situation; and (3) intergenerational befriending, defined as perceived benefits from the friendly nature of the interaction, ability to comfortably connect with students, and positive feeling and attitude toward the student. Conclusions The contactless, intergenerational befriending intervention reduced boredom and loneliness among older adults and enhanced positive attitude and confidence among university students. Students helped older adults to develop digital skills for the use of apps and social media. Older adults showed interest in the intervention and shared their daily life experiences with the students, which helped to reduce the gap between generations. Findings indicate the effectiveness of an intergenerational service-learning intervention on SI reduction and increased positive attitude among college students.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Effect of Contactless Intergenerational Befriending Intervention on Social Isolation Among Older Adults and Students’ Attitude Toward Companionship: Content Analysis

Sen,

Laheji,

Ramamonjiarivelo

et al. 2024

JMIR Aging

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, the relationship between the family and community environment and life satisfaction in older adults has received widespread academic attention [ 9 , 19 ]. Studies have found that an increase in the breadth and depth of family and social networks can enhance life satisfaction among older adults [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. However, research on the mechanisms of influence between the two is somewhat lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Networks, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction of Older Adults in China

Cheng

Song

et al. 2022

Healthcare

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Older adults’ family networks and social networks are important factors that influence life satisfaction, but their transmission mechanisms have not been adequately discussed. The objective of this study was to examine the mechanisms through which family networks and social networks influence the life satisfaction of older adults. We empirically examined the effects and mechanisms of older adults’ family networks and social networks on their life satisfaction using the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey with a sample size of 11,418 older adults aged 60 years and older. In the research sample, 6.47% of older adults were subjected to at least one form of mistreatment. The research results indicate that family networks (β = 0.0060, p < 0.05) and social networks (β = 0.0122, p < 0.01) have a significant positive effect on older adults’ life satisfaction. The mechanism-of-action test found that family networks and social networks enhance older adults’ life satisfaction, mainly by reducing the level of physical mistreatment they experience, but these networks cannot improve the life satisfaction of the elderly by reducing their emotional mistreatment. Further research found that community-provided medical escorts, home chores, and meal delivery services can all alleviate the decline in life satisfaction among older adults due to emotional mistreatment. This study deepens our understanding of how older adults’ family and social networks affect their life satisfaction as we examine the mediating role of the physical and emotional mistreatment of older adults and discuss the effects of potential policy interventions.

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Neighborhood effect, virtual social networks, and farmers' social e‐commerce participation behavior

Wang,

Wu,

Chen

2023

Agribusiness

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The development of social e‐commerce can integrate the production, circulation, and sales of agricultural products; realize the digitalization of the agricultural production process; and promote farmers' savings and profits. On the basis of the stimulus–organism–response theory and the embedding theories, microsurvey data of 302 farmers regarding the winter jujube production area of the Dali facility in the Shaanxi Province were used to empirically test the impact of neighborhood effect (NE) and virtual social networks on farmers' participation in social e‐commerce, and the interaction effect of the two aspects. Additionally, we analyzed its mechanism under the framework of “social networks‐farmers' cognition‐social e‐commerce participation behavior (SEPB).” The research results are as follows. First, neighborhood participation, social software friends, and information release have a significant positive impact on farmers' SEPB, whereas information reception has a negative impact. Second, the empirical results considering the comprehensive effects of various variables show that NE, network communication, and network participation (NP) can all promote farmers' participation in social e‐commerce, and NP is complementary to NE. Third, mechanism analysis shows that NE and NP produce partial mediating effect and complete mediating effect, respectively, through self‐competence recognition (SR), which in turn positively impacts the SEPB. In the heterogeneity analysis, for farmers with a plantation area of less than or equal to 0.447 ha, SR has a partial mediating effect on the process of NE affecting SEPB, whereas the motivating factor is NP. In terms of labor force structure, only the percentage of nonagricultural workers exceeds 0.253, NE and NP affect SEPB through SR. This study can provide a reference for farmers to rationally use their social networks, and guide the formulation of social e‐commerce support policies at the national level.

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Mechanisms of Social Interaction and Virtual Connections as Strong Predictors of Wellbeing of Older Adults

Cited by 8 publications

References 57 publications

Examining the Effect of Contactless Intergenerational Befriending Intervention on Social Isolation Among Older Adults and Students’ Attitude Toward Companionship: Content Analysis

Examining the Effect of Contactless Intergenerational Befriending Intervention on Social Isolation Among Older Adults and Students’ Attitude Toward Companionship: Content Analysis

Family Networks, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction of Older Adults in China

Neighborhood effect, virtual social networks, and farmers' social e‐commerce participation behavior

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