Personal networks and associations with psychological distress among young and older adults

Márquez-Hernández

Journal of Advanced Nursing

et al. 2020

Aim The objective of this study was to explore interpersonal communication, empathy, and stress perceived by nursing students who use social networks. Design A cross‐sectional study was performed. Methods A convenience sample of 135 nursing students. For data collection, the following instruments were used: The WhatsApp Negative Impact Scale, The Perceived Stress Scale, The Interpersonal Communication Competence Inventory, and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy. Data collection took place in February 2020. Results A negative correlation was found between the WhatsApp Negative Impact and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (rs = −0.204; p = .019). Conversely, a positive correlation was also observed between the Interpersonal Communication Competence Inventory and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (rs = 0.212; p = .014). Conclusion Nursing students’ use of new technology could be problematic and interfere with their therapeutic communication skills. Impact This study addresses the problem of social network use in the clinical setting and how this can influence nursing students’ therapeutic communication skills with patients. The results of this study have showed that, among nursing students, social network use has a negative impact, showing decreased empathy. Likewise, students who show a greater level of empathy have better interpersonal communication skills. However, significant results were not found between psychological distress and problematic social network use. Therefore, it is necessary to perform additional studies that would further explore this aspect. This study allows us to explore the negative impact of social networks on therapeutic communication, with the aim of developing prevention strategies at university institutions.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, excessive SNS use has been associated with an increase in psychological distress (Child & Lawton, 2020). Psychological distress can have a negative influence on interpersonal relationships (Wong et al., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal communication, empathy, and stress perceived by nursing students who use social networks

Márquez-Hernández

Journal of Advanced Nursing

et al. 2020

Sociology Health & Illness

“…Examples include the National Social Life, Health, and Ageing Project (NSHAP) (Cornwell et al . 2008, Waite 2017), the UC Berkeley Social Networks Study (UCNets) (Child and Lawton 2020, Fischer 2018), and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (Börsch‐Supan et al . 2013, Litwin and Stoeckel 2013).…”

Section: Health and Ageing: Suitability For Sociological Inquirymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When assessing the relationship between social networks and health, researchers must carefully specify what they mean by social networks because different conceptualisations can render different conclusions. For instance, Child and Lawton (2020) analysed UCNets data and found that certain egocentric network aspects were significantly related to psychological distress in later life (e.g., social companionship, emergency helpers, difficult/demanding ties) whereas other aspects were not (e.g., discusses important matters). York Cornwell and Waite (2012), meanwhile, used NSHAP data to study hypertension management among older adults.…”

Section: What Do We Know About Network and Health?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social networks and health in later life: a state of the literature

Roth

2020

Late life is a period frequently marked by decline in personal health and heightened need for social support. Consequently, the social networks in which individuals are embedded assume an increasingly central role in the health and wellbeing of older adults. In the present article, I review the state of the literature on social networks and health in later life. By drawing on insights from the sociology of ageing and the life course, I address new developments and current challenges within the field. Chief among these developments and challenges is the recognition that the ageing process does not occur in a vacuum. Rather, individuals are consistently exposed to numerous changes to their social lives which have strong implications for current and future health outcomes. Upon highlighting the latest innovations within the field of networks and health, I conclude with useful directions for future research.

“…On the other hand, females' out-of-home activities included social gatherings and meeting friends and relatives, religious and education. This division of types of activity along gender lines could be assumed to have role enforcement aspects as stipulated in previous scholarly work [46,47].…”

Section: Time-diary Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Giving Voice to the Environment as the Silent Partner in Aging: Examining the Moderating Roles of Gender and Family Structure in Older Adult Wellbeing

Isaacson

Tripathi

Samanta

et al. 2020

IJERPH

Gerontological scholarship has long seen the environment to be a silent partner in aging. Environmental Gerontology, an established approach in Social Gerontology, has shown how the everyday lives of older adults are deeply entangled in socio-spatial environments. Adopting an Environmental Gerontology approach, we explore social and cultural dimensions of the association between out-of-home mobility and wellbeing among older adults in a north western city of India. This was established by combining high resolution time-space data collected using GPS receivers, questionnaire data and time diaries. Following a multi-staged analytical strategy, we first examine the correlation between out-of-home mobility and wellbeing using bivariate correlation. Second, we introduce gender and family structure into regression models as moderating variables to improve the models’ explanatory power. Finally, we use our results to reinterpret the Ecological Press Model of Aging to include familial structure as a factor that moderates environmental stress. Findings emphasize the central role that social constructs play in the long-established relationship between the environment and the wellbeing of older adults.