Keywords

1 Introduction

Between 5 and 10 million adults, aged 50 and older, experience feelings of depression, a condition that can lead to decline in overall well-being [1, 2]. Studies attribute the prevalence of depressive symptoms to the decrease in social interaction, which often results from retirement and age related physical and cognitive decline. All of these may lead to increased loneliness, isolation, and depression [1, 3]. In recent years, there has been an increase in studies focused on how information and communication technology (ICT) use may mitigate such threats through the building and bolstering of social networks [1, 4–7]. Furthermore, ICT use can be especially beneficial among older adults with limited mobility and access to face-to-face interactions and may promote an individual’s sense of mattering [8–10]. Mattering, or one’s perception that they are important to, acknowledged by, and relied upon by others, is a key mechanism to reduce depression [11–13].

To date, the relationship between ICT use and mattering has received limited scholarly attention [8–10]. The current research, however, proposes mattering as a mechanism through which ICT use may decrease feelings of depression and promote well-being among older adults by forging and strengthening social networks and providing platforms for the communication of importance, commitment, and dependence. For the purposes of our study, we empirically examine how ICT use and mattering affect depression among older adults.

Mattering is posited as a mechanism tied to both stress-buffering and the reduction in depressive feelings [11–14]. Conceptually, mattering can be broken down into three main tenets: attention, importance, and dependence and refers to the belief that one is the object of another’s concern and relies on one to fill some sort of need [11–18]. Mattering may be especially relevant to older adults as it is proposed that the sense of mattering evolves over the life course as individuals experience and obtain different role obligations [14, 16, 18]. For instance, an individual may experience a decrease in their mattering level upon retirement, as they may perceive that fewer people rely on them to fill a specific role [16, 18]. Likewise, perceived decreases in mattering may occur when an individual experiences personal role changes, such as losing a spouse [16, 18]. A decrease in mattering can, in turn, lead to increased feelings of depression [11–13].

There is some limited research to suggest that ICTs promote mattering among younger adults and minorities [8–10]. There is a dearth of research, however, regarding ICTs and mattering among older adults. Furthermore, the effect of the relationship of ICT use and mattering on older adults’ depressive symptoms has yet to be empirically examined. To this end, we hypothesize the following:

  • H1: ICT Use will be Inversely Associated with Symptoms of Depression.

  • H2: The Association between ICT Use and Symptoms of Depression will be Mediated by Perceived Mattering.

2 Data and Methods

Our data come from an ICT and Quality of Life Study, a multi-site randomized controlled trial. The goal of the study was to investigate how ICT use might affect quality of life among older adults. Study participants resided in assisted and independent living communities (AICs) in a mid-sized metropolitan city located in the Deep South region of the United States. AICs were randomized into one of three study arms: ICT, Activities Control (AC), and True Control (TC). Participants in the ICT arm of the study received an 8-week computer and Internet training course. Study personnel conducted activities such as trivia and sing-alongs for participants in the AC arm. Participants in the TC arm received no intervention. Prior to the intervention the Mini-Mental State Examination [19] was employed to screen each potential participant for cognitive impairment. Results of the screening yielded an initial n of 313 participants: 101 participants in the ICT arm, 112 participants in the AC arm, and 93 participants in the TC arm.

During the 8 week ICT training program, participants met twice a week for 90 min at which time they received introductory information and training about using computers, email, online searching, social networking, and various recreational websites. Graduate students led each of the courses and supplied participants with training materials and manuals that they were allowed to keep for reference. To ensure that participants had sustained access, each AIC was supplied with desktop computers for use outside of the allotted training time.

Despite availability of both qualitative and quantitative data, our research focuses on the quantitative data for purposes of analyses. Our analyses focuses on data pulled from five in-person surveys. The surveys were administered over the course of 14 months. Data was collected at baseline prior to the ICT training, post-intervention at eight weeks after baseline, and at 3-, 6-, and 12-month intervals following the post-test. For the purposes of this study, we use 5 waves of longitudinal data for our analyses. The surveys included questions regarding topics such as health and overall well-being, social connections, ICT use, as well as basic demographic characteristics.

2.1 Measures

We measured ICT use with a twelve item scale that asked participants to address the frequency with which they performed specific online activities such as: “Go online to check Eons, Facebook, or MyVillage,” “Go online to visit websites that family or friends have created,” “Go online to send or receive an e-mail.” The original response options were ranged from 1 (Several times a week) to 6 (Never). We recoded these response options into dichotomous categories due to low response frequencies resulting from a skip pattern in the questionnaire. Response categories 1 through 5 were recoded to 1 and response category 6 (i.e., Never) was recoded as 0. Responses were summed to reflect higher values, indicating greater ICT use (α reliabilities > .9 at each wave).

We assessed perceived mattering with Rosenberg and McCullough’s (1981) mattering scale (α = .78). This scale contains five items and asks respondents to rate their answers to questions such as: “How much do you feel other people pay attention to you?”, “How important do you feel you are to other people?”, and “How much do you feel other people depend on you?” Response options were set on a four point scale and ranged from 1 (Not at all) to 4 (Very much). Responses were summed to reflect higher values indicating higher levels of mattering (α reliabilities > .7 at each wave).

To assess our outcome of interest, we used the Geriatric Depression Scale [20]. Participants were asked to respond to questions such as, “Do you feel pretty worthless the way you are now?”, “Do you often feel helpless?”, and “Are you basically satisfied with your life?” Items were recoded so that positive responses for depression are No to the first question and Yes for all subsequent questions. The GDS has a high level of sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy [20–22].

We controlled for respondent’s age, living facility (Assisted Living vs. Independent Living), and study arm. Age was measured as number of years at the time of intervention. Respondents’ living facilities were dummy coded and Independent Living facility served as the excluded category in this analysis. Study arm was also dummy coded and TC served as the excluded category in this analysis.

3 Results

We employ a random effects linear regression panel model to examine the impact of ICT use over the five periods of data collection. A random effects model is preferable to fixed effects given that the estimation is more efficient, the effects of time invariant variables are estimated, rather than controlled for, and the standard errors of estimates are smaller. In Model 1, ICT use among older adults significantly decreased depression (β = −0.0278, p < 0.05) over the duration of the project and accounts for approximately 5.0 % of the variation in depression.

Model 2 includes the activities and ICT study arms, residence in an assisted living compared to independent living communities, participant’s age, and the measure of mattering. Note that ICT use is not significant in Model 2 (β = −0.0183, p < 0.137). However, participants living in an assisted living community experienced significantly greater levels of depression (β = .390, p < .001) compared to participants in independent living communities. In addition, mattering significantly decreased depression (β = −.0448, p < .001) over the duration of the project. Model 2 accounts for 11.3 % of the variation in depression. We employed the Sobel-Goodman Mediation Test to determine if mattering mediates the effect of ICT use on depression over time. The Sobel-Goodman Mediation tests whether a mediator carries the influence of the predictor to the outcome of interest. The Sobel-Goodman Mediation estimates were significant and mattering mediated 12.5 % of total effect of ICT use on depression over time.

4 Discussion and Limitations

Our findings support previous research on both mattering and ICT use with regards to reduction of depressive symptoms [1, 11–13]. Our results’ contribute to the extant literature by demonstrating that mattering serves as a mechanism through which ICT use reduces depression among older adults over time. Though our ICT use measure is broad in nature, we suggest that by using ICTs to communicate with family and friends, older adults may gain access to valuable social network support. By utilizing online activities such as email, social network sites, and other various avenues of Internet communication, older adults are afforded platforms through which they may receive meaningful communication of attention and importance, which leads to increased perceptions of mattering [14]. Additionally, ICTs serve as channels through which older adults maintain and develop significant roles in the lives of their social connections, the understanding of which can also promote mattering and, in turn, decrease feelings of depression among older adults [11–14, 17].

Interestingly, our results suggest that older adults who live in assisted living facilities were more likely to experience depression than older adults residing in independent living facilities. The difference between living facility may be due to any number of age-related factors such as declining health, limited mobility, and reduced access to social networks. For this reason, we assert that ICTs are an especially valuable and crucial tools for older adults residing in assisted living facilities, as ICT usage allows older adults to overcome both social and spatial barriers to connection with loved ones [7]. For residents of assisted living communities, ICTs may become a primary channel of communication with their loved ones, which is essential to mitigating the effect of depression.

There are some potential limitations to our study. First, our ICT use measure assessed the total number of online activities, instead of frequency or duration of use. For future research, a more robust measure of ICT use might assess uses and activities with different types of ICTs. Finally, data was collected in the Deep South, which may limit generalizability.

Despite the limitations, our study makes a valuable contribution to the research on older adults’ ICT use and well-being. Our findings suggest that mattering serves as a mechanism though which ICT use may reduce symptoms of depression. By developing a deeper insight into the psychosocial benefits yielded by ICT use, it is our aim that ICTs be implemented in ways that truly matter for the well-being of older adults.