Social Interaction and Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults in Urban Community-Based Education Programs By Erick López, B.A., Takashi Yamashita, Ph.D., Jennifer R. Keene, Ph.D.

Department of Sociology, University of Nevada Las Vegas

AbstractSocial interaction and adult education are two major determinants of mental health among older adults. It is well established that social interaction protects individuals from psychosocial stress and prevents depression over the life course. Participation in adult education programs in later life is beneficial for mental health because it is intellectually stimulating and expands participants’ social networks. Few studies have examined the relationship between social interaction and mental health among older adults who participate in community-based adult education programs. Thus, little is known about how social interaction may benefit older adults’ mental health above and beyond the effects of participating in adult education programs. This study examined the relationship between social interaction with friends and depressive symptoms among participants in an adult community-based education program. Data were collected from 185 participants (mean age = 72) in the diverse urban communities of Las Vegas, Nevada. Depression was measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (score 1-17; higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms). Linear regression analyses revealed that social interaction with friends was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (b = -1.60; p < 0.05) even after adjusting for demographic characteristics (e.g., marital status, gender), socioeconomic status, and living arrangement. Results suggested that friendship continues to have an important bearing on mental health as one ages even amongst older adults in adult education programs. Possible pathways between social interaction with friends and mental health among older adults were evaluated and implications for geriatric mental health promotion programs were discussed.

Introduction• The relationship between social interaction and mental health is widely known.• Interactions with friends generally have a number of benefits such as reduced stress and increased positive affect, which help to improve and/or maintain mental health over the life course (Antonucci & Akiyama, 1995).• As of 2012, the number of older American adults (65+) is over 41 million and many are living healthier and longer lives as indicated by the life expectancy of 19.2 years at the age of 65 (Administration on Aging, 2012). • Healthy and active older adults have been understudied since the majority of gerontological studies focus on older populations with health problems, disabilities, financial struggles and lack of social activities. • With the goal of promoting mental health in older adults, this study examined the importance of social interaction with friends among older adults in community-based education programs.• It is hypothesized that greater social interactions with friends is associated with a fewer depressive symptoms

Methods

• Data were collected from the 185 (out of 602 participants; 31% response rate) local older adults who participated in the Osher Life-Long Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) between July 15 and July 26, 2013. • OLLI at UNLV (http://olli.unlv.edu/) is one of the 116 OLLI programs offering learning activities/education programs for local retired or semi-retired adults age 50 years and older. • OLLI participants completed the Life Wide Learning and Wellbeing (LWLW) survey, an 82-question online survey that assesses demographic information, socioeconomic status, health and well-being (physical and mental), and program participation.

Results• Respondents are mostly female (66.9%).• About 36% of respondents live alone. A substantially larger portion of women live alone (41.6%) compared to men (24.5%). • About 86% of respondents indicated that in the past two week they had gotten together with friends or neighbors. • The mean score of respondents on the Geriatric Depression Scale was 14.3 (out of 17), indicating a high level of depressive symptoms among respondents. Results of the regression analysis showed that older adults who had social interaction outside of the OLLI program experienced lower levels of depressive symptoms (b= -1.61, p < .05) compared to those who did not.

Discussion

• The results support the hypothesis that social interaction is associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. One explanation for this finding is that friendships allow people to transcend mundane daily realities and stressors by providing a source of morale, affection, emotional support, which thereby decreases depressive symptoms (Antonucci and Akiyama, 1995).• In contrast to prior studies, socioeconomic status (vis-à-vis income and education) was not associated with depressive symptoms in this study. Possible explanations include: (1) ceiling effects – since the OLLI participants are highly educated (74.4% have college degrees) and (2) the relatively small sample size (n = 185) – the finding should be verified with a larger sample. Although living arrangement was not the main focus of this study, we observed a greater proportion of women living alone (41.6%) compared to men (24.5%). Living alone in later life (e.g., due to widowhood) often has negative relationship with older adults’ mental health (Atchely, 1975). Given that the respondents were largely composed of older women living alone, future studies should explore how social interaction plays a role in the context of mental health among this group of women. • As the OLLI participants in this study experience a relatively high level of depressive symptoms, it may be beneficial for OLLI to offer geriatric mental health promotion programs and/or intervention to increase social interaction among participants.

Figure 1: Results of the Linear Regression Analysis for the Geriatric Depression Scale

References available upon request

Methods

• Social interaction was measured using the following survey item: “During the past two weeks, did you get together with friends or neighbors?” • The LWLW survey items include validated measures such as the World Health Organization Wellbeing Index, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Social Functioning Survey (Awata et al. 2007; Breslow 1972; Yesavage et al. 1983; Birchwood et al. 1990).• The Geriatric Depression Scale has 17 items. Scores range from 1-17, with higher scores indicating higher levels of depressive symptoms. • Participants were recruited via weekly OLLI email newsletters in which they were asked to complete the online survey powered by QUALTRICS (QUALTRICS, 2013: see http://qualtrics.com/about/ for more details). Linear regression with ordinary least squares with was used to test the relationship between social interaction and depressive symptoms controlling for a series of theoretically relevant variables (see Table 1).

Source: Data collected from OLLI at UNLV via the online survey system- QUALTRICS.Social interaction = “During the past two weeks, did you get together with friends or neighbors?” Response categories: “Yes” or “No.”All variables listed in Table 1 were included in the regression analysis.

Variable Mean (SD)

or percentage

Income$25,000 or less 18.9%$25,000 to $49,000 15.8%$50,000 to $74,000 25.3%$75,000 to $99,000 28.5%$100,000 or more 11.4%

Age (55-92) 72.3 (7.6)Gender (female) 66.9%Marital status (married or living with a partner/s) 55.8%College education 74.4%Living alone total 35.7% Females living alone 41.6%Geriatric Depression Scale (0-17) 14.3 (2.6)Social Interaction ("Yes") 86.4%

Source: Data collected from OLLI at UNLV via QUALTRICS online survey system.Note: The model adjusted for the variables in Table 1. * = P < .05, N.S. = Not significant

Acknowledgement • This study is approved by the Institutional Review Board at UNLV. • The authors thank Richard Easter (program coordinator) from OLLI at UNLV for assisting with data collection.

Table 1: Descriptive Summary of the Survey Respondents (n=185)

*

• Social interaction was related to fewer depressive symptoms among older adult learners. • Intervention programs focusing on mental health promotion and social network are recommended as re atively high-level of depressive symptoms was reported in older adult education programs.

Highlights