Journal of Gerontological Social Work最新文献

This study investigated the longitudinal effect of new internet usage on depressive symptoms and whether economic status modified this association. Data were from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, involving 5,259 participants who were 60 +, did not use the internet in 2015, and were followed up in 2018. Linear regression with standard errors clustered at the city level was employed. We found that new internet usage was associated with less depressive symptoms, and the association was more profound among the poor participants. It implies that bridging the digital divide requires special attention to those with disadvantaged economic status.

Cognitive impairment is pronounced in forcibly displaced populations. This study examined how education and English proficiency are associated with cognitive difficulties between refugee and non-refugee older immigrants. Analyses assessed the moderating effect of refugee status on the association of education and English proficiency with cognitive difficulty. Results revealed that higher educational attainment and English proficiency were significantly associated with decreased odds of reporting cognitive difficulty. Further, refugees who had completed high school and were English proficient exhibited greater cognitive resilience. The implications emphasize the need for policies and focused interventions related to education and English language programs for resettled refugees.

Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is an evidence-based, non-pharmacological intervention for older adults with mild to moderate dementia. While CST has been adapted in various ways, this study explored the impact of adding a spiritual dimension to CST. Participants (N = 34) were divided into spiritual and traditional CST groups based on their residence. After a 14-session intervention involving interactive conversations, the spiritual CST group showed significantly lower depression scores (M = 2.7) compared to traditional CST (M = 6.5). With the global increase in dementia-related disorders, non-pharmacological interventions like CST offer crucial support for addressing memory loss. Social workers are uniquely positioned to deliver CST to diverse populations who value spirituality or faith in their daily lives.

Loneliness among older adults is a well-known public health issue that became significantly apparent in the post-Covid-19 era. Our qualitative study examined and compared the perspectives of thirty-one older adults toward the factors that intensified or reduced loneliness. Five themes emerged from the analysis: emotional vs. social loneliness; the impact of health conditions on loneliness; the effect of socioeconomic status on loneliness; the role of family links; and the role of social networks . Findings show that effectively reducing loneliness requires a better understanding of how social networks differ based on sociodemographic elements and dominant cultural values. .

The Golden Bachelor completed its first season in late 2023. Its companion show, The Golden Bachelorette premiered in September of 2024. The reality dating franchise features contestants over the age of 60 and represents an advance in the visibility of older adults in popular media, particularly the dating show genre, while also perpetuating age-related stereotypes. This review will focus on The Golden Bachelor and how it brought aging and associated conversations about dating, intimacy, and grief into popular discourse. While the show significantly revises how older adults are portrayed in popular media, it tempers this potentially subversive move by doubling down on its other socially conventional elements - beauty, monogamy, able-bodiedness, and traditional family values. The Golden Bachelor represents a step forward in visibility of older adults while also being a reminder of the problematic ways that aging is portrayed in popular media. It opens opportunities for dialogue and learning but also reveals the narrow scope of identity that reality television is prepared to depict. Ultimately, The Golden Bachelor revealed both a widespread interest in popular media that engages substantively with older adults and a still-unfulfilled need for this representation to be comprehensive, diverse, and inclusive.

This study examined the benefits of an intergenerational home-based service learning program to reduce psychological distress for homebound older adults. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted with a sample of 182 to examine the association of length of service from the program and presence of caregivers with psychological distress. Findings indicated length of service (β = -0.15, p < .05) and having a child as a caregiver (β = -0.14, p < .05) were associated with a reduction in psychological distress. Policies and practice can support a pipeline of geriatric health professionals through innovative service learning models to benefit older adults, caregivers, and students.

In the field of gerontological social work, there is growing interest in further exploring and understanding human-animal bonds and relationships, a trend that accelerated significantly during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Community-based organizations are promising partners as they provide acknowledgment and support for older adults' relationships with their pets and the strengthening of the human-animal bond. This brief report discusses the history, impact, and potential of one community-based organization's annual Valentine's Day event, Heart to Heart. Initiated at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic by Animal Advocates of Greater Lafayette (AAGL), an Indiana-based community organization, Heart to Heart recognizes, celebrates, and supports older adults' bonds with their pets through delivering pet presents directly to older adults' homes. Despite the mounting evidence that pets provide support and comfort for people of all ages, but particularly older adults, social service agencies and programs that serve older adults are often reluctant to recognize the power of the human-animal bond. Heart to Heart allows our community to see and appreciate the strength of these relationships, contributing to new conversations and possibilities for keeping pets and people together through the lifespan.

This article is an interview with Professor Deborah O'Connor, a Canadian and internationally well-known scholar in gerontological social work, by her doctoral student Karen Wong before Professor O'Connor's retirement. The interview aims to honor Professor O'Connor's scholarship and contribution to research, practice, policy, and education and to inspire junior researchers and trainees, educators and students, and practitioners in gerontological social work. Professor O'Connor's ground-breaking scholarship is marked by understanding aging and dementia from critical perspectives. She adopted critical theoretical lenses and critical qualitative research approaches to raise questions about assumptions on aging and dementia and challenge the embedded ageism and other oppressions in society. Her scholarship profoundly impacts real-life practices and policies, such as the development of incapability assessment and the Adult Guardianship Act in British Columbia and Canada. Her doctoral student Karen Wong, who hopes to follow Professor O'Connor's path in gerontological social work, asked questions from the perspective of a trainee, inviting Professor O'Connor to share her journey of interests in gerontological social work, explain her scholarship, and advise early-career research scholars and trainees how they can incorporate critical approaches in gerontological social work and bring influences to practices and policies.

Adult-child caregivers encounter various challenges due to their array of roles and tasks, often leading to a substantial sense of treatment burden. While previous research has explored factors contributing to treatment burden, much of it has centered on routine periods, leaving a gap in the understanding of this issue during crisis situations characterized by heightened stress and uncertainty. Therefore, this study aims to address this gap by investigating the mediating role of intolerance of uncertainty and war-related stress in the relationship between perceived social support and treatment burden among adult-child caregivers during the Israel-Hamas war. The study involved Israeli adult-child caregivers who completed a structured questionnaire distributed online. The findings showed that perceived social support was negatively associated with intolerance of uncertainty, which, in turn, was positively associated with war-related stress. Consequently, a positive correlation was observed between war-related stress and treatment burden. Perceived social support was found to be negatively associated with war-related stress. These findings underscore the significance of social support in reducing treatment burden, particularly during periods of heightened stress such as wartime. Understanding the interplay between these factors can inform the development of effective interventions aimed at alleviating the burden experienced by adult-child caregivers.