Depression and social isolation in the elderly, analyzing the role of technological participation

• Autores: Castillo Riquelme, Víctor, Cifuentes Aguayo, Edgar, Órdenes Órdenes, Danitza, Gatica Parra, Josefa
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2023
• Institución: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:ojs.csi.unmsm:article/24798
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistasinvestigacion.unmsm.edu.pe/index.php/psico/article/view/24798
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: social networking; digital divide; depression; isolation; aging; red social; brecha digital; depresión; aislamiento; envejecimiento

Objective. This study sought to analyze the role of technological participation of the elderly in Chile in relation to geriatric depression and social isolation. Method. A non-experimental and correlational study was conducted in which the geriatric depression scale (GDS-15), the Lubben social network scale (LSNS-6) and a battery of questions to measure technological participation were applied in a sample of 149 elderly people from central-southern Chile. Results. The results indicate the existence of a positive correlation between technological participation and perception of social support networks, particularly friendship networks, as well as a negative correlation with geriatric depression. Older people who use the Internet have lower levels of depression and a lower risk of social isolation. Conclusion. Technological participation facilitates the preservation of social ties and promotes the autonomy of the elderly, having a positive impact on the indicators of depression and isolation. However, technological participation represents a challenge for public policies due to the gaps that are manifested based on the sociocultural profile and age of the users.