TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of communication impairments on the social relationships of older adults
T2 - Pathways to psychological well-being
AU - Palmer, Andrew D.
AU - Carder, Paula C.
AU - White, Diana L.
AU - Saunders, Gabrielle
AU - Woo, Hyeyoung
AU - Graville, Donna J.
AU - Newsom, Jason T.
N1 - Funding Information:
The first author would like to acknowledge the support of Paul Flint, Donna Graville, and the Department of Otolaryngology at Oregon Health and Science University for providing assistance and support during the completion of this work for his doctoral dissertation, as well as all of the clinicians at the North-west Center for Voice & Swallowing. The authors also thank Margaret Neal, David Kinsella, and the faculty of the Urban Studies Department, the Institute on Aging, and other departments at Portland State University that facilitated this research; Jason Newsom, Dara Sorkin, and Karen Rook for allowing the use of data from the Later Life Study of Social Exchanges for preliminary work in this area; Katherine Yorkston and Carolyn Baylor at the University of Washington for sharing their work and ideas; staff at the National Association for the Deaf, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association, and Pat Wertz Sanders at WebWhispers, among others, for publicizing the study; and, most importantly, all of the study participants.
Funding Information:
The first author would like to acknowledge the support of Paul Flint, Donna Graville, and the Department of Otolaryngology at Oregon Health and Science University for providing assistance and support during the completion of this work for his doctoral dissertation, as well as all of the clinicians at the Northwest Center for Voice & Swallowing. The authors also thank Margaret Neal, David Kinsella, and the faculty of the Urban Studies Department, the Institute on Aging, and other departments at Portland State University that facilitated this research; Jason Newsom, Dara Sorkin, and Karen Rook for allowing the use of data from the Later Life Study of Social Exchanges for preliminary work in this area; Katherine Yorkston and Carolyn Baylor at the University of Washington for sharing their work and ideas; staff at the National Association for the Deaf, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association, and Pat Wertz Sanders at WebWhispers, among others, for publicizing the study; and, most importantly, all of the study participants.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
PY - 2019/1
Y1 - 2019/1
N2 - Purpose: Social contact is known to be vital for older adults’ mental and physical health but, because communication impairments often co-occur with other types of disability, it is difficult to generalize about the relative impact of a communication impairment on the social relationships of older adults. Specific aims of the study were to examine whether the severity of a communication impairment was associated with a range of social measures and to examine the association between these characteristics and psychological well-being. Method: Community-dwelling older adults ranging in age from 65 to 94 were recruited for the study of Communication, Health, Aging, Relationship Types and Support. The sample included 240 participants with communication disorders arising from a variety of etiologies including hearing impairment, voice disorders, head and neck cancer, and neurologic disease, as well as older adults without a communication disorder. Results: Communication impairment was a significant independent predictor for key characteristics of social relationships, including the number of friends in the social network, two types of social support, the frequency of social participation, and social self-efficacy. Communication impairment was also a significant predictor for higher levels of loneliness and depression. In addition, two distinct pathways between communication impairment and psychological well-being were identified, with social self-efficacy and reassurance of worth as mediators. Conclusions: Even after controlling for age, gender, health, and disability, communication impairment is a significant independent predictor for key aspects of the social function of older adults and demonstrates two distinct pathways to loneliness and depression.
AB - Purpose: Social contact is known to be vital for older adults’ mental and physical health but, because communication impairments often co-occur with other types of disability, it is difficult to generalize about the relative impact of a communication impairment on the social relationships of older adults. Specific aims of the study were to examine whether the severity of a communication impairment was associated with a range of social measures and to examine the association between these characteristics and psychological well-being. Method: Community-dwelling older adults ranging in age from 65 to 94 were recruited for the study of Communication, Health, Aging, Relationship Types and Support. The sample included 240 participants with communication disorders arising from a variety of etiologies including hearing impairment, voice disorders, head and neck cancer, and neurologic disease, as well as older adults without a communication disorder. Results: Communication impairment was a significant independent predictor for key characteristics of social relationships, including the number of friends in the social network, two types of social support, the frequency of social participation, and social self-efficacy. Communication impairment was also a significant predictor for higher levels of loneliness and depression. In addition, two distinct pathways between communication impairment and psychological well-being were identified, with social self-efficacy and reassurance of worth as mediators. Conclusions: Even after controlling for age, gender, health, and disability, communication impairment is a significant independent predictor for key aspects of the social function of older adults and demonstrates two distinct pathways to loneliness and depression.
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U2 - 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0495
DO - 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0495
M3 - Article
C2 - 30950760
AN - SCOPUS:85064182467
SN - 1092-4388
VL - 62
SP - 1
EP - 21
JO - Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders
JF - Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders
IS - 1
ER -