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Social networks, depressive symptoms and quality of life in the elderly: Results of an intergenerational program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

A.P. Amaral ,
M.J. Nascimento  and
C. Rocha
A.P. Amaral*
Affiliation:
Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
M.J. Nascimento
Affiliation:
Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
C. Rocha
Affiliation:
Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Intergenerational programs involving children and the elderly promote intergenerational interactions and can positively affect physical and mental health, and the quality of life of the elderly.

Objectives

To test the effects of an intergenerational intervention in social isolation, depressive symptoms and quality of life of the elderly.

Methods

This study employed a pretest-posttest design. Measures: Portuguese versions of Geriatric Depression Scale, Lubben Social Networks Scale and WHOQOL-OLD. Participants: 12 elderly, 75% females, with mean age of 80.8 years (sd=8.8) and 20 kindergarten children (65% female) with mean age of 4,1 years (sd=0.79). The intervention ran for 6 weeks, with 11 intergenerational group sessions, each range between 30 and 120 minutes. A nonparametric paired samples tests was conducted to evaluate the impact of the intervention.

Results

After the intervention, when comparing elderly with and without depressive symptoms, results showed significant differences in the total value of quality of life (p=.048) and in the facets: 1) Sensory functioning, 2) Autonomy, 3) Past, present and future activities (p=.003; p=.018; p=.030, respectively). 12,5% of de elderly with depressive symptoms before the intervention no longer have depressive symptoms after the intervention. Regarding social networks, there were no significant differences (p=.576) between the mean values of the two assessments.

Conclusions

The implemented intergenerational program was effective in promoting quality of live and minimized depressive symptoms. After the intervention, the number of the elderly without depressive symptoms have increased and these presented a higher quality of life. Finally, longitudinal studies with a large sample are needed to consolidate results.

Keywords

quality of lifeElderlyIntergenerationaldepressive symptoms
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S466
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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