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Background and Objectives This study investigated the association between information and communication technology (ICT) use and loneliness among community-dwelling older adults (aged 65+), as well as the mediating effects of social relations, perceived control, and purpose-in-life. Research Design and Methods The study used data from the 2014 and 2018 Health and Retirement Study (N = 3,026), employing autoregressive path models with contemporaneous mediation to assess the association of 2 kinds of ICT use, social media communication and general computer use, with loneliness through the pathways of perceived social support, social contact, perceived constraints, and purpose-in-life. Results Social media communication had a negative association with loneliness. Perceived social support and social contact mediated this association, but not perceived constraints, or purpose-in-life. General computer use did not have a significant total effect on loneliness; however, a significant indirect effect through perceived constraints, purpose-in-life, and social contact was found. Discussion and Implications Our findings extended the existing literature regarding the important factors associated with variation in loneliness among older adults. Health programs and ICT solutions could be more effective in mitigating loneliness if they target the root causes of loneliness, including reducing perceptions of constraints and increasing a sense of purpose-in-life, along with strengthening social relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine cross-spouse associations between education and financial literacy among older couples, net of own education, and whether the cross-spouse associations differ by gender. Using data from the Cognitive Economics Study, we employ multilevel actor–partner interdependence regression models to examine both the actor and partner associations between education and financial literacy (N = 205 dyads) and the moderating role of gender. Findings indicate that the partner association between education and financial literacy was moderated by gender. Husbands' education was associated with wives' financial literacy, net of own education and controls, but wives' education was not associated with husbands' financial literacy. The study adds to our knowledge of the role of the family context in financial literacy, net of own education. Results suggest that factors shaping financial knowledge may spill over from husbands to wives. Interventions to enhance older adults' financial knowledge should take into account the family context and consider couple-based approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant research offers limited understanding of the context in which economic resource and hardship at older ages are assessed. This study investigates the association between location-specific income security and hardship, and the moderating role of financial knowledge, using data from the Understanding America Study. We found that respondents with better location-specific income security were less likely to experience hardship and that financial knowledge strengthened the negative association between income security and hardship. Findings suggest that interventions to improve later-life financial knowledge may offer protection against hardship and that evaluations of later-life income adequacy may benefit from location-specific assessments of cost-of-living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Guided by the social convoy model, this study investigated the association between friendship and cognitive functioning among older Chinese adults, as well as the moderating effect of marital status (married vs widowed). We also explored whether depression might account for the link between friendship and cognitive functioning. Methods We used data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey in 2014 (N = 8,482). Cognitive functioning was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination instrument and friendship was assessed with a 3-item Lubben Social Network Scale. Linear regression and path analyses within a structural equation modeling framework were performed to examine the hypotheses. Results Results indicated that friendship was significantly related to better cognitive functioning among older Chinese adults (β = 0.083, p <.001) and marital status moderated this association (β = −0.058, p <.01). In addition, depression partially mediated the relationship between friendship and cognitive functioning (β = 0.015, p <.001). Discussion The results implied that friendship is important for maintaining cognitive functioning in later life and widowed older Chinese adults may benefit more from friendship in its relationship to cognitive functioning than married older Chinese adults. Further, one potential pathway linking friendship to cognitive functioning may be through depression; however, more research is needed to support this finding. Intervention programs aimed at building friendship opportunities may be one way to achieve better cognitive aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the age-friendly movement grows in its second decade, urgent questions of initiative sustainability have taken hold in the academic literature and among advocates implementing age-friendly changes. The creation of authentically age-inclusive environments requires not just the continuation of the initiative, but that its principles become embedded in formal and informal organizational processes, across sectors and beyond familiar networks focused on older populations. This embedding ensures the initiative's values take root permanently in a community's institutional culture. This article argues that the sustainability of age-friendly initiatives is enhanced by "spillover" effects, in which a behavioral or policy change in one environment spurs change in another environment. Evidence for such spillover and an understanding of how and when it occurs is currently limited in the context of age-friendly environments. This article draws on the experiences of Age-Friendly Boston, which has been working toward age-friendly goals for more than 5 years. Based on Boston's experience, we identify, describe, and exemplify 3 pathways to positive spillover across environments: (a) branding positively, (b) publicizing successes, and (c) embarking on new relationships, while strengthening existing ones, in pursuit of shared goals. We also draw conclusions about what positive spillover means for the sustainability of age-friendly environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergenerational tutoring programs can leverage technology to address the instructional needs of students. This study describes a novel online intergenerational tutoring program designed to target kindergarten students’ literacy skills. Older adult volunteers delivered evidence-based instructional strategies via Zoom. The study used a two-group, quasi-experimental design with students assigned to an intervention (n = 23) or waitlist control (n = 18) group. Five early literacy fluency skills were measured (letter naming, letter sound, phoneme segmentation, nonsense word, and real word). Tutors implemented the program with high fidelity. At posttest, the intervention group scored higher than the control group on each of the five skills and the group differences were statistically significant with a medium effect size for letter sound fluency and nonsense word fluency. Both tutors and parents reported high program acceptability. This study demonstrated how older adults can use online technology to disseminate evidence-based instructional interventions to children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether social contact, social participation, and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with depression and anxiety. Data were taken from the 2020 COVID-19 Supplement of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (N = 2,778). Depression and anxiety were regressed on social contact frequency, social participation, and social support. Path analyses were also performed. The results showed that in-person contact was related to lower levels of depression, while in-person contact and attending religious services were related to lower levels of anxiety. Giving and receiving support were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety. Giving support mediated the link between virtual contact, volunteering, and depression, while receiving support mediated the link between virtual contact and depression. Receiving and giving support mediated the association between virtual social contact, volunteering, and anxiety. During the pandemic, being socially connected provided some benefits in terms of emotional well-being, but in some cases being socially connected did not provide salubrious effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]