The Mediating Effects of Information and Communication Technology Use and Social Activity on the Relationship between Depression and Cognitive Function in Older Koreans

Abstract

Purpose: This study determined the mediating effects of information and communication technology (ICT) use, as well as social activity, on the relationship between depression and cognitive function.Methods: Of the original data of the 2020 National survey of older Koreans, conducted on a national sample, the data of 8,980 adults 65 or older were analyzed by complex sample analysis using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and Sobel’s test.Results: Results showed that depression negatively correlated with cognitive function, ICT use, and social activity, whereas cognitive function positively correlated with ICT use and social activity. Results also showed partial mediating effects of ICT use and social activity, on the relationship between depression and cognitive function.Conclusion: Results confirm that ICT use and social activity can act as protective factors, that contribute to reducing cognitive decline that may be caused by late-life depression. This suggests that strategies for enhancing ICT use and social activity should be considered that impact cognitive function in depressed older adults.