Exploring the Interplay of Psychological Distress, Life Satisfaction, and Social Media Usage in Elderly Individuals with Hearing Impairments

Abstract

The objectives of this study are twofold: i) to assess the mediating role of psychological distress among elderly people on the association between their hearing impairment’s severity and their life satisfaction; and ii) to assess whether using social media moderates these mediating associations. The study sample included 210 older adults (M age = 65.90, SD = 9.55; 104 men and 106 women) from several government, semi-government and private sector hospitals. They were assessed by self-report measures on the Kessler Psychological Distress and Satisfaction with Life scales. The assessment of the severity of their impairment and their use of social media indicates that in the study sample, psychological distress mediates the association between hearing impairment’s severity and satisfaction with life. Moreover, the results of the moderated mediation model show that it is the duration of the use of social media that moderates these mediated links between the severity of hearing impairment, psychological distress, and life satisfaction. Specifically, the conditional indirect effects of psychological distress were stronger among the elderly people who used social media for shorter periods and weaker for those who used it for longer.

Keywords: social media usage, psychological distress, life satisfaction