Vyresnio amžiaus asmenų naudojimasi internetu, laisvalaikio veiklų ir atminties gebėjimų lyginamoji analizė Baltijos šalyse

Advances in the healthcare system and socioeconomic progress have led to longer life expectancy, resulting in an ageing population and societal challenges for policymakers. Active ageing, promoted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe through the Active Ageing Index, highlights Capacity and Enabling Environment for Active Ageing. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use is crucial, enabling participation in social, economic, and cultural activities (UNECE, 2020). Research indicates cognitive changes in ageing, especially memory deterioration, associating these changes with genetics, education, and professional and leisure activities (Stern, 2009). According to research, ICT positively affects cognition, enhancing memory (Almeida et al., 2012; Benge et al., 2023), but may also pose cognitive issues (Nagam, 2023). Prioritizing cognitive health among the elderly in social policies is vital, with ICT playing a key role. The present study aimed to assess the links between Internet use and memory performance after controlling for demographic factors and leisure activities. Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe’s 8th Wave (Börsch-Supan, 2022) included 2320 individuals aged 65–100 from Baltic countries. Memory was assessed using a modified Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Participation in leisure activities was assessed by asking respondents if they had taken part in any of the listed activities in the past year, and Internet use was assessed by asking about Internet use in the past 7 days. Significant associations were found between memory, leisure activities, and Internet use. Internet use predicted memory capacity in older adults, remaining significant after controlling for demographics, health, and leisure activities. The current findings show that Internet use might be valuable in predicting memory functioning among older adults and can potentially contribute to the protection of cognitive function.Socioekonominė pažanga bei medicinos pasiekimai lemia visuomenės senėjimą ir kelia iššūkių politikos formuotojams. Aktyvaus senėjimo indeksas pabrėžia gebėjimų ir aktyviam senėjimui palankios aplinkos svarbą, įtraukdamas ir informacinių technologijų naudojimą. Informacinių technologijų naudojimas gali teigiamai veikti pažintinius gebėjimus (Benge et al., 2023), tačiau gali sietis ir su pažintinėmis problemomis (Nagam, 2023). Šiuo tyrimu siekta įvertinti interneto naudojimo ir atminties gebėjimų sąsajas. Buvo analizuoti Europos 8-osios bangos sveikatos, senėjimo ir išėjimo į pensiją tyrimo (Börsch-Supan, 2022) duomenys, kurie apėmė 2320 65–100 metų asmenų iš Baltijos šalių. Rezultatai atskleidė, kad interneto naudojimas leidžia prognozuoti atminties gebėjimus, net ir kontroliuojant demografinius kintamuosius ir laisvalaikio veiklas. Naudojimasis internetu gali būti naudingas prognozuojant vyresnio amžiaus žmonių atminties gebėjimus ir prisidėti prie pažintinių gebėjimų saugojimo

Galvos smegenų traumą patyrusių asmenų pažintinių gebėjimų sąsajos su gyvenimo kokybe

It is known that a traumatic brain injury causes different consequences, affecting not only a person’s physical health but also damaging one’s cognitive functions. The consequences of traumatic brain injury are negatively related to an individual’s quality of life. However, obtained research results regarding the health-related quality of life are often ambiguous and contradictory. Thus, it is unclear what impact do impaired cognitive functions have on the quality of life after a traumatic brain injury. The aim of the present study was to analize the link between cognitive functions and the quality of life among patients with traumatic brain injuries and healthy subjects. Two samples participated in this study – 46 patients with traumatic brain injuries and a control group of 60 healthy people. The age of the participants ranged from 20 to 81 years (M=44.60, SD=15.49). Of the participants, 51 were men (48.1%), and 55 – women (51.9%). The clinical group of participants consisted of the survivors of mild traumatic brain injuries. Based on the GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale), the traumas were evaluated within a range of 13–15 points. The present study was conducted in the Department of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and the Department of Neurology at the Republican Hospital of Vilnius University. A part of the sample was interviewed at the Department of Neurological Rehabilitation at the Kaunas Clinics of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. The cross-sectional study design was selected and the data were collected using a Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R), while a Trail Making Test was utilized for studying the attention, the speed of its transferring as well as the executive functions of the participants; the study also made use of the short version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire a (WHOQOL BREF). The study revealed that cognitive functions are not associated with the quality of life among both TBI survivors and healthy controls. While evaluating the quality of the lives of TBI survivors and healthy participants, it was revealed that the TBI survivors give lower scores for their physical health scale; however, there were no significant differences in any other fields of life quality. When examining the differences of the cognitive functions of the participants, a connection between age and education was noticed. These results indicate that the survivors of traumatic brain injuries have lower cognitive abilities than healthy ones. However, cognitive functions are only partially related to the quality of life.Galvos smegenų trauma ne tik sutrikdo žmogaus fizinę sveikatą, bet ir turi neigiamą įtaką pažintiniams gebėjimams. Esama įrodymų, kad tokios traumos padariniai neigiamai siejasi ir su asmens gyvenimo kokybe, tačiau tyrimų duomenys neretai yra nevienareikšmiai ir prieštaringi. Šio tyrimo tikslas buvo išanalizuoti patyrusių galvos smegenų traumą ir jos nepatyrusių asmenų pažintinių gebėjimų ryšį su gyvenimo kokybe. Tyrime dalyvavo 46 Respublikinėje Vilniaus universitetinėje ligoninėje ir Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universiteto Kauno klinikose besigydantys asmenys, kuriems buvo diagnozuota lengvo sunkumo galvos smegenų trauma (pagal Glasgow komos skalę 13–15 balų). Kontrolinę tyrimo imtį sudarė 60 sveikų asmenų. Tyrimo dalyvių amžius – nuo 20 iki 81 metų (M = 44,60, SD = 15,49). Iš tyrimo dalyvių 51 buvo vyras (48,1 %) ir 55 moterys (51,9 %).Tyrimo metu buvo naudoti atminties (HVLT-R), sekos sudarymo (angl. Trail-making-test) testai, skirti tirti dėmesį, jo perkėlimo greitį ir vykdomąsias funkcijas, bei sutrumpintas gyvenimo kokybės klausimynas (WHOQOL BREF). Tyrimo metu buvo nustatyta, kad abiejų imčių pažintiniai gebėjimai nėra susiję su subjektyviai vertinama gyvenimo kokybe, tačiau galvos smegenų traumą patyrę asmenys prasčiau vertina savo fizinę sveikatą, palyginti su kontroline grupe. Nagrinėjant tyrimo dalyvių pažintinių gebėjimų skirtumus, nustatyta, kad galvos smegenų traumą patyrę asmenys pasižymi prastesniais pažintiniais gebėjimais nei sveiki. Taip pat nustatytas amžiaus ir išsilavinimo ryšys su rezultatais

Vyresnio amžiaus asmenų patikėjimo tikromis ir melagingomis naujienomis ypatumai

 Introduction. The spread of fake news on the internet is an increasingly serious problem. When analysing belief in fake news, people are usually treated as homogeneous group, however, previous studies suggest that different groups may exist. This study aims to identify clusters of older people according to their level of belief in real and fake news. Methods. 504 people aged 50 to 90 years (M=64.37, SD=9.10) participated in the study. Belief in true and false news was assessed using 10 news headlines (six false, four true). Respondents’ vaccination intentions and trust in democratic institutions were assessed. A cluster analysis was performed to distinguish between groups of respondents. Results. Four clusters were identified and replicated: moderately believing in fake and real news; believing in real but not in fake news; tending not to believe in either real or fake news; and tending to believe in both real and fake news. Individuals who fell into the cluster of believers in both real and fake news had lower intentions to vaccinate against COVID-19 and lower trust in political institutions. Conclusions. The study provides evidence that people aren’t homogeneous in their belief in fake and real news, and four meaningful clusters can be distinguished.Įvadas. Internete vartotojai vis dažniau susiduria su melagingomis naujienomis, patikėjimas kuriomis gali sukelti neigiamų pasekmių. Analizuojant patikėjimą melagingomis naujienomis, žmonės dažniausiai traktuojami kaip vienalytė grupė, tačiau kai kurie anksčiau atlikti tyrimai leidžia manyti, kad gali egzistuoti skirtingos grupės. Šio tyrimo tikslas: išskirti vyresnio amžiaus žmonių klasterius pagal patikėjimo tikromis ir melagingomis naujienomis lygį ir įvertinti skirtumus tarp klasterių. Metodai. Tyrime dalyvavo 504 50–90 metų amžiaus žmonės (M = 64,37, SD = 9,10). Patikėjimas tikromis ir melagingomis naujienomis buvo vertinamas naudojant 10 naujienų antraščių sąrašą. Šešios iš šių antraščių buvo melagingos, keturios – teisingos. Buvo įvertinta respondentų vakcinacijos intencijos ir pasitikėjimas demokratinėmis institucijomis. Analizė. Siekiant išskirti respondentų grupes atlikta klasterinė analizė, palyginta vakcinacijos intencijos ir pasitikėjimas demokratinėmis institucijomis klasteriuose. Rezultatai. Išskirti ir replikuoti keturi klasteriai – vidutiniškai tikintys tiek melagingomis, tiek tikromis naujienomis; tikintieji tikromis, bet ne melagingomis naujienomis; linkę netikėti nei tikromis, nei melagingomis naujienomis; linkę tikėti tikromis ir melagingomis naujienomis. Asmenys, kurie pateko į tikinčiųjų tiek tikromis, tiek melagingomis naujienomis klasterį, pasižymėjo mažesnėmis vakcinacijos nuo COVID-19 intencijomis ir mažesniu pasitikėjimu politinėmis institucijomis. Išvados. Atliktas tyrimas suteikia svarbių įrodymų, kad pagal santykį su melaginga ir tikra informacija žmonės nėra vienodi, galima išskirti keturias grupes, išskirtos grupės tarpusavyje skiriasi prasmingais aspektais

5th International Conference on Time Perspective

Book of abstract

The Associations Between Personality Traits, Leisure Activities, and Memory Performance in Older Adulthood

The present study examines the links between personality traits, leisure activities, and memory in older adults after controlling for leisure activities and demographic factors. The research sample consisted of 24,930 individuals aged 65 to 101 years from 27 European countries (43.2% men and 56.8% women). Data from the 7th Wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe was analyzed. Memory was assessed using a modified version of Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Personality traits were assessed using the BFI-10 Personality Traits Questionnaire. Data analysis revealed that personality traits such as openness to experience and neuroticism allow for the prediction of memory capacity in older adulthood. These relationships remained significant even after controlling for cognitively stimulating leisure activities and age. These results show that personality traits such as neuroticism and openness to experience might be valuable in predicting memory functioning among older adults

Fake news discernment, overall belief in fake news, and socioeconomic status

Widely shared messages about COVID-19 raise significant concerns because they often contain incorrect information about the virus and its treatment. Latest studies have started to analyze factors that might make some individuals more likely to discern fake news. Among these variables, socioeconomic variables have been shown to play an important role. Also, it has been suggested that measuring belief in fake news in some cases might be substituted by measuring overall belief in news in general. This study aims to examine relationships between discernment of fake news, overall belief in news, and variables of socioeconomic status. In total 504 preretirees and retirees of Lithuania participated in the research (69.7% were females). Mean age was 64.3 (range from 50 to 90 years). Participants read true and false news headlines, taken from social media. Two measures were calculated: how much participant believed that the headline was true (overall belief) and how much he/she could distinguish true and fake headlines (discernment). Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed to analyze whether the educational level and household income for one person predicted both fake news discernment and overall belief in news. According to the results, as the educational level increased the possibility of believing in news in general also increased. However, nor educational level, nor household income did not predict fake news discernment. Therefore, the present study, which focuses on two different ways of measuring reactions to fake news on social media, is thought to suggest that in some cases overall belief in news might be a better alternative to measuring belief in fake news. Also, although further research is needed, preliminary results show that educational level is a more significant factor in increasing overall disbelief in news instead of fake news discernment