Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T13:50:30.842Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Moderating effects of social engagement on driving cessation in older women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2016

Nancy A. Pachana ,
Janni K Leung ,
Paul A Gardiner  and
Deirdre McLaughlin
Nancy A. Pachana
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, School of Psychology, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
Janni K Leung
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, School of Public Health, Herston, Queensland, Australia The University of Queensland, Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, Wacol, Queensland, Australia
Paul A Gardiner
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, School of Public Health, Herston, Queensland, Australia The University of Queensland, Mater Research Institute, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Deirdre McLaughlin*
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland, School of Public Health, Herston, Queensland, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Deirdre McLaughlin, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston Road, Herston, Qld. 4006, Australia. Phone: +61-7-33655335. Email: d.mclaughlin@sph.uq.edu.au.
Get access

Abstract

Background:

Driving cessation in later life is associated with depression. This study examines if social support can buffer the negative effects of driving cessation on older women's mental health.

Methods:

Participants were drawn from the 1921–1926 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) and included 4,075 older women (aged 76–87 years) who drove at baseline, following them for three years to assess driving cessation. The outcome variable was mental health, measured by the mental health index (MHI) of the SF-36. The explanatory variables were social support factors, including social interaction, whether the women were living alone or with others, and engagement in social activities. Control variables included age, country of birth, area of residence, ability to manage on income, marital status, and general health.

Results:

Main effect results showed that poor mental health was predicted by driving cessation, low levels of social interaction, and non-engagement in social activities. There was a significant interaction effect of driving status by social activities engagement on mental health. Women who remained active in their engagement of social activities were able to maintain a good level of mental health despite driving cessation.

Conclusion:

Engagement and participation in social activities can help older women who stopped driving maintain a good level of mental health.

Keywords

drivingmental healthsocial supportsocial engagement
Type
Paper of the Month
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 28 , Issue 8 , August 2016 , pp. 1237 - 1244
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Breen, D. A., Breen, D. P., Moore, J. W., Breen, P. A. and O'Neill, D. (2007). Driving and dementia. British Medical Journal, 334, 1365–1369.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choi, M., Mezuk, B., Lohman, M. C., Edwards, J. D. and Rebok, G. W. (2012). Gender and racial disparities in driving cessation among older adults. Journal of Aging and Health, 24, 1364–1379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D'Ambrosio, L. A., Donorfio, L. K. M., Coughlin, J. F., Mohyde, M. and Meyer, J. (2008). Gender differences in self-regulation patterns and attitudes toward driving among older adults. Journal of Women & Aging, 20, 265–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DiNapoli, E. A. and Scogin, F. R. (2014). Late-life depression. In Pachana, N. A. and Laidlaw, K. (eds.), Handbook of Clinical Geropsychology (pp. 412–435). Oxford: Oxford Library of Psychology.Google Scholar
Finlayson, M. and Kaufert, J. (2002). Older women's community mobility: a qualitative exploration. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21, 75–84. doi: org/10.1017/S0714980800000659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fonda, S. J., Wallace, R. B. and Herzog, A. R. (2001). Changes in driving patterns and worsening depressive symptoms among older adults. Journals of Gerontology Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56B, S343–S351. doi: 10.1093/geronb/56.6.S343.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, E. E., Gange, S. J., Munoz, B. and West, S. K. (2006). Driving status and risk of entry into long-term care in older adults. American Journal of Public Health, 96, 1254–1259.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friedman, B., Heisel, M. and Delavan, R. (2005). Validity of the SF-36 five-item mental health index for major depression in functionally impaired, community-dwelling elderly patients. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 53, 1978–1985.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallo, J. J., Rebok, G. W. and Lesikar, S. E. (1999). The driving habits of adults aged 60 years and older. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 47, 335–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. and Wahlström, B. (1998). Why do older drivers give up driving?. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 30, 305–312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harrison, A. and Ragland, D. R. (2003). Consequences of driving reduction or cessation for older adults. Human Performance, Simulation, User Information Systems, and Older Person Safety and Mobility, 1843, 96–104.Google Scholar
Johnson, J. E. (2008). Informal social support networks and the maintenance of voluntary driving cessation by older rural women. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 25, 65–75. doi: 10.1080/07370010802017034.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koenig, H. G., Westlund, R. E., George, L. K., Hughes, D. C., Blazer, D. G. and Hybels, C. (1993). Abbreviating the duke social support index for use in chronically ill elderly individuals. Psychosomatics: Journal of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, 34, 61–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohler, S., Thomas, A. J., Lloyd, A., Barber, R., Almeida, O. P. and O'Brien, J. T. (2010). White matter hyperintensities, cortisol levels, brain atrophy and continuing cognitive deficits in late-life depression. British Journal of Psychiatry, 196, 143–149. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.109.071399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, C. et al., (2005). Cohort profile: the Australian longitudinal study on women's health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 34, 987–91. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyi098.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liddle, J., Bennett, S., Allen, S., Lie, D. C., Standen, B. and Pachana, N. A. (2013). The stages of driving cessation for people with dementia: needs and challenges. International Psychogeriatrics, 25, 2033–2046. doi: org/10.1017/S1041610213001464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liddle, J., Gustafsson, L., Bartlett, H. and McKenna, K. (2012). Time use, role participation and life satisfaction of older people: impact of driving status. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 59, 384–392. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1630.2011.00956.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liddle, J., Haynes, M., Pachana, N. A., Mitchell, G., McKenna, K. and Gustafsson, L. (2014). Effect of a group intervention to promote older adults’ adjustment to driving cessation on community mobility: a randomized controlled trial. The Gerontologist, 54, 409–422. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnt019.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marottoli, R., Mendes de Leon, C., Glass, T., Williams, C., Cooney, L. and Berkman, L. (2000). Consequences of driving cessation: decreased out-of-home activity levels. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55B, S334–S340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mezuk, B. and Rebok, G. W. (2008). Social integration and social support among older adults following driving cessation. Journals of Gerontology Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 63B, S298–S303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Connor, M. L., Edwards, J. D., Waters, M. P., Hudak, E. M. and Valdés, E. G. (2013). Mediators of the association between driving cessation and mortality among older. Journal of Aging and Health, 25, 249S–269S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oxley, J., Charlton, J., Scully, J. and Koppel, S. (2010). Older female drivers: an emerging transport safety and mobility issue in Australia. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 42, 515–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ragland, D. R., Satariano, W. A. and MacLeod, K. E. (2005). Driving cessation and increased depressive symptoms. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 60, 399–403. doi: 10.1093/gerona/60.3.399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siren, A. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. (2005). Sense and sensibility: a narrative study of older women's car driving. Transportation Research, F8, 213–228.Google Scholar
Warburton, J. and McLaughlin, D. (2005). ‘Lots of little kindnesses’: valuing the role of older Australians as informal volunteers in the community. Ageing and Society, 25, 715–730 doi: 10.1017/S0144686X05003648.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ware, J., Snow, K., Kosinski, M. and Gandek, B. (1993). SF-36 Health Survey: Manual and Interpretation Guide. Boston, MA: Nimrod Press.Google Scholar
Wilkins, J. W., Stutts, J. C. and Schatz, S. J. (1999). Premature reduction and cessation of driving: preliminary study of women who choose not to drive or to drive infrequently. Transportation Research Record, 1693, 86–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Windsor, T. D., Anstey, K. J., Butterworth, P., Luszcz, M. A. and Andrews, G. R. (2007). The role of perceived control in explaining depressive symptoms associated with driving cessation in a longitudinal study. Gerontologist, 47, 215–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Windsor, T. D., Anstey, K. J., Butterworth, P., Lusczc, M. A. and Andrews, G. R. (2009). The role of perceived control in explaining depressive symptoms associated with driving cessation in a longitudinal study. Gerontologist, 46, 215–223.Google Scholar