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. 2024 Jan;46(1):29-42.
doi: 10.1177/01640275231178809. Epub 2023 May 26.

Communication Modalities, Personality Traits, and Change in Perceived Control Over Social Life Following Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Older Americans

Shinae L Choi  1   2 , Kyrsten C Hill  1   3 , Patricia A Parmelee  1   3
Affiliations

Communication Modalities, Personality Traits, and Change in Perceived Control Over Social Life Following Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Older Americans

Shinae L Choi et al. Res Aging. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

We examined associations between change in social contact communication modalities and change in perceived control over social life (PCOSL) following onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among older Americans and evaluated the extent to which associations were moderated by personality. Data were from the 2016 and 2020 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Multivariate ordinary least squares regression analyses were computed adjusting for baseline PCOSL, sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial factors. Multiple moderation analyses revealed that extraversion moderated the association between change in social media communication and change in PCOSL before to during COVID-19. As levels of engagement in social media communication increased, those with high extraversion experienced increases in PCOSL, whereas those with low extraversion experienced decreases in PCOSL. Findings suggest that social interventions targeting perceived control and communication modality may be useful for older adults during global health events and that personality characteristics can help to inform intervention choices.

Keywords: COVID-19; communication modality; personality traits; sense of control; social life.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Moderating effect of extraversion on the association between change in social media communication and change in PCOSL following onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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