A research project carried out at a retirement facility in South Africa indicates that initiatives facilitating contact between old adults and children could offer significant mental health advantages, potentially aiding in the control of prevalent mental disorders like anxiety and depression. Elizabeth Jane Earl and Debbie Marais from Stellenbosch University in South Africa shared these insights in the open-access publication PLOS ONE on July 5, 2023.
Previous investigations have highlighted that mental health issues frequently go unnoticed and untreated in retirement communities. The conventional approach to addressing these conditions involves various medications and non-drug-based treatments. Some evidence indicates that allowing older adults to engage with children regularly can enhance their mental well-being. Nonetheless, most of this research has been conducted outside retirement settings, with only a limited number of studies focusing on such initiatives within South African establishments.
Earl and Marais undertook a study at a South African retirement home that enables its residents to regularly engage with children attending a preschool located on the premises to explore the potential advantages of cross-generational interactions further. The activities they partake in together include games, puzzles, reading, and singing, all of which align with the Eden Alternative, an eldercare philosophy designed to reduce the factors leading to anxiety and depression.
For their study, the researchers asked residents to fill out a questionnaire assessing their levels of anxiety and depression and to share their experiences interacting with the children. Ten women participated, four of whom showed possible signs of anxiety, depression, or both. All the participants interacted with the preschool children to varying degrees.
The feedback from the residents was overwhelmingly positive. Their responses indicated that spending time with the children fostered a sense of inclusion and purpose, triggered happy memories of their youth, and positively impacted their mood and emotional state. The participants’ initial perceptions of children appeared to affect their personal experiences with the program.
Based on their findings, Earl and Marais suggest that programs encouraging intergenerational interaction could play a role in managing mental health issues among older adults in retirement homes. They recommend adopting such programs and advocating for more comprehensive studies to assess their benefits further.
The authors emphasize: “Engaging with children not only fosters a feeling of inclusion and purpose but also prompts nostalgia and has a positive effect on the mental health of older individuals.”
More information: Earl EJ, Marais D (2023), The experience of intergenerational interactions and their influence on the mental health of older people living in residential care, PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287369
Journal information: PLoS ONE
