Internet use, depression, and hope among the older blind and visually impaired

The older blind and visually impaired population is rapidly growing. Depression, isolation, and loss of independence commonly manifest with vision loss. This study sought to determine if use of the Internet could affect levels of depression, hope, and social adjustment in the older blind or visually impaired (N = 60). Using a complete MMPI-2 including the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales, the Snyder Hope Scale (HS), and Internet use profiles, older blind and visually impaired Internet users were compared to their peer non-users in terms of depression and hope. ANOVAs indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the Content Component Scale DEPT (lack of drive) between users and non-users in those age 65 and above. The HS pathways subscore (planning ways to accomplish a goal) varied with statistical significance with Internet use when controlling for a measure of anxiety (RC7-dysfunctional negative emotions). Logistic regressions were performed to determine if certain variables could predict Internet use. For those age 65 and older, having completed a college degree was statistically significant in predicting Internet use. Blind and visually impaired college graduates age 65 and older were over 4 times more likely to be Internet users than non-college graduates. Both the Internet users and the non-users had high hope levels suggesting that hope does not necessarily diminish with advanced age and vision loss. Additional observations and future recommendations for research are discussed.;Keywords. Internet, hope, depression, MMPI-2, older, elderly, blind, visual impairment.