What role can videogames play in the COVID-19 pandemic?

Video games are often thought of as trite activities for younger generations. However, research in game studies over the last few decades have revealed that games can be valuable tools for growth and connection, particularly among older generations. Exploring the ways digital games can be used as tools for connection has gained increased attention in recent months with global quarantines as a result of COVID-19. This article reviews the research that has examined the utility of digital games for older adults, focusing specifically on the ways in which games can be tools for social connectedness and psychological healing for older adults and intergenerationally. Special focus will be placed on the role games can play for post-traumatic stress among first responders.

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Special Focus Section: Psychotherapy of War Combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e309892004-011 ◽

1999 ◽

Author(s):

Marty Wong ◽

◽

Dharm Bains

Keyword(s):

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽

Traumatic Stress ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Special Focus ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Post Traumatic

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Vulnerable, But Why? Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Older Adults Exposed to Hurricane Sandy

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2016.15 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 362-370 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Allison R. Heid ◽

Zachary Christman ◽

Rachel Pruchno ◽

Francine P. Cartwright ◽

Maureen Wilson-Genderson

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Traumatic Stress ◽

Hurricane Sandy ◽

Chronic Health Conditions ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Ptsd Symptoms ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Group Status ◽

Chronic Health ◽

Post Traumatic

AbstractObjectiveDrawing on pre-disaster, peri-disaster, and post-disaster data, this study examined factors associated with the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in older adults exposed to Hurricane Sandy.MethodsWe used a sample of older participants matched by gender, exposure, and geographic region (N=88, mean age=59.83 years) in which one group reported clinically significant levels of PTSD symptoms and the other did not. We conducted t-tests, chi-square tests, and exact logistic regressions to examine differences in pre-disaster characteristics and peri-disaster experiences.ResultsOlder adults who experienced PTSD symptoms reported lower levels of income, positive affect, subjective health, and social support and were less likely to be working 4 to 6 years before Hurricane Sandy than were people not experiencing PTSD symptoms. Those developing PTSD symptoms reported more depressive symptoms, negative affect, functional disability, chronic health conditions, and pain before Sandy and greater distress and feelings of danger during Hurricane Sandy. Exact logistic regression revealed independent effects of preexisting chronic health conditions and feelings of distress during Hurricane Sandy in predicting PTSD group status.ConclusionsOur findings indicated that because vulnerable adults can be identified before disaster strikes, the opportunity to mitigate disaster-related PTSD exists through identification and resource programs that target population subgroups. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:362–370)

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Association of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Following Hurricane Katrina With Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events Among Older Adults With Hypertension

American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.jagp.2018.11.006 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 310-321 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Zachary Lenane ◽

Erin Peacock ◽

Cara Joyce ◽

Edward D. Frohlich ◽

Richard N. Re ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Hurricane Katrina ◽

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽

Traumatic Stress ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Post Traumatic ◽

Incident Cardiovascular Disease

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P.E. Ruskin and J.A. Talbott (eds.). Aging and posttraumatic stress disorder. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1996.

Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement ◽

10.1017/s0714980800014227 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 163-166

Author(s):

Philippe Cappeliez

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽

Traumatic Stress ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Late Onset ◽

Laboratory Animals ◽

General Nature ◽

Human Beings ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Post Traumatic

ABSTRACTPost-traumatic stress disorder refers to the aftermath of highly traumatic events involving death, serious injury, or threat to one's physical integrity in circumstances out of the ordinary, such as war, natural disasters, rape, or torture. Four chapters of this book specifically address post-traumatic stress disorder, as a late-onset or reactivated condition, in World War II veterans and older adults who survived a natural disaster. These contributions, from American and Dutch researchers, bring first-hand information on the prevalence and course of the disorder and they constitute the originality of the book. Two chapters, on the maltreatment of older adults and on the stressful impact of ordinary negative events on older adults, expand the coverage of stress in late adulthood. Starting and finishing with a discussion of general issues in stress and post-traumatic stress research, the book also contains two chapters of a more general nature on the effects of age on physiological responses to stress in both laboratory animals and human beings. Contributions providing a theoretical context for integration and drawing the therapeutic implications of the research findings would have been useful. Still, this book constitutes a unique source of information and a basic reading, given the paucity of research in the area of post-traumatic stress disorder in older adults.

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