Assessing the Impact of Internet Skills on Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Middle-Aged and Older Adults : Cross-Sectional Instrumental Variables Analysis
© Aruhan Mu, Zhiyong Liu. Originally published in JMIR Aging (https://aging.jmir.org)..
Background: The potential benefits of IT for the well-being of older adults have been widely anticipated. However, findings regarding the impact of internet use on depressive symptoms are inconsistent. As a result of IT's exponential growth, internet skills have supplanted internet access as the source of the digital divide.
Objective: This study evaluates the effect of internet skills on depressive symptoms through an instrumental variables (IV) approach.
Methods: Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study's wave 4 (2018) were used. This included 16,949 community residents aged 45 years and older. To overcome the endogeneity issue, we used an IV approach.
Results: Our results reveal the emergence of a second-level digital divide, the disparity in internet skills, among Chinese middle-aged and older adults. Liner regression suggests that a 1% increase in internet skills is associated with a 0.037% decrease in depressive symptoms (β=-.037, SE 0.009), which underestimates the causal effect. As expected, internet skills are an endogenous variable (F test P value <.001). IV regressions indicate that a 1% increase in internet skills reduces 1.135% (SE 0.471) to 1.741% (SE 0.297) of depressive symptoms. These 2 IV are neither weak (F-1=16.7 and 28.5; both >10) nor endogenous (Wu-Hausman test P value of .10; >.05 or >.01).
Conclusions: Better mental health is predicted through improved and higher internet skills. Consequently, residents and policy makers in China should focus on bridging the digital divide in internet skills among middle-aged and older adults.
| Medienart: |
E-Artikel |
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| Erscheinungsjahr: |
2024 |
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| Erschienen: |
2024 |
| Enthalten in: |
Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:7 |
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| Enthalten in: |
JMIR aging - 7(2024) vom: 21. März, Seite e50880 |
| Sprache: |
Englisch |
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| Beteiligte Personen: |
Mu, Aruhan [VerfasserIn] |
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| Links: |
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| Themen: |
Depression |
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| Anmerkungen: |
Date Completed 28.03.2024 Date Revised 12.04.2024 published: Electronic Citation Status MEDLINE |
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| doi: |
10.2196/50880 |
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| funding: |
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| Förderinstitution / Projekttitel: |
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| PPN (Katalog-ID): |
NLM370233387 |
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| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Assessing the Impact of Internet Skills on Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Middle-Aged and Older Adults |b Cross-Sectional Instrumental Variables Analysis |
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| 500 | |a Date Revised 12.04.2024 | ||
| 500 | |a published: Electronic | ||
| 500 | |a Citation Status MEDLINE | ||
| 520 | |a © Aruhan Mu, Zhiyong Liu. Originally published in JMIR Aging (https://aging.jmir.org). | ||
| 520 | |a Background: The potential benefits of IT for the well-being of older adults have been widely anticipated. However, findings regarding the impact of internet use on depressive symptoms are inconsistent. As a result of IT's exponential growth, internet skills have supplanted internet access as the source of the digital divide | ||
| 520 | |a Objective: This study evaluates the effect of internet skills on depressive symptoms through an instrumental variables (IV) approach | ||
| 520 | |a Methods: Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study's wave 4 (2018) were used. This included 16,949 community residents aged 45 years and older. To overcome the endogeneity issue, we used an IV approach | ||
| 520 | |a Results: Our results reveal the emergence of a second-level digital divide, the disparity in internet skills, among Chinese middle-aged and older adults. Liner regression suggests that a 1% increase in internet skills is associated with a 0.037% decrease in depressive symptoms (β=-.037, SE 0.009), which underestimates the causal effect. As expected, internet skills are an endogenous variable (F test P value <.001). IV regressions indicate that a 1% increase in internet skills reduces 1.135% (SE 0.471) to 1.741% (SE 0.297) of depressive symptoms. These 2 IV are neither weak (F-1=16.7 and 28.5; both >10) nor endogenous (Wu-Hausman test P value of .10; >.05 or >.01) | ||
| 520 | |a Conclusions: Better mental health is predicted through improved and higher internet skills. Consequently, residents and policy makers in China should focus on bridging the digital divide in internet skills among middle-aged and older adults | ||
| 650 | 4 | |a Journal Article | |
| 650 | 4 | |a depression | |
| 650 | 4 | |a instrumental variables | |
| 650 | 4 | |a internet skills | |
| 650 | 4 | |a second-level digital divide | |
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