European Centre for Environment and Human Health, Medical School, University of Exeter, Truro, UK.
International Business School Suzhou, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, 111 Ren'ai Rd, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, China.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Oct 13;23(1):2002. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16875-2.
Little is known about whether digital competence is related to psychological wellbeing, with most previous research focusing on students and elderly people. There is also limited evidence on seasonal changes in psychological wellbeing, particularly in specific groups. Social housing residents are an underserved and under-researched population. The objectives of this study were to explore associations between digital competence (assessed by general technology self-efficacy) and psychological wellbeing (assessed by mental wellbeing and life satisfaction), and to explore seasonal effects, in social housing residents.
A repeated survey design was used. The Happiness Pulse questionnaire with a bespoke digital module was sent via post or e-mail at four timepoints between July 2021 and July 2022 to 167 social housing residents in West Cornwall, England. There were 110 respondents in total; thirty completed all four questionnaires and 59 completed an autumn/winter and summer questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential methods including regression, repeated measures analysis of variance and panel analysis.
Significant positive associations were found between digital self-efficacy and mental wellbeing, and between digital self-efficacy and life satisfaction. However, there were no significant seasonal changes in psychological wellbeing.
The findings extend the existing literature beyond student and elderly populations and suggest that improving digital competence is a potential pathway to improving psychological wellbeing. Surveys with larger samples and qualitative studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms involved.
关于数字能力是否与心理健康有关，知之甚少，大多数先前的研究都集中在学生和老年人身上。关于心理健康的季节性变化，特别是在特定群体中，也只有有限的证据。社会住房居民是一个服务不足和研究不足的群体。本研究的目的是探讨数字能力（通过一般技术自我效能感评估）与心理健康（通过心理健康和生活满意度评估）之间的关联，并探讨社会住房居民的季节性影响。
采用重复调查设计。2021 年 7 月至 2022 年 7 月期间，通过邮寄或电子邮件向英格兰康沃尔西部的 167 名社会住房居民发送了带有定制数字模块的幸福脉搏问卷，共收到 110 名受访者的回复，其中 30 名完成了所有四份问卷，59 名完成了秋冬和夏季问卷。使用描述性和推断性方法（包括回归、重复测量方差分析和面板分析）分析数据。
数字自我效能感与心理健康以及数字自我效能感与生活满意度之间存在显著正相关。然而，心理健康没有显著的季节性变化。
这些发现将现有文献扩展到了学生和老年人群体之外，并表明提高数字能力是改善心理健康的潜在途径。需要更大样本的调查和定性研究来阐明所涉及的机制。
