Zhong Ruyu, Ning Wenwen
School of Sociology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
School of Law and Economics, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Front Public Health. 2024 Dec 6;12:1395181. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1395181. eCollection 2024.
The consequences of aged living arrangements on mental health in the digital age have drawn significant research attention.
This study used empirical data to analyze the impact of living arrangements on the mental health of older adults by ordinary least squares (OLS) and to examine the moderating effect of Internet use in it through the moderating effect test. A total of 17,243 older adults were included in the analytical model.
We found that living independently has a negative impact on the mental health of older adults and Internet use can improve the mental health of older adults. There are moderating mechanisms of Internet use in the impact of living arrangements on the mental health of older adults, but it is necessary to look at the moderating mechanisms of different patterns of Internet use. Using the Internet for social interaction (chatting and information acquisition) can weaken the impact of living arrangements on the mental health of older adults, while unidirectional Internet use (entertainment and financial management) strengthens the impact of living arrangements on the mental health of older adults.
Therefore, this study puts forward the following suggestions: first, to develop family care for older adults and pay attention to the positive role of intergenerational support in the mental comfort of older adults; second, it is imperative for the government and social service departments to assist older adults in establishing correct concepts of Internet use, enhancing their digital literacy, and improving their digital skills.
数字时代老年人居住安排对心理健康的影响已引起大量研究关注。
本研究运用实证数据，通过普通最小二乘法（OLS）分析居住安排对老年人心理健康的影响，并通过调节效应检验考察其中互联网使用的调节作用。分析模型共纳入17243名老年人。
我们发现独立居住对老年人心理健康有负面影响，而互联网使用可改善老年人心理健康。在居住安排对老年人心理健康的影响中存在互联网使用的调节机制，但有必要审视不同互联网使用模式的调节机制。利用互联网进行社交互动（聊天和信息获取）可削弱居住安排对老年人心理健康的影响，而单向互联网使用（娱乐和理财）则强化居住安排对老年人心理健康的影响。
因此，本研究提出以下建议：第一，发展对老年人的家庭照料，关注代际支持在老年人心理慰藉方面的积极作用；第二，政府和社会服务部门必须协助老年人树立正确的互联网使用观念，提高他们的数字素养，提升他们的数字技能。
