The association between Internet use and multidimensional capital of older adults in urban and rural China.

Multidimensional capital is crucial for improving the quality of life of older adults. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between Internet use and the multidimensional capital among older adults in China. We also examined whether rural-urban status moderates this relationship. A total of 8...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Educational Gerontology Vol. 51; no. 11; pp. 1188 - 1202
Autores principales: Sun, Xiaoyao, Wu, Yuanyuan
Formato: equations & formulas research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Nov2025
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Multidimensional capital is crucial for improving the quality of life of older adults. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between Internet use and the multidimensional capital among older adults in China. We also examined whether rural-urban status moderates this relationship. A total of 8,038 older adults (Mage = 71.06, SDage = 7.17) were included in this study, including 3937 (48.98%) urban and 4,101 (51.02%) rural samples. Using the ordinary least square (OLS) model and propensity score matching (PSM) methods with the 2018 wave of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), our results showed that the digital divide and multidimensional capital inequality existed between rural and urban older adults. The digital divide may further accelerate the rural-urban multidimensional capital inequality. Rural-urban status moderated the relationship between Internet use and multidimensional capital among older adults. To narrow the digital divide and further reduce the multidimensional capital inequality among older adults, strategies could be considered by promoting Internet popularization, providing convenient Internet access, and conducting fraud prevention education for older adults.