The Association Between Internet Use and Mental Health Among Empty-Nest Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The number of empty-nest elderly in China is steadily increasing, and this empty-nest family structure may influence their mental health. With the rapid advancement of information technology, the internet has profoundly reshaped lifestyles and is playing an increasingly important role among the elde...

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Publicado en:Inquiry (00469580) Vol. 62; pp. 1 - 14
Autores principales: Cai, Ting, Li, Dehua
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Sage Publications Inc. 12/1/2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: The Association Between Internet Use and Mental Health Among Empty-Nest Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study.
      aug:
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          Cai, Ting
          Li, Dehua
        affil: School of Public Administration, Xiangtan University, China
      su:
        Internet access
        Cross-sectional method
        Mental health
        Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
        Cronbach's alpha
        Research funding
        T-test (Statistics)
        Loneliness
        Factor analysis
        Data analysis software
        Social support
        Confidence intervals
        Mental depression
        Social participation
        Intergenerational relations
        China
      sug:
        subj:
          China
          Internet access
          Cross-sectional method
          Mental health
          Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale
          Cronbach's alpha
          Research funding
          T-test (Statistics)
          Loneliness
          Factor analysis
          Data analysis software
          Social support
          Confidence intervals
          Mental depression
          Social participation
          Intergenerational relations
      keyword:
        empty-nest elderly
        intergenerational support
        internet use
        mental health
        social participation
      ab: The number of empty-nest elderly in China is steadily increasing, and this empty-nest family structure may influence their mental health. With the rapid advancement of information technology, the internet has profoundly reshaped lifestyles and is playing an increasingly important role among the elderly. This study aims to examine the association between internet use and mental health among empty-nest elderly. Data were drawn from the 2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), including 4159 empty-nest elderly. Mental health was assessed with the short form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Ordinary least squares regression, propensity score matching, instrumental variable analysis, and mediation analysis were conducted to examine the associations, test robustness, and explore potential mechanisms. Internet use was significantly associated with lower levels of depression, and mediation analysis indicated that social participation and intergenerational support partially mediated this relationship. These findings highlight the crucial role of internet use in enhancing the mental health of empty-nest elderly and underscore the importance of promoting internet access and digital literacy to foster active aging.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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