Abstract
Exploring the social factors of mental health among older adults has become a hot topic. This study aimed to examine the relationships between internet use, social capital and depressive symptoms in older adults. Our data were derived from a sample of 6,840 respondents aged 60 and over in the 2018 wave of the China Family Panel Studies. The ordinary least square (OLS) regression results showed that both Internet use characteristics (including access, emotional activities, and online time) and social capital components (including contact with adult children and trust) were protective factors for the prevention of depressive symptoms among older adults. The generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) results displayed that Internet use not only had a negatively direct effect on depressive symptoms, but also generated a negatively indirect effect on depressive symptoms by structural social capital (i.e., contact with adult children), suggesting that structural social capital mediated the above link. Conversely, the indirect effects of internet use on depressive symptoms via cognitive social capital (i.e., interpersonal trust and institutional trust) were significantly positive, indicating that the relationship between Internet use and depressive symptoms was suppressed by cognitive social capital. These findings address the gaps in previous research on older adults' mental health and have practical implications for policy makers.
Highlights
Under the context of global population aging, mental health problems among older adults have aroused broad concern
Considering that the Internet gradually became popular among older adults in China in 2018, this study focused on the data in the Wave 5 of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) consisting of 32,669 respondents
Based on bootstrapped indirect effects and direct effects, we discovered that indicators of social capital partially accounted for the impact of Internet use on depressive symptoms
Summary
Under the context of global population aging, mental health problems among older adults have aroused broad concern. Almost 11% of older adults have depression or clinically relevant depressive symptoms (Lim et al, 2018). Geriatric depression and other health problems triggered by it, including self-harm, dementia, and suicide, seriously damage older adults’ quality of life, and place a heavy burden on families and countries (Luijendijk et al, 2008). For older adults who live in the middle and low-income countries, their mental health could be worse due to lack of mental health resources and awareness toward the disease (Wang R. et al, 2019). Studies in China found that over 90% of the older adults with noticeable depressive symptoms had never
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